Defender 2000 Strategies

Clear the level of enemies except one lander (the dudes who pick up your humanoids). Then let him pick up a humanoid. Let him get just over 1/2 way to the top of the screen, and then shoot him. Timing is tricky, but as your humanoid falls, catch him as you're leaving the level. This will give you quite a hefty amount of easy points. This trick works best in the earlier levels of the game, but is possible on the later ones as well.
This trick works on levels 81-90.
These levels have Lander Launchers on them. If by chance you get fully powered up, or get an instant charge power-up, do not destroy these. Hover behind them, and destroy the Landers that they spew out. If you're looking to warp, grab all the power-ups. If you're low on ships, or just want to gain some extra points, continue destroying the Landers and avoiding the warp tokens.
In the later space levels (when all humanoids are destroyed), the mutants will come at you from both sides in bunches of two. Shoot the enemies while flying backwards. Go over-then-under the enemies behind you. They'll pass you up, and be shot.
In tight situations with enemies approaching from both sides, continually tap back and forth while firing. This will shoot flames out of your ship, and destroy ships behind you.
For those of you trying to achive high scores, this may prove useful. If you get to a bonus warp, follow the path until you're almost to the finish line. Jump off the track and kill yourself. You've gained the points from the bonus, and you don't miss any levels.

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