Defender

"It's an ok game, but only to play for short periods of time."

Defender. Most people have heard of it or seen it some place. It's an old arcade shooter. While this game shows its age, it can still be fun today just like any other game.

Graphics [ 6/10 ]
The graphics are nothing special in some of the modes, and they aren't that great in the Classic mode either, but then again, it is Classic. The backgrounds are good but a little blurry if you pay close attention

Gameplay [ 6/10]
Most of you probably know what the gameplay is like if you have played any of the 2D versions of Defender before. And if you haven't then it's simple. You're a ship flying around a level with little humans scattered around. Your goal is to stop flying aliens from going down to the humans, (who cannot defend them selves at all) picking them up, then flying to the top of the level and capturing them. You stop them by shooting them. Like I said, simple. But easy to just pick up and play. There are three different games on this cart. Classic, XG, and XGP. Classic being the oldest and first Defender. XG being a newer version, and XGP being the newest. They are all about the same and don't really differ except graphics and terrain and a few other small things. As you progress through the game you will encounter new aliens that do different things, like lay mines, fly faster, and attack you. There is also a Co-op version of XGP which I haven't played but is probably slightly better then the single player. There is also a High-Score area that shows the high scores, and that of course has pre-loaded high scores on it. In the options you can change the difficulty, how many lives you start with, and the controls.

Story [ 1/10 ]
Well, there isn't much of a story unless it's in the instruction manual which my copy did not come with. The only thing close to a story that I saw in the game is the Mission Briefing before each level in XGP.

Controls [ 9/10 ]
The controls aren't perfect but they are so simple and easy that you can't really complain. The only problem I had was with the Classic version. Holding a button to accelerate, and pressing a button to turn. It was annoying at first but most people should be able to get use to fairly quick.

Sound [ 5/10]
The sound, along with Defender, sounds old. The sounds are different for each version of the game on the cart but they all have sounds for the exact same things. And no, there is no background music.

Replay Value [ 5/10]
The replay value on this is ok but won't make the game too much longer. The three different versions of Defender and trying to get high-scores will probably add some replay. The co-op will add some also, but not as much as it usually does with games.

Buy or Rent?
Well you can buy this used, or even new possibly for the cost of renting a game. So if you ever see it for that price, buy it. It won't hurt. It will give you some entertainment, but just not as long as most other games.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 07/03/04