Highway Hunter is a DOS

MS-DOS

MS-DOS is an operating system for x86-based personal computers. It was the most commonly used member of the DOS family of operating systems, and was the main operating system for IBM PC compatible personal computers during the 1980s to the mid 1990s, until it was gradually superseded by operating...

-based video game created in 1994. It was developed by Omega Integral Systems, released by Safari Software

Safari Software

Safari Software was a software developer and published founded circa 1989 in Houston, Texas. Patrick Aalto, prior to founding Safari, released a freeware game titled Line Wars in 1989 inspired by the original Elite video game engine. The first game released by Safari was Jason Storm in Space Chase...

, and distributed by Epic MegaGames (now Epic Games

Epic Games

Epic Games, Inc., also known as Epic and formerly Epic MegaGames, is an American video game development company based in Cary, North Carolina. Its most recent success has been the Gears of War series of games, although it is also known for its Unreal Engine technology. It is the parent company of...

).

Plot

A hostile alien race has conquered the earth and enslaved the human race to do their bidding. The player assumes the role of a man who has worked in an alien maintenance garage. You steal a prototype alien combat vehicle called the MASTER and escape with it. You must use the MASTER to fight the alien forces in a desperate bid to save the planet.

Gameplay

The game uses a top-down view. The player's car is situated on a raised highway. The ground is visible on the sides. The player's car is constantly moving upwards through the level, though the player can maneuver his car around the screen within the boundaries of the highway. The player fires at enemies that come from the top of the screen. There are ground enemies on the highway and flying enemies that can come in from the sides or the top. Some enemies may drop weapon power ups which make the player car's projectiles stronger or more numerous. The game is divided into three episodes each with a number of levels, with a boss at the end of each level. The shareware version omits the second and third episodes. The highway environments start out looking earthly, but the player moves into more alien levels later in the game.