Defender

"Good game play, good graphics, good game!"

I first played this game at a party. After much multiplayer I was hooked on the great graphics, simple controls and great game play. I’ve never played the original Defender, but this remake is enough to convince me that any future games will be defiantly be worth buying.

Graphics 9/10

I though the graphics were very well done. They were smooth, the explosions were realistic and I spaceships actually looked aerodynamic. Overall the graphics really add to the intense game play.

Game play 8/10

The controls were simple, the weapons realistic, and the enemies challenging. I loved the fact that your ship could not be hurt by bumping into the ground, structures etc. This overall made the game easier to pick up and more fun to play because you didn’t have to be concerned about your ship nicking a tower or bumping into an enemy and blowing up.

Story: 7.5/10

The story was one of the only the parts of the game I found lacking. It was rather unrealistic in the way that it seemed as if you alone had to defeat the entire alien army. I was also rather ticked off by the fact that in one of the later missions, the key scientist just has to move his secret weapons through the enemy stronghold. The levels however had a lot of variety from search and destroy to escort to defend the base.

Sound: 8/10

I don’t really pay much attention to the music, but it was well done and defiantly not annoying. The sound effects were average (the usually machine gun sound when you shoot your rapid fire weapon). The voices were okay, but some of them got very annoying when they would yell things out to you during the missions (i.e. “You call yourself a Defender pilot!?”).

Long term use: 7.5/10

The lack of multiplayer levels and “dogfight” levels means that things will probably get old once you get good enough at the game. However the multiplayer is extremely fun and I have yet to beat all the multiplayer levels with my friends.

Rent or Buy: I really like flight-simulator shooting games, but some people I know got tired of the game very quickly. However the $30 CAN you can pick it up for is a good price for such a great game. If you’re not sure about the genera, I would say rent first.

Overall: 8/10
A really like this game, though I can’t seem to beat the final missions. Defiantly a game worth trying though!

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 03/28/04