<s>
Blue	B-Application
Lightning	I-Application
is	O
a	O
1989	O
combat	O
flight	O
simulation	O
video	O
game	O
developed	O
by	O
Epyx	O
and	O
published	O
by	O
Atari	O
Corporation	O
in	O
North	O
America	O
and	O
Europe	O
for	O
the	O
Atari	B-General_Concept
Lynx	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
launch	O
titles	O
that	O
were	O
released	O
along	O
with	O
the	O
system	O
in	O
North	O
America	O
and	O
was	O
jointly	O
written	O
by	O
Stephen	O
Landrum	O
,	O
lead	O
programmer	O
Brian	O
Bowhay	O
,	O
who	O
also	O
developed	O
the	O
Lynx	B-General_Concept
hardware	O
and	O
Chip	B-Device
's	I-Device
Challenge	I-Device
creator	O
Chuck	O
Sommerville	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Conceived	O
as	O
a	O
commission	O
to	O
create	O
a	O
pseudo-3D	O
combat	O
flight	O
game	O
by	O
Landrum	O
and	O
graphic	O
artist	O
Arthur	O
Koch	O
,	O
Blue	B-Application
Lightning	I-Application
was	O
heavily	O
inspired	O
by	O
Sega	O
's	O
1987	O
Super	O
Scaler	O
arcade	O
game	O
After	B-Application
Burner	I-Application
,	O
in	O
addition	O
of	O
also	O
bearing	O
similarity	O
with	O
the	O
feature	O
film	O
and	O
TV	O
series	O
Blue	O
Thunder	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Upon	O
its	O
release	O
,	O
Blue	B-Application
Lightning	I-Application
was	O
well	O
received	O
by	O
critics	O
who	O
praised	O
the	O
visuals	O
,	O
gameplay	O
and	O
for	O
being	O
a	O
showcase	O
of	O
the	O
capabilities	O
of	O
the	O
Lynx	B-General_Concept
,	O
although	O
some	O
criticized	O
the	O
lack	O
of	O
in-game	O
music	O
and	O
repetitive	O
nature	O
of	O
the	O
missions	O
,	O
with	O
many	O
also	O
comparing	O
it	O
with	O
After	B-Application
Burner	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1995	O
,	O
a	O
remake	O
developed	O
by	O
Attention	O
to	O
Detail	O
,	O
was	O
released	O
as	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
pack-in	O
games	O
for	O
the	O
Atari	B-Device
Jaguar	I-Device
CD	I-Device
peripheral	O
when	O
it	O
launched	O
and	O
received	O
mixed	O
reviews	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Blue	B-Application
Lightning	I-Application
is	O
an	O
arcade-style	O
combat	O
flight	O
simulation	O
game	O
that	O
is	O
played	O
from	O
a	O
third-person	O
perspective	O
similar	O
to	O
After	B-Application
Burner	I-Application
,	O
where	O
the	O
player	O
take	O
the	O
role	O
of	O
a	O
fighter	B-Application
pilot	I-Application
with	O
one	O
main	O
objective	O
;	O
to	O
enter	O
into	O
enemy	O
territory	O
and	O
aid	O
the	O
allies	O
in	O
defeating	O
the	O
enemies	O
to	O
claim	O
victory	O
of	O
the	O
war	O
by	O
completing	O
a	O
series	O
of	O
nine	O
missions	O
,	O
each	O
one	O
taking	O
place	O
in	O
various	O
locations	O
and	O
tasking	O
the	O
player	O
with	O
different	O
assignments	O
,	O
while	O
increasing	O
in	O
difficulty	O
as	O
the	O
game	O
progress	O
further	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
grants	O
the	O
player	O
with	O
a	O
fleet	O
of	O
six	O
Blue	B-Application
Lightning	I-Application
planes	O
,	O
which	O
act	O
as	O
lives	O
and	O
if	O
the	O
current	O
plane	O
is	O
crashed	O
or	O
destroyed	O
,	O
the	O
mission	O
must	O
be	O
restarted	O
from	O
the	O
beginning	O
and	O
the	O
game	B-Application
is	I-Application
over	I-Application
once	O
all	O
lives	O
are	O
lost	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Blue	B-Application
Lightning	I-Application
was	O
conceived	O
by	O
Arthur	O
Koch	O
and	O
Stephen	O
Landrum	O
as	O
part	O
of	O
a	O
commission	O
to	O
design	O
a	O
pseudo-3D	O
combat	O
flight	O
title	O
for	O
the	O
then-upcoming	O
Handy	O
handheld	B-Application
game	I-Application
console	I-Application
,	O
which	O
would	O
be	O
later	O
rechristened	O
as	O
the	O
Atari	B-General_Concept
Lynx	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
During	O
their	O
free	O
time	O
,	O
the	O
team	O
would	O
visit	O
local	O
arcades	O
as	O
sources	O
of	O
inspirations	O
for	O
their	O
upcoming	O
projects	O
,	O
among	O
them	O
being	O
Sega	O
's	O
After	B-Application
Burner	I-Application
,	O
which	O
served	O
as	O
a	O
basis	O
for	O
their	O
combat	O
flight	O
game	O
and	O
although	O
Landrum	O
was	O
initially	O
influenced	O
by	O
Spectrum	O
HoloByte	O
's	O
Falcon	B-Application
,	O
Koch	O
lean	O
towards	O
a	O
more	O
arcade-style	O
approach	O
rather	O
than	O
a	O
full	O
simulation	O
one	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Koch	O
recounted	O
positively	O
