Review: Galaga (XBLA)

I was never a big fan of arcade machines. Hell, by the time I was old enough to really enjoy them, most of them were gone. Plus, I lived in a small town, so the only one I really ever played was this one in Pizza Hut, and it was a game I'd never even heard of (and unimportant enough that I don't remember the name). There were a few exceptions, though, and Galaga was one of the biggest, and remains one of my favorite games to this day. I first got interested in this type of game while watching my dad play this, and I thought it was so cool. Little did I know, the real thing was so much better, and the XBLA port/remake of the 1981 original is nearly as good.

The gameplay is the exact same as it was in the arcade. You fly around, moving your ship left and right, shooting aliens as they fly around and shoot back at you while they try and divebomb you kamikaze style. It's a basic idea, and it's done really well.

There were a few changes for the 360, however, like changing how many lives you start out with (up to 4), and changing how many points you have to get before being granted another life. The other major change is how you "Continue", if you can even call it that. Instead of having the choice to continue when you die, you're taken back to the menu, but you have the option to start from whatever stage you got to, but you start with no points. This is useful for getting some of the Achievements, but that almost makes the game feel a little too easy. Almost. One change that would have been more than welcome was a Co-op. I think that would have been pretty cool.

As I said before, the main game remains virtually unchanged, so it's got the same graphics and sounds. The controls, however, are a little different. The left thumbstick works well enough to move the ship, but mashing the "A" button to shoot is a little different. It works, but it might take some getting used to Thankfully, they added a Rapid Fire button, so you always have that option.

Galaga is a game that has stood the test of time. It was a great game over twenty-five years ago, and it still is today. It's been through several ports, and while I haven't played them all, I consider the XBLA version to be the best, and even though the graphics and sound are way outdated, it doesn't retract from the overall experience at all. 4 out of 5.