I've heard Defender called everything from a solid shooter to the next great blastin' game, but I'm not feeling it.
The story is pretty much that of Starship Troopers, with giant bugs attacking humanity, so you enter the fray to, what else, kill them all with big ships and even bigger guns. The plot's light, but nobody plays games like this for the in-depth storyline of love, loss, and humanity. The graphics are equally simplistic, at least by next-gen standards, though the audio, which often lets us know not to take the game too seriously, does help to make up for any visual deficiencies.
Many of your missions revolve around saving colonists, though you will take breaks to escort ships, defend bases, and transport cargo. Saving colonists in the game, however, is a royal pain in the ass, due to the exact precision which is required: you need to ram the microscopic people with your ship, and they will then hang on to it for dear life. It's quite amusing to behold, but you'll waste more time trying to accurately target one of these morons than you'd think was possible. By the time you pick up the maximum capacity of 3 colonists, several more have often already fallen to their deaths, even though you're in low gravity. (?)
Adding to the problem is the targeting system: essentially, there isn't one: you're given a very limited supply of heat-seekers, but for the majority of the time, you're forced to rely on cannons or missiles with no tracking/targeting mechanisms whatsoever. When you take into account that the bugs can always move faster than you, oftentimes ridiculously so, you're in for lots of frustration.
The buck, as they say, doesn't stop there: the controls aren't as responsive as they could be. On the Gamecube, this is especially a problem as the pressure-sensitive shoulder buttons used to control your ship's thrusters often cause problems that wouldn't be there if the layout was similar to that of the PS2 controller. But even with Sony's system, the addition of 2 more shoulder buttons doesn't quite make firing your jets intuitive, especially when doing so in reverse: they seem to "stall" for a second before initiating. This would be fine if Defender was a simulation or even in the same vein as Colony Wars, but as an arcade shooter, this mechanic feels out of place, and will cost you many a life.
Defender isn't the worst shooter to grace the scene, but it's certainly not among the best, either. I'd recommend you rent first to see if your feelings of nostalgia can justify the purchase price.
-George
Company Line
Defender brings an all-new 3-D remake of the original arcade classic to next-generation consoles, offering the only space-combat game that lets players rescue and defend humans from an alien onslaught with a combination of high-octane, space-combat action and strategic command.
Players defend and protect the human race from an alien invasion as they assume the controls of six new combat-ready Defender ships. Battling an onslaught of vicious aliens, players must strategically pilot their ship through 32 treacherous missions in seven expansive worlds, executing dynamic tactical maneuvers such as barrel rolls, 360-degree loops and spinning reversals in order to evade the enemy.
Featuring a new view perspective with a fully 3-D, third-person chase camera, Defender drops players into the explosive action of an alien invasion where they must utilize speed and control to outwit the enemy. Ship upgrades are also available with various power-ups including shields, advanced weapons, engine enhancements and cloaking technology. Aliens can be taken head-on in single-player campaign mode or defeated with a friend in the two-player, cooperative campaign mode.
Defender Key Features:
A New View Perspective Defender is fully 3-D and is played from a third-person chase camera perspective. This gives the player the ultimate in speed and control as they pilot their ship to victory against the alien invaders.
Instant Action The controls in Defender are straightforward, making it intuitive to pick up the game and start your Defender training. The weapons are all bold and powerful there's no need to pinpoint your enemy so just get an alien in front of you and blast your way into the battle! With button combos, advanced players can use special tactical maneuvers such as barrel rolls, reverses, etc.
Plan Your Attack The new Defender starts where the old left off. In addition to having humans to save and aliens to kill, there are different classes of humans to protect, tanks and other ground units to position (both offensive and defensive), and bases to defend. Now humans become more than just a body to save they are a resource to manage.
Game Modes Single-player campaign mode, two-player (co-op) campaign mode, and Classic Defender (the original arcade game).
Ship Upgrades Upgrade your ship in between missions receive upgrades for lives saved (more scientists saved will yield better shields earlier on). During missions, players can earn multiple power-ups, including: shields, advanced weapons, engine enhancements, cloaking technologies, etc.
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