Defender (ARC, 1981/MD, 1996)
Graphics-7.5 Sound-7 Control-7 Challenge-8.5/7.5* Story-N/A
Level Design-6 Frustration-9.5/8.5* Fun-6/6.5* Originality-6.5?
Overall Score-6
*Lowered difficulty to about a third of default with more frequent lives gained
+
Introduced looping levels that scroll both ways?
Map feature - shows yours and the enemies'+NPCs positions
Smart bombs
Free/non-fixed (left-right only, see Space Invaders) player ship movement
Random teleport/hyperspace jump (player's ship reappears in a possibly unsafe location) - Asteroids
Pretty detailed difficulty options (lives - no credits, point intervals for extra lives and bombs, no. of enemy waves per level - up to 99 or infinite meaning you stay on the first planet, max difficulty level for the entire game loop - up to 99, how much the difficulty level increases (per level?) - up to 99)
Some interesting enemies (homing swarmer enemies spawned from the purple stars (pods), UFOs that spawn in, the green alien abducter ships become faster and more aggressive after abducting a humanoid)
Pretty satisfying and distinct sfx
The palette cycling, bullet trails and ships exploding into tiny bits
+/-
No auto-fire
Many smart bombs per life
Can't pick up the NPCs or otherwise interact with them - only (try to) defend them from the aliens picking them up
Momentum-based controls
Can't check what difficulty level you're currently at while in-game
-
Acceleration and deceleration when turning around is a bit too slow considering how quickly enemies can move
Cheap deaths from enemies spawning at your position or right where you are randomly teleporting to
Starts off quite tough on default difficulty
Repetitive - no bosses and no weapon upgrades or alternate main weapons
Smart bombs don't get rid of enemy bullets+the debris makes it hard to see them at times - would've been good if those bullets pulsated or the debris could be limited
No music
Notes:
-Played it on MD via the Williams' Arcade Greatest Hits collection
-Beat about 20 attack waves at about 1/3 of default difficulty
Level Design-6 Frustration-9.5/8.5* Fun-6/6.5* Originality-6.5?
Overall Score-6
*Lowered difficulty to about a third of default with more frequent lives gained
+
Introduced looping levels that scroll both ways?
Map feature - shows yours and the enemies'+NPCs positions
Smart bombs
Free/non-fixed (left-right only, see Space Invaders) player ship movement
Random teleport/hyperspace jump (player's ship reappears in a possibly unsafe location) - Asteroids
Pretty detailed difficulty options (lives - no credits, point intervals for extra lives and bombs, no. of enemy waves per level - up to 99 or infinite meaning you stay on the first planet, max difficulty level for the entire game loop - up to 99, how much the difficulty level increases (per level?) - up to 99)
Some interesting enemies (homing swarmer enemies spawned from the purple stars (pods), UFOs that spawn in, the green alien abducter ships become faster and more aggressive after abducting a humanoid)
Pretty satisfying and distinct sfx
The palette cycling, bullet trails and ships exploding into tiny bits
+/-
No auto-fire
Many smart bombs per life
Can't pick up the NPCs or otherwise interact with them - only (try to) defend them from the aliens picking them up
Momentum-based controls
Can't check what difficulty level you're currently at while in-game
-
Acceleration and deceleration when turning around is a bit too slow considering how quickly enemies can move
Cheap deaths from enemies spawning at your position or right where you are randomly teleporting to
Starts off quite tough on default difficulty
Repetitive - no bosses and no weapon upgrades or alternate main weapons
Smart bombs don't get rid of enemy bullets+the debris makes it hard to see them at times - would've been good if those bullets pulsated or the debris could be limited
No music
Notes:
-Played it on MD via the Williams' Arcade Greatest Hits collection
-Beat about 20 attack waves at about 1/3 of default difficulty