Defender
Score: 60% ESRB: Everyone Publisher: Midway Developer: Outlook Entertainment Media: Cart/1 Players: 1 - 2 Genre: Arcade
Graphics & Sound: From where I stand, graphics seem to be about the only thing upgraded for this version of the classic Defender on Game Boy Advance. The classic version of the game is intact here, so purists will at least have their game to play. And, what's called the XG Mode is simply a take on the classic with some prettier graphics and color. The XGP Mode is a full-on, large scale retrofit of the old Defender, with lots of pretty backgrounds. Explosions, animation and 6 stages of action across Water, Sea, Land and Space make for some nice visuals, but don't do anything for gameplay. In XGP, you can choose from an entire cast of ship 'characters,' each with a distinctive look and feel. I found the graphics in XGP mere window dressing for the Same Old Thing, and although this might be fun escapism for Defender fans, it doesn't do anything for folks who might have enjoyed the Arcade hit and like playing it some, but really wanted something new and different for this conversion. These upgrades in the graphics actually seem to have the net effect of pulling the XGP mode down in terms of speed. Once you get past the graphics, I'll wager you spend much more time playing Classic or XG Mode.
Gameplay: Defender stood as a game that set some milestones back in The Day. It really brought in the idea of a game 'world' through the radar you used to identify the enemy threat. At a time when draw-in and 3D was just a pipe dream, the Defender team managed to create a sense that you and your ship really were navigating left and right in a sky filled with threats you could see coming and then attack. Moving around was part of the fun, since the control scheme was totally different than most '1-Button + Joystick cabinets' in the old arcade. So, with an update promised, I expected something really cool, a variation on the old Defender model with upgraded graphics and some cool play modes. As mentioned, the modes seem to just layer on more and more pretty stuff, but not add anything of substance to the Classic Defender. Even in XGP, you're still just flying left and right, shooting aliens and launching the occasional bomb. In Classic it's fun, and XG serves as the obvious, 'gee-whiz, look, we added color!' mode. But, once you get to XGP that schtick has gotten old and you're looking for something else. It just isn't there. With 6 stages, you can be sure you'll knock this one down pretty quick. 2-Player Co-Op XGP comes close to saving the day, since it definitely rocks being able to play with a friend, but the logistics of this (2 carts, 2 systems and a link cable) may mean it lies out of reach for all but the most committed. In fact, the 2-Player Co-Op ends up being the freshest thing about Defender in this version, which shouldn't be the case. Level after level is identical, and again this was good enough for retro, but doesn't pass muster as an improvement. Some kind of extra challenge would have been nice, and the attempt to supply a script or infer a story and then pass out the exact same action in another color wrapper is disingenuous.
Difficulty: In setting difficulty at different levels, you can actually change the way enemies come on screen, so fans will find a great deal of replay value in just notching up the difficulty and trying again. I forget how hard the original could be, until I play it again. With aliens popping in all the time, trying to figure out which way you need to be turned, and waiting to use that bomb strategically...it's enough to make you nervous. In XGP Mode, more so than the others, mutated aliens (those who have grabbed humans and absorbed them) will really come after you with a vengeance, and it'll take everything you have to knock them out. But, if things really start to get too hard, you can also tweak the number of ships you have to play with.
Game Mechanics: The real trick was mapping all the controls in the Arcade version to the GBA! Anybody old enough will remember all the buttons that damn cabinet had!! Keeping track was hard, and especially in a pinch. At first, playing Classic and XG will require an adjustment period. One shoulder button reverses the direction of the ship, one fires the thruster, the D-Pad really only controls up and down, and you fire and launch your 'smartbomb' with the other buttons. This pretty much mirrors at least the complexity of the arcade, even if it's a bit more ergonomic. With XGP, the controls fit into what you might expect from a flight combat game (especially a side-scroller) on GBA. D-Pad does up-down, left-right and the other buttons are assigned mostly to weapons. This mode is a good starting place, unless you're really coming for the Defender action, old-school style. It's hard to say where the majority of people will come from who enjoy this game. Looking at XGP Mode without any real consideration of the 'classic' status of Defender, I have to say there isn't much there to get excited about. >From the addition of Classic and XG, I suspect Defender for GBA will draw the real fans who might also enjoy something different. Playing off the old formula is fine, but I have to say I was disappointed Outlook Entertainment didn't try to do more with the game. I suppose there are always politics involved, and if you turned Defender into just a copy of every retro side-scrolling shooter out there, purists would have screamed. In that light, at least the advanced mode is true to the formula that made Defender a great success. Any real fan will have the game anyway, and I suspect being able to play Defender 3 different ways and play cooperatively with a friend is going to be a treat for the faithful.
-Fridtjof, GameVortex Communications AKA Matt Paddock
Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX 3 Dinotopia: The Timestone Pirates