"It may not seem like much but it grows on you."

Overview- Galaxian is a game that seems to fall under the radar all too often on the Atari 2600, it's not quite as visually impressive as some of the other arcade ports that the Atari 2600 received nor was it as impressive by any means as the arcade original, but it's still a fine game and one of the best shooters on the Atari 2600 overall.

Atari purchased the rights for this game from Namco and got to work programming the game to the 2600's strengths and used them very well. I used to not like the game too much and wrote it off because I liked the Atari 5200 version more, I recently revisited this gem of a game and had a change of heart.

Game Play- There are very few sacrifices made for the console, the most notable one is the fact that there are less Galaxians on the screen. and the graphics have lost a tad of their arcade luster. The Galaxians swoop down very similar to the way they did in the arcade, the formations are changed just slightly, the game also picks up at a consistent pace just the way it should

Graphics- The one thing that I don't like in this game is the ugly orange border around the edge of the screen, it just gives the game a cheap feel; I'd imagine they added it to give it the appearance of looking at an arcade monitor. The Galaxians have some incredible detail, very close to the arcade, even the explosions are done well. There is some noticeable flicker when the enemies swoop down to the bottom of the screen, compared to other games it's quite mild and tolerable and no where near as bad as any of the Pac-Man games on the Atari 2600. Atari honestly tried here and it shows.

Sound- The sound is another big time winner here, they don't sound like Atari 2600 sound effects, they are crystal clear and just sound better, you have to hear them to know what I mean.

Conclusion- As simple as it is, this game has a ton to offer, there are nine skill levels as well. I used to not be a big Galaxian fan of this or any other version of Galaxian in general but now this game is helping me rediscover how addicting the game really can be. It is highly recommended and I can actually say I enjoy playing it more than the Atari 5200 port now; it's a darn good game!

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 08/05/09

Game Release: Galaxian (US, 1983)