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The Inter-Gray Xsi is the main protagonist of the 1989 arcade shoot 'em up Night Striker. It is a specially designed rescue vehicle developed by the United Nations Special Service Agency elite task force "Night Striker". Its mission is to locate and rescue Doctor Masker Lindberry and his daughter, who were kidnapped by terrorists.
History[]
In the year 2049 A.D., an underground terrorist organization manages to kidnapped Doctor Masker Lindberry, a well-renowned doctor in optical laser technology, as well as his daughter. Pinpointing the organization to a string of terrorist attacks in Asia, the United Nations Special Service Agency dispatches numerous agents to locate them, but this action proves unsuccessful as not a single one returns. Only a single clue emerges in suggesting that the terrorists are developing powerful weapons in a secret underground factory. Due to the high priority of this threat, Dick Douglas, the head of the agency directs orders to an elite task force codenamed "Night Striker" in order to rescue the hostages and destroy the organization by means of a plethora of powerful, armored hovercars capable of transforming whenever necessary. One such hovercar designated the Inter-Gray Xsi is controlled by the player.
The Inter-Gray Xsi is deployed to its designated coordinates, and from there it proceeds to battle the terrorists who fight back using an army of various attack vehicles ranging from jets, helicopters, hovercars, and mechs. The hovercar battles these forces across various environments (called zones), ranging from cities, factories, canals, the sea, tunnels, the sky, suburbs, streets, and even a temple. It travels to each location by means of underground passages that split between zones. At the end of each zone, the vehicle must battle a much stronger enemy in the form of a boss battle, which it must destroy in order to proceed further.
After clearing five zones in any order, the Inter-Gray Xsi is given the final task of destroying one of the special weapons developed by the terrorist organization. In order to do this, the hovercar transforms into one of five different forms: a mech (Zone P), a jetpack pilot (Zone Q where the driver is forced to ditch Xsi after it was fatally struck by enemy missiles), a hover bike (Zone S), a jet (Zone T), or a hovertank (Zone U); in Zone R meanwhile, the vehicle remains in its hovercar form and instead is given assistance by a support jet called Tinkerbell. Like with the previous zones, the transformed vehicle must battle its way through the terrorists' forces before battling a large horde of bosses, at the end of the zone, the vehicle confronts the special weapon and destroys it.
Depending on which Zone is completed, one of six endings occurs:
- If Zone P is completed, the Inter-Gray Xsi mech manages to destroy the special weapon in the form of an unmanned gun battery stored within an underground factory, in doing so it also locates and destroys a large, laser gun that is also stored there. The destruction of both weapons results in the factory exploding. The factory itself was found to serve as a major munitions depot where the terrorist produced their weapons and attack helicopters, and its destruction severely crippling its combat capabilities.
- If Zone Q is completed, the Inter-Gray Xsi's pilot in a jetpack form (Xsi is destroyed prior at the beginning Zone Q mission) manages to destroy a flying PAU soldier called "Sky Dragoon", which served as an adjutant to the terrorists, however upon further investigation, the adjutant was in fact in command of the terrorist over its true leader, who at some point became insane. The adjutant's purpose however was truly unknown, but its death led to the organization collapsing soon afterwards.
- If Zone R is completed, the Inter-Gray Xsi (alongside Tinkerbell) successfully destroy a horde of armored helicopters led by an even powerful one called the "Gyrohound" which was manned by none other than the Terrorist Organization's own boss. At the same time, a detached force of "Night Striker" was able to destroy the terrorists' main base of operations at a separate location, however it is unknown whether or not they were able to rescue Dr. Lindberry and his daughter, the boss was dishonest about there whereabouts as he had fallen from power 10 years previously and was bent on revenge.
- If Zone S is completed, the Inter-Gray Xsi in its hoverbike form manages to destroy a large group of elite foot soldiers called the "Great Destroyers", but in doing so the state at which the hoverbike was rendered incapable of destroying the enemy's temple by means of firepower. The only way they could achieve the temple's destruction is by setting the Inter-Gray Xsi to auto-pilot and was forced to eject form the vehicle. As a result, the Inter-Gray Xsi launched into the temple (which housed the terrorists' supercomputer of the organization center), where it proceeded to self-destruct, destroying both the supercomputer and the hover bike in the process. The mission was deemed a success, but deep down, the victory was hollow as the driver had lost something dear to them: their trusty machine.
- If Zone T is completed, the Inter-Gray Xsi in its jet-car hybrid form manages to destroy the terrorists' missile-launching semi-truck "Firecracker". In doing so, the driver was able to locate and rescue Dr. Lindberry, who had managed to escape on his own. He reveals to the driver that while being held hostage, he was forced to create a terrible weapon of mass destruction in the form of a high-output laser gun that was capable of burning down the entire city. But the reason for why the terrorist wanted to do such a thing remains unknown...
- If Zone U is completed the Inter-Gray Xsi in its hover-tank form manages to destroy the terrorists' anti-aircraft submarine "Dragon Head" who was attempting to kill Dr. Lindberry;s daughter. Fortunately the driver of the vehicle managed to find her unharmed drifting on a makeshift boat. She reveals to the driver that she managed to escape by waiting until the enemy was unguarded, which she managed to do. In the aftermath, fireworks exploded in the sky, which symbolized that "Night Striker"'s mission has a resounding success. This route is considered to be the best ending.
Weapons[]
The Inter-Gray Xsi is armed with only one weapon in the form of an Oval Wedge Laser Cannon. This weapon can be fired rapidly or semi-automatically, with the latter option providing homing capabilities which allow the laser shot to target nearby enemies in the direction it travels. It has the firepower to destroy must enemies instantly, but requires additional firepower against bosses. The weapon in incapable of being powered-up by traditional means, however two of the transformations allow it to be upgraded:
- When in the jet form, the Inter-Gray Xsi will fire a total of three shots instead of one, allowing it to deal triple the amount of damage.
- When in the hovertank form, the Inter-Gray Xsi will fire two disc-shaped shots, which in addition to doubling the firepower, have a large hitbox, allowing it to cover a wider area.
The Inter-Gray Xsi is also equipped with a PMG-FI Double Whisboard Shield, which allows it to take a determinant amount of hits before being destroyed. The number of shield points is indicated on the bottom of the HUD. Completing a level will reward the driver with an additional hit point, but they cannot be obtained by any other means. Up to 9 shields can be collected during game play. The number of hit points left will be tallied at the end of each level into the bonus score, awarding one million points per shield point remaining.
Trivia[]
- The Inter-Gray Xsi seems to be loosely based on the Delorean Time Machine from the Back to the Future series, as both vehicles are capable of hovering and feature gull-wing doors.
- The gameplay for Night Striker takes inspiration from Sega's 3D arcade games Space Harrier, Afterburner, and Out Run, all three of which use 3D scaling to render the in-game environments.