A couple of centuries after the attempted Galaga
invasion of Earth in 1982, human terraformers have set their sights on a nearby
world for colonization, and a massive expedition is launch - but, of course,
since such an exploration is a costly venture, defense cutbacks are made,
leaving Earth vulnerable to a new Galaga invasion. Of course, you're the only
surviving space fighter pilot in the outer solar system, so it's up to you to
take on the Galaga invaders single-handedly. Now, however, you wage war on the
bugs from one of three perspectives: Alpha configuration (an exceedingly
difficult first-person vantage point), Gamma configuration (a side-scrolling
shooter, a la Defender), and Delta configuration (an upward shooter like the
original Galaga). You can also capture the aliens' tractor beam device
and use it against them, capturing their own ships and commandeering them
(shades of Gaplus!).
(Hasbro Interactive [under license from Namco], 2000)
This game has been much pooh-poohed by the modern gaming press, as well as by
several classic gaming outlets. I'm here to break ranks with the masses - who
are all too ready to declare that a new title sucks anyway - and let you know
that Galaga: Destination Earth ain't that bad.
With the help of some eye-popping graphics, Galaga has been reinvented
as a 3-D shooter which will keep your trigger finger blasting away more than
most PC or Playstation titles do. In fact, so much firing is required that
Playstation owners are likely to walk away with a bit of hand fatigue. Keep an
ice pack handy, and don't be afraid to put the thing on pause and take a break.
Really.
The game starts out with a top-heavy, too-long-by-about-two-minutes
animè
style intro. I'm not sure I'm too cool with Hasbro's interpretation that the
Galaga are actually cybernetically-mutated Earth houseflies who have evolved
and developed the technology to travel back in time (even if they could, why
would they?), but oh well. Intros can be skipped.
Game play is pretty simple, just the way I like it: no complex chain commands
or combo moves to remember. Point the ship at what you want to splash, and
fire away.
Admittedly, the first person levels - which take up at least 50% of every
stage of game play - are annoying, and it's hard to line up targets, let alone
do the whole tractor beam thing. I wish the player had the option of switching
perspectives at will, but oh well.
Some later stages involve dodging force fields and other threats, adding some
elements reminiscent of Zaxxon to the new
version of Galaga - even the visuals are slightly similar.
Overall, I'm happy to sit and blast away like mad at the aliens in the new
version of Galaga, and I love the combination of elements from the
original game and its sequel Gaplus (which was also recently reviewed in Phosphor
Dot Fossils). The biggest problem is whether or not you've got a decent
joystick controller. Like Star Trek:
Invasion, this is a game which screams out for a full-sized pro flight
stick with killer precision and a rapid fire button.
Oh, a bit of advice for Game Boy Color owners: skip the version of
Galaga: Destination Earth released for everyone's favorite portable.
Get on eBay and find Namco's two-in-one cartridge with the original
Galaga and Galaxian instead. The Game Boy version of Galaga:
Destination Earth blows with much ferocity...but more on that later.
Rating:
Three quarters - worth repeat play, but with some annoying features that
might alienate less patient arcade veterans.
Reviewed by Earl Green
theLogBook.com editor/webmaster
Three quarters - worth repeat play, but with some annoying features that
might alienate less patient arcade veterans.
