| Stat: |
Score: |
Notes: |
| Graphics |
9 |
Midway's Defender sports some pretty fine looking visuals. All six of your ships are carefully rendered, and the Defender ship itself is like looking into a blast from the past; it's not like they're telling you that that's what the Defender looks like, but rather you're seeing it for what it really is. The Manti forces look pretty menacing, though they resemble more cartoony kinda bugs. The human Tanks and Missile Crawlers look good too, but the buildings are sometimes without a lot of flair. The laser and particle effects are pretty neat too. |
| Play Control: |
9 |
Control in Defender is highly intuitive and is very natural. Even newbies to flight combat simulators will figure it out quickly. The only akward thing is using the R Button to thrust. If you click the button all the way down, you enter a Strafe mode that isn't overly useful. This can be irratating when in a hot knife fight with a Manti Mutant. Not the time you want that to kick in. Other than that, control is fine and the thrusters are very responsive to how much pressure you put on the R Button. Your selected weapon is tied to your A Button for easy access, and you'll be doing a lot of blasting. Count on it. |
| Sound: |
7 |
This is one of the areas Defender slips up in. The classic sound of the Defender's Pulse Cannon is intact from the original game, but most of the other sounds are bland and disappointing. The game's spacey techno-rock hybrid music gets kinda irratating after awhile too. However, the one thing that saves this game from having a lower Sound rating is the fact that the voice acting is entertaining. Colonel Adams sounds blantantly sarcastic, perfect for his character. Kyoto, in her few lines, makes good sense. Dr. Mudo has the perfect mad scientist voice, and Memory, who has probably the most entertaining lines in the game, is too perfect for her role. |
| Value: |
7 |
Defender has a slight length problem. The game isn't too long, and the levels can be tedious (Rescue Colonists, Defend Base, Destroy Manti kinda gets old). Defender does have 3 difficulty levels though, and the game gets quite difficult on the higher settings. The Multiplayer can be fun; Deathmatch can get old, but Co-Op is great... and tough! The replay value is really limited to getting credits to upgrade your six different ships. |
| Gameplay: |
8 |
Defender is at the very least, brainless fun. The game gives you six ships to choose from as you blast your way from Triton back to Earth trying to save the human race from the Manti Swarm. The ships all have different Armor, Agility, Strength, and Speed ratings, and each ship varies in statistics. Your choices in ships are the Defender, the Guardian, the Nemisis, the Defiance, the Judgment, and the Retribution. Generally, Defender's combat is atmosphere based, and in most missions, you're fighting to protect or escort something... something many ace pilots hate to do. However, with a game title like "Defender" what do you expect?! Defender also allows you to smack into cliff walls, enemies, and other obstacles and fly away unfazed; collisions do no damage, and you'll be grateful for that. Hit detection is a little off too, as a simple graze by a Manti laser takes as much health as a direct hit would. This can be irratating as you try to barrel roll away and you still get a ding. |
Overall Rating: |
7 |
Defender is a fun romp, although there were several things Midway could've cleaned up. The classic has been revamped nicely, but it does little to distinguish itself from other flight sims like Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader. The game is fun, Colonel Adams and Memory are funny, and it's a good game to play if you want to deactivate your brain. Midway should've taken the time to put more variety into the levels, but with six totally different ships, you'll be finding yourself adjusting to different strategies each time. Have fun blasting; Defender is at least worth a rental. |
The game is really fun, but it needs some help. There's not a lot of variety besides blasting stuff. Despite how much I enjoy it, that's not what you want in a game these days... pure blasting doesn't cut it anymore! Make the music better too, while you're at it, Midway.
The value's okay, I guess. The three difficulty levels at least add more challenge to the existing levels... Co-Op though... now that's fun.
Eat this, you blasted Manti! *Fires off Nemisis's Hive Gun* HAVE FUN! BWHAHA! This game is a blast! I love it! Nothing but simple shooting of enemies and getting upgrades for it too! Good stuff!
This really isn't my kind of game. I didn't really care for it; too brainless, too much repetitivity. 
The controls were awesome! Graphics were great! Now die, you blasted Manti! I'll make you worship the great Strong Bad!
About the only impressive sound clip was the Defender's Pulse Cannon. That's about it.
Excellent graphics! I love the effects! It's a feast for eyes, even if it is a vacation for the brain!
Fun, but kinda disappointing. I was expecting a little more out of Midway than this. Even so, the game is entertaining, and I suppose that's all that really matters. Check it out for a memory rush or if you're interested in some space combat simulator but don't want the complexity of Rogue Leader.