Galaga

"One of the better early 80's arcade games but its not QUITE the best."

Ah yes Galaga, one of the most known sci-fi shooters ever made. But is it truly a classic? Not quite... But is it a good game? Yes, definitely so... Its certainly better than the awfully hard & overrated (but NOT bad) Spaced Invaders. Its a fast good test of your reflexes as you try to shoot down the various amount of enemy ships as you battle them in outer space. Its nicely simple & straightforward gameplay that utilize's its purpose well as its quite the quintessential shooter.

Are the Graphics any good? Actually of the games back then go this is one of the BETTER games when it comes graphical quality. The ships by all means look like ships and different (and good) ones while the Space background looks great. Granted the regular standards of graphics weren't all that high (and people knew it back then as well) but still its one of the better games when it comes to graphics. And besides even to this date, the graphics are actually pretty good.

There is also quite the variety of enemies to shoot down, there are those who simply attack you, those that to pull you with a tractor beam and more. And the designs of the enemy ships are quite various & noticeable. Its nice that the people who made this game put in a good amount of variety & detail in this game. However while its not the hardest shooter ever its certainly not the easiest ever too. But a good amount of time it more feels challenging than annoying (though the latter does occasionally happen). So overall it does by all means offer a good amount of challenge for whether your a newbie or a expert its not too hard but certainly not too easy as well.

Overall if its at your local Video Arcade then its by all means recommended to play it (unlike most contemporary arcade games which cost 2/3 tokens/quarters a play these games cost a token/quarter a play). It may not be quite up to Pac-Man/Ms. Pac-Man but is overall a very good old-fashioned early 80's arcade game.

+ A well made shooter that is actually better than Spaced Invaders
+ Very nice & simple, straightforward effective gameplay.
+ The Graphics are actually pretty good and are above average for its time. (And for the most part still pretty good today.)
+ Its a lot easier to play than Spaced Invaders.
+ A very good variety of enemies to shoot
- Its a lot easier than Spaced Invaders but be forewarned its NOT a easy game
- Not QUITE the best arcade game from the early 1980's

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 07/19/03, Updated 02/02/04