Editing Star Raiders (section)

===Contemporaneous===
''Star Raiders'' received positive reviews from various computer publications such as ''[[InfoWorld]]'', ''[[Softline (magazine)|Softline]]'', and ''[[Byte (magazine)|Byte]]''. Joretta Klepfer of ''[[Compute!]]'' did not find the game intuitive, but noted that it was both exciting to play and watch, praising the 3D gameplay, use of color and sound.{{sfn|Klepfer|1980|pp=74-75}} [[Jerry Pournelle]] reported that at the [[West Coast Computer Faire]] and [[National Computer Conference]], "the most popular exhibit was Atari's ... boy did they stand in line for ''Star Raiders''".{{sfn|Pournelle|1980|p=222}}

David C. Cole of ''[[InfoWorld]]'' said the game is "graphically rich" and noted its addictive qualities and challenge.{{sfn|Cole|1980|p=13}} Cole noted difficulty in the game, stating in more-difficult modes if the ship is damaged it is nearly impossible to locate a base for repairs.{{sfn|Cole|1980|p=27}} ''InfoWorld's Essential Guide to Atari Computers'' cited ''Star Raiders'' as "the most famous in the Atari world", but "one of the least realistic".{{sfn|Mace|1984}} An anonymous reviewer in ''Softline'' also noted the game's replayability and challenge, while describing the game as bigger and better than its peers made for the Atari 2600.{{sfn|Softline|1982|p=16|ref=SL-rev}} The review concluded; "the game stands repeat play well and remains quite difficult".{{sfn|Softline|1982|p=32|ref=SL-rev}} [[Henry Allen (journalist)|Henry Allen]] echoed the praise in ''[[The Washington Post]]'', saying ''Star Raiders'' is like "the best possible combination of a shooting gallery and a planetarium".{{sfn|Allen|1980}}

Greg Williams of ''[[Byte (magazine)|Byte]]'' proclaimed "no one&nbsp;– I repeat, no one&nbsp;– has created either a home-computer game or a coin-operated video game that is better than ''Star Raiders''"." He praised its 3D gameplay, color, sound, and controls while stating "the feature that gives it life is its real-time animation". Williams concluded, "to all software vendors, this is the game you have to surpass to get our attention".{{sfn|Williams|1981|p=106-108}} The magazine's Curtis P. Feigel called ''Star Raiders'' "the first, and so far the best ... 'sit-in-'em'" game. The author praised the comprehensiveness of its simulation of a one-man combat spacecraft, with plausible equipment, communications, vehicle damage, and flight.
{{sfn|Feigel|1982}} In ''[[Electronic Games]]'', [[Bill Kunkel (journalist)|Bill Kunkel]] and Frank Laney found the game similar to previous Star Trek-styled games but said; "it is far superior to all past efforts in this field" and is the game that "best demonstrates the outstanding videogame and computer capabilities of [[MOS Technology 6502|6502-based machines]]".{{sfn|Kunkel|Laney|1981}} In the March 1983 issue of ''Softline'', readers voted for ''Star Raiders'' as the best program for Atari computers, with 45% more ballots than the second-place contender  ''[[Jawbreaker (video game)|Jawbreaker]]'' (1981).{{sfn|Softline|1983|pp=44-45|ref=SoftAtari}}

From contemporaneous reviews of the game's ports, ''[[Computer Entertainer|The Video Game Update]]'' called it a "classic space game", while criticizing the Atari 2600 version's relative quality.{{sfn|The Video Game Update|1982|ref=vgu-rev-2600}} Tim Onosko of ''[[The Capital Times]]'' wrote that the Atari 2600 version was poorly made with inadequate graphics, stating [[Activision]]'s similar game ''[[Starmaster]]'' was superior.{{sfn|Onosko|1982}} ''The Video Game Update'' later reviewed the Atari 5200 version of ''Star Raiders'', finding it to be essentially the same as the original home-computer game, and calling "unquestionably one of the best space games in existence."{{sfn|The Video Game Update|1983|ref=vgu-rev-5200}} Jack Schofield of ''[[The Guardian]]'' gave a negative review to the Atari ST version, stating the improved graphics do not make ''Star Raiders'' a better game and that the original is "still a brilliant game".{{sfn|Schofield|1986}}