Xbox Addict:

Galaga

You wouldn't think of it as a leap forward in the evolution of space combat, but as a matter of fact, Galaga probably looks and sounds like the stereotype of the early eighties arcade experience, if you're even old enough to remember it, that is. But Namco's Galaga, sequel to their successful Galaxian, obtained a work visa from Midway and marched into arcades in the summer of 1981 and took a simple, tried-and-true formula, Space Invaders, and turned it up to eleven.

Game over. Ouch.

Today, there are still working Galaga cabinets out there in restaurants, bars, arcades, malls, and for the lucky collector, rec rooms. All it takes is one quarter, and you get fun, original gameplay, and for the skilled, you can get a half-hour, or even an hour's worth of entertainment, the video game equivalent of riding a sweet wave all the way to the beach.

Galaga is a space combat shooter in which you control a fighter at the bottom of the screen. The only controls you need to master is a side-to-side motion and a fire button, unlike more complex space invaders games of the day like Space Fury or Defender. A scrolling star field in the background gives the illusion of forward flight, and attacking fleets of alien craft attack you from above.

The enemies form up in blocks and break into smaller attack formations, diving or moving in erratic patterns while they fire at you. The game requires the player to see beyond the attacks, using peripheral vision and instinct to see what's coming next. Galaga introduced a new element to the basic Galaxian gameplay with the Boss Galaga: A large ship, based at the top of the enemy formations, which swoops down with attacking escorts. If it reaches you, the Boss emits a tractor beam, snatching you out of play as a prisoner of war.

If it's your last ship, then you're out of luck, but if not, you have cause for hope. Simply destroy the Boss ship, and he will drop your captured fighter, creating a Dual Fighter, giving you twice the firepower. It is a bit harder to operate, as it presents twice the target, but it gives you a free hit, at least making up for losing your ship. You also get twice the firepower, so you can cover a much greater area of attack.

Double team your opponent.

Galaga introduced a few other new wrinkles as well: Accurate tracking of shots fired versus enemies killed gave the player a hit ratio at the end of every round, which introduced sharpshooter bragging to the arcade. Players would attempt to exploit loopholes in the game, such as killing two enemies with their first shot, then committing suicide for a coveted 200% hit ratio. Bonus levels or "Challenge rounds" were introduced as milestones in the trek to level 255. Special patterns of enemies would swoop through the screen in pre-scripted, complex attacks, and shrewd, observant players could position themselves to kill each formation in its entirety, pushing for a 100% kill rate.

When the your ship exploded, the sound was a high-quality sample that sounded like a genuine explosion, compared to another game's typically simple sound effect. The musical theme was distinctive and identifiable, so much so that it has been sampled in rap songs and in other places where the 'eighties arcade sound' was needed.

The game's most prominent movie-star moment was a featured cameo in the 1983 movie WarGames, where Matthew Broderick played the game, and it also featured the Galaga music playing on a NORAD computer in the Crystal Mountain facility. Broderick himself was given a Galaga cabinet for two months in order to appear as a seasoned arcade player.  

The look of Galaga on Xbox 360.

Galaga has resurfaced many times, in the arcade and on home consoles, both as a stand-alone title and as part of several Namco Museum collections. The Xbox Live® Arcade release of Galaga takes the time-tested gameplay of the original and dares to add a few final polishes. In addition to the arcade cabinet wallpaper and high definition graphics, the game is the perfect, bug-free arcade translation, with an added continue feature for novice players.

A rapid-fire button has been added to save thumb-strain, as well as achievements worth 200 points of gamerscore for such goals as reaching level 10, getting a Dual Fighter, and uncovering the rare enemies you encounter later in the game.

Galaga is an arcade experience that is both demanding and rewarding. It was a huge success in the arcade because under those beeps, bloops, and simple spaceship swarms, it demanded twitch reflexes and unequaled situational awareness. Galaga can be a steep hill to climb, but for the gamer willing to give it their all, it can be worth some real bragging rights on the Xbox Live Arcade leaderboards. Download it today and see for yourself.

Article by Xbox Addict