The premise takes place in a future where the Alpha Promixian empire attack mining settlements on distant resource planets.

Gameplay is divided into three modes, with the player acting as part of the System Defense Team commanding the Threshold ship to defeat waves of invading aliens while protecting humans.

[3][8][9][10] 2000 mode modifies and builds upon the original gameplay, introducing power-ups, more sophisticated enemy types, enhanced visuals, and bonus rounds.

[2][9][10][11] The plot takes place in a future where the Alpha Promixian empire attack mining settlements on distant resource planets.

[9][10][12] In all three game modes, the player acts as part of the System Defense Team commanding the Threshold ship and the main objective is to defeat waves of invading aliens while protecting humans.

[1][2] In 2000 mode, power-up items appear in each level and are collected to obtain upgrades such as AI droids, a shield that protects the player from two hits, lightning laser, and rapid fire.

[2] Once the ship is fully powered up, collecting four warp tokens grants access to three-dimensional bonus rounds and the player skips five levels if they are successfully completed.

[15][16][17][18] It is part of Atari's 2000 series of arcade game revivals, a concept initiated by producer John Skruch after the release of Tempest 2000.

[18][25][28] Minter wanted to make it in the same vein as Tempest 2000 but with smaller graphics and more abstract effects, and intended to use the extra space of the CD-ROM format for a documentary section featuring an interview with Jarvis.

[23][29] Minter recalled that Jarvis advised him to reduce the difficulty of the original Defender, which was ported to Jaguar in a matter of weeks, to get his and Williams' approval for the game.

[27][28][31] The graphics were designed by Metropolis Digital, a San Jose-based game developer founded in 1994, while the humans were animated via motion capture.

[34][35] Voice work for the game was done by lead tester Tal Funke-Bilu, who performed some of the samples in the office of Atari staffer Ted Tahquechi.

[12][36] However, Atari changed course for economic reasons and decided to release the game on cartridge, which led to the audio CD tracks being hastily converted into tracker music.

[59] Edge criticized Classic mode for being a lame copy, while ST Format's Stuart Campbell labelled it as a poor arcade conversion.

[2][8] GamePro's Air Hendrix commented that while the game updated the arcade original's graphics for modern consoles, they were below average for that generation and the gameplay had not improved.

[68][69][70][71] Brett Daly of Jaguar Front Page News (a part of the GameSpy network) lauded the game's visuals, soundscapes, and gameplay.