|
Written by Ian Johnston
Byline: An update of a 22 year-old classic that didn't get updated enough.
The year was 1980. A company known as Williams Electronics, later to become a subsidiary of Midway, released a game called Defender. The object of the game was simple; kill the aliens and save the colonists. Like most games in those days, it had relatively basic, straightforward play mechanics. You'd fly your little ship back and forth, shoot the aliens, and swoop down to the surface to rescue the stranded colonists. Twenty two years later it's clear that Defender is one of the most significant videogames ever created. It's grossed over a billion dollars worldwide and is revered by many longtime gaming enthusiasts. Though Defender has appeared on a number of Midway compilations for systems like the PS1, Dreamcast, and N64, there hasn't been an entirely new incarnation of the series - until now. Seven Studios' revamped version of the classic arcade shooter, also called Defender, succeeds on a number of fronts but ultimately falters in its execution.
Visuals:
It's clear that developer Seven Studios went to great pains to make Defender look state of the art. Beautiful CG intros preceed each mission, and the various levels look fairly polished and well designed. Unfortunately, the environments are pretty static. There's not a whole lot going on aside from the gunfire being exchanged by your ship and the hordes of aliens, so the stages themselves - despite looking good, though not great - don't really have any significant visual impact. The various ships all look quite cool and, to their credit, wouldn't be at all out of place in a Star Wars or Star Trek flick. The aliens themselves, known collectively as the Manti, come in a number of different forms, all of which look insect-like (and considering they're a race of alien insects, that's a good thing). They don't look too detailed, but most of your time and focus will be spent on obliterating them, so it's not really that important. All in all the graphics are good and eye-pleasing enough, but nothing to fawn over.
Audio:
The music and sound effects are both standard fare, with the tunes being slightly better than the sound effects. Most of the music, courtesy of the bands KMFDM and Trigger, is a sort of techno/pop/rock blend which does an admirable job of accentuating and accompanying the action. Most of the sound effects relate to weapons being fired and enemies being destroyed, and in both instances what you hear is satisfactory, if a bit underwhelming. The audio really isn't an important element of the game, and it shows. If you want to play Defender or you are playing, chances are the music and sound effects have nothing to do with that decision, nor should they.
Gameplay:
See aliens. Shoot aliens. Rescue colonists. That's pretty much it. At the beginning of the game you've got two ships to choose from - The Defender and The Guardian - though there are a grand total of six ships. The four locked ships get unlocked as you progress through the missions. Each ship has its own strengths and weaknesses, so some ships may better suit your preferances or the mission you're attempting to complete.
After completing a mission you're given a certain number of credits, which basically amount to money, depending on how many colonists you saved and how many aliens you wasted. These credits can be used to buy weapons upgrades for any of the ships currently available to you and even extra lives. Prior to the start of each mission you'll get a briefing from your commanding officer, Colonel Adams, telling what you need to do. While trying to complete the mission you periodically get instructions from a gigantic ship known as Battleship Memory. This ship is the hub of the resistance force you're a part of and coordinates the resistance forces.
There's also a few two-player modes; Cooperative and Deathmatch. Cooperative, as you might've guessed, pits you and a friend against the Manti. Together you try and take out all the Manti and save the colonists, just as is the case in the one-player missions. The Deathmatch mode, as you also might've surmised, pits you against a friend. You each try and destroy the other, and the player that doesn't get his or her ship blown up is the winner. Simple enough.
Funfactor:
Although destroying wave after wave of giant alien insects can be entertaining, it doesn't exactly have an endless amount of staying power, cathartic as it may be. Simple play mechanics, circa ten to twenty years ago, just don't seem very appealing considering the kind of variety and depth of gameplay offered in many of today's games. If a little more thought had been put into the game's missions, its lasting appeal could've been much more substantial. That isn't to say the only mission objectives in each mission are destroying the Manti and saving colonists, but they're typically the primary objectives. From time to time you have to pick up ground weapons and move them somewhere else, or blow up certain structures. Regardless, in each instance you're limited to destroying enemies or infrastructure and moving things from one part of the stage you're in to another part.
Also included is a "DVD Extras" section that's available for viewing from the outset. The supplementary content they opted to include is fairly interesting; an interview with the creators of the original Defender, a "making of" feature discussing the creative process involved in making the new Defender, and trailers for the recently released platformer Dr. Muto and the soon to be released Haven: Call of the King. Once you've seen the trailors, interview, and making of feature you probably won't need to or want to see any of them again, so they really don't add a whole lot of value to the game.
Overview:
The new Defender's appeal is pretty much the same as the old Defender's appeal, and that's both a blessing and a curse. Videogames have come a long, long way since 1980, and today's gamers have certain expectations and standards they want the games they buy to meet. With the complexity offered by so many current games, a game that's too simplified often fails to be engaging and interesting for more than a brief while. This is the main problem with Defender. Beneath the updated graphics and sound lies gameplay that's basically unchanged from its 22 year old predecessor; tap the fire button a lot, kill the aliens, and rescue the colonists. It's fun for a while, but unless you're a diehard Defender fan going way back, this game won't hold your interest for very long.
| Visuals: | 3.0 |
| Audio: | 3.0 |
| Gameplay: | 2.0 |
| Funfactor: | 2.5 |
|