about	O
the	O
development	O
process	O
of	O
the	O
title	O
and	O
working	O
with	O
the	O
hardware	O
,	O
stating	O
he	O
and	O
Landrum	O
had	O
a	O
lot	O
of	O
freedom	O
to	O
develop	O
the	O
game	O
they	O
wanted	O
with	O
the	O
available	O
technology	O
,	O
however	O
he	O
also	O
stated	O
that	O
the	O
Lynx	B-General_Concept
's	O
limited	O
screen	O
resolution	O
proved	O
to	O
be	O
a	O
source	O
of	O
difficulty	O
for	O
the	O
team	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Blue	B-Application
Lightning	I-Application
makes	O
heavy	O
use	O
of	O
several	O
features	O
found	O
within	O
the	O
Lynx	B-General_Concept
hardware	O
such	O
as	O
sprite	O
scaling	O
and	O
rotation	O
,	O
with	O
Sommerville	O
developing	O
an	O
animation	O
engine	O
for	O
the	O
introductory	O
sequence	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
,	O
which	O
would	O
later	O
be	O
re-used	O
on	O
other	O
titles	O
for	O
the	O
system	O
such	O
as	O
Electrocop	B-Application
and	O
Todd	B-Application
's	I-Application
Adventures	I-Application
in	I-Application
Slime	I-Application
World	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sommerville	O
stated	O
the	O
game	O
violated	O
a	O
rule	O
of	O
the	O
system	O
imposed	O
by	O
Mical	O
and	O
co-designer	O
Dave	O
Needle	O
,	O
which	O
involved	O
not	O
accessing	O
the	O
ROM	B-General_Concept
image	I-General_Concept
once	O
a	O
game	O
was	O
running	O
,	O
as	O
it	O
streamed	O
data	O
for	O
assets	O
directly	O
from	O
the	O
ROM	O
and	O
this	O
technique	O
would	O
also	O
be	O
re-used	O
in	O
Zarlor	B-Application
Mercenary	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Blue	B-Application
Lightning	I-Application
was	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
original	O
launch	O
titles	O
during	O
the	O
initial	O
release	O
of	O
the	O
Lynx	B-General_Concept
in	O
1989	O
,	O
along	O
with	O
California	B-Device
Games	I-Device
,	O
the	O
aforementioned	O
Electrocop	B-Application
and	O
Gates	B-Application
of	I-Application
Zendocon	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Early	O
previews	O
showcased	O
a	O
different	O
GUI	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Blue	B-Application
Lightning	I-Application
garnered	O
positive	O
reception	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
a	O
capsule	O
review	O
of	O
the	O
Lynx	B-General_Concept
version	O
for	O
STart	O
,	O
Clayton	O
Walnum	O
commented	O
,	O
"	O
The	O
3D	O
perspective	O
is	O
dazzling	O
,	O
with	O
missiles	O
and	O
jets	O
coming	O
at	O
you	O
with	O
such	O
realism	O
,	O
you	O
want	O
to	O
duck	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Lynx	B-General_Concept
's	O
built-in	O
scaling	O
features	O
are	O
used	O
to	O
the	O
max	O
in	O
Blue	B-Application
Lightning	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Luckily	O
,	O
the	O
gameplay	O
is	O
as	O
good	O
as	O
the	O
graphics	O
,	O
making	O
this	O
a	O
must-have	O
game	O
for	O
every	O
Lynx	B-General_Concept
owner.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
a	O
1999	O
retrospective	O
,	O
Robert	O
A	O
Jung	O
reviewed	O
the	O
Atari	B-General_Concept
Lynx	I-General_Concept
version	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
for	O
IGN	O
,	O
stating	O
in	O
his	O
verdict	O
that	O
,	O
"	O
Though	O
the	O
levels	O
could	O
use	O
a	O
little	O
more	O
variety	O
,	O
the	O
user-friendly	O
gameplay	O
and	O
the	O
sensational	O
graphics	O
make	O
this	O
title	O
a	O
blue-ribbon	O
winner.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1993	O
,	O
Atari	O
requested	O
several	O
Epyx	O
titles	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
be	O
converted	O
and	O
release	O
to	O
the	O
then-upcoming	O
Atari	B-Device
Jaguar	I-Device
,	O
with	O
Blue	B-Application
Lightning	I-Application
among	O
the	O
list	O
of	O
selected	O
titles	O
to	O
be	O
remade	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
year	O
later	O
,	O
Blue	B-Application
Lightning	I-Application
2	O
was	O
announced	O
for	O
the	O
Jaguar	B-Device
CD	I-Device
and	O
became	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
first	O
titles	O
announced	O
for	O
the	O
then-upcoming	O
add-on	O
,	O
however	O
it	O
was	O
later	O
retitled	O
to	O
its	O
original	O
name	O
during	O
Autumn	O
ECTS	O
'	O
94	O
,	O
where	O
it	O
was	O
revealed	O
that	O
Cybermorph	O
developer	O
Attention	O
to	O
Detail	O
were	O
the	O
ones	O
developing	O
the	O
project	O
.	O
</s>
