Galaxian Review





Developer: Namco Publisher: Namco
Release Date: N/A Also On: None

While Galaxian isn’t as well known as Pac-Man, it is one of the best known arcade titles of the 1980’s and Namco’s 2nd best arcade outing during that time period. You play as a “laser base�, which must destroy the Galaxian fleet of alien invaders before they blast you to bits. The enemy fleets line-up in ranking order, plunging downward in waves to destroy you. You can earn a bonus laser base by scoring points. Each time you destroy an entire fleet, the next will be fiercer than the last.

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I first played Galaxian in 2003 on the Namco TV Games joystick. From then on, it was my second choice, next to Pac-Man, as an early 80’s arcade game. Of course, my favorite of all time would be Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2. So, no stories from me, going to the arcades, spending countless hours and quarters on the arcade machines.

The controls on the Zodiac are intuitive. You can either use the joystick (recommended) or the left/right (red/yellow) hard keys. Fire is done with either up or down (blue or green). If you want a challenge, try playing the game using the touch-screen. The stylus can move the ship back and forth. It also fires the laser by stroking up on the screen.

The cool thing about these arcade games from Namco is that you can play them in both landscape and wide-screen. Unfortunately, the graffiti area takes up about 1/3 of the screen. However, if you opt to change to landscape, the controls will also change to better adapt to your new screen position.

Think of Galaxian as Namco’s Space Invaders. For me, Galaxian wins out in this battle of arcade titans. The rows of alien spacecraft coming at you, at different speeds, and at different angles, leads to serious challenge. Even the best of gamers will have a difficult time scoring high on this game. Regardless of this, it’s still an arcade treasure that shouldn’t be passed up.

Graphics: 8
Sound: 8
Gameplay: 9
Creativity: 7
Replay Value/Game Length: 9
Final: 8.2
Written by Kyle Review Guide

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