Genre: Flight Shooter
Developer: 7 Studios
Publisher: Midway
Released On: Nov. 5, 2002
# of Players: 1-2 Players
Memory: 1 Block
ERSB: Teen
Supports: None
Also On: PS2, Xbox, GBA
Website: Defender.com/gamecube
Waiting For: Starfox Armada
When I first heard that Midway was bringing back its old series Defender, the first thing on my mind was... what the hell is wrong with them??? I mean come on Midway we all know you haven’t been on the top of your game since Mortal Kombat 2. But to bring Defender back to try to get sales from the 102 year olds who enjoyed Defender way back when? It’s just plain wrong and pathetic. But when I saw this game at my local GameStop for $39.99, I picked it up just so I can write this review and pick at how sorry their asses are over at Midway. But after playing Defender I found myself drawn into this world full of mutant alien scum called the Manti. Giant bugs who took over the world, and my mind found itself in kill or be killed mode. And I soon found out my first thoughts on Defender were wrong.
Presentation
Defender is not a sequel of the 1902(heheehe) classic. It’s in fact a remake of the same game. The whole story is about a mutant alien race called the Manti. Who took over earth and most of our solar system. You play as Commander Kyoko(voiced by Traci Lords) on her quest to come up in rank(she’s a rookie with the title commander???) & rid the solar system of the Manti threat. Helping Kyoto on this quest the giant space station "Memory", a weird guy named Dr. Mudo(not Muto like Midways other game), & Colonel Adams. After you boot up the game you will be met by a pretty decent title screen with quite a few options to choose from. Most notable are the 2 Player Modes what lets you play Cooperative Campaign & Deathmach. The other being the video’s section that I enjoy much. To see the making of Defender is pretty cool. More games are popping up with those "Making Of" videos and I hope it’s a trend that won’t go away anytime soon.
Graphics
Sure it’s nothing great. But it’s a simple and all around Graphics engine. It gets the job done. The ship models are the most impressive of the graphic lot, and have a nice gritty feel to them. As far as performance, the GameCube doesn’t even miss one beat. Even during the most hectic firefights, or end-level bosses, the game never had one bit of framerate slowdown. While I noticed a slight change in frame rate during co-op play, it was barely noticeable and didn’t affect gameplay too much. As for the cinemas in the game. They are borderline horrible but at least they get the message across of whatever they are trying to show you.
Audio
The audio portions of the game almost go hand-in-hand with the graphics. Perfect renditions of the original allow those of you who remember the score to soak in the goodness of the classic beeps and zooms. While many might not appreciate the simplicity of the soundtrack and effects, it was done purposely by Midway to recreate the feel of the 80’s counterpart. Well that what they say anyway. But was the cheesy voice acting done purposely...? I think not but Midway did manage to get the voice of Kyoko & Memory right on the mark.
Gameplay
While playing Defender I had two things on my mind. Why didn’t they do this in Starfox??? And they should use this in Starfox Armada(GCN). I mean sure it takes some getting used to. But I found the control layout of Defender to be awesome. The C-stick is used for your tricks the mid-air U-turn, loop-d-loop, & left/right Barrel rolls. And this comes very much in handy(remember the pain of those moves in Starfox 64). Also unlike most flight shooters(ala Rouge Leader) there’s no auto accelerate. Acceleration is controlled by the R shoulder button. It’s analog so the harder you press down the faster you go. But if you press it down to the click you will come to a full stop.
The stages of Defender are mostly a wash, rinse, dry, & do it again(over and over) gameplay. The new Defender has you picking up the colonist and dropping them off at a drop zone. Of course, the Manti aren’t just going to let you get away with their dinner so you have a short time to get the colonist to safety. The Manti will try and capture the colonist as well. If a colonist is captured, you have to be careful to rescue the human, by killing the Manti and catching the human as he falls(in slow motion). Failure to rescue the colonist will result in a mutation where the Manti that captured him becomes a more difficult and pretty damn fast opponent to beat. Since it’s so hard to aim anyway. The more humans you rescue, the easier the level, and the more points you earn.
There is also a multiplayer split-screen mode, where you can play cooperative, or deathmatch games. The split screen works pretty well for the cooperative mode, but the deathmatch lacks something with being able to see where your opponent is at all times.
Lasting Appeal
Not much to do after you beat Defender. No good unlockables everything "extra" in the game is already there from your first boot-up of the game. Plus with only a good 8 hours of play when it comes to replay Defender falls flat on its face.
Conclusion
With this whole slew of Midway games. Mortal Kombat: DA, Dr. Muto, Haven... the one that shines the most is Defender. I didn’t have super high expectations of the game so I wasn’t let down at all. Sure it’s no Starfox or Rouge Leader and it doesn’t have the impact that the classic Defender had. But it is a damn fine flight shooter that most gamers can enjoy. So if you’re waiting on that next "big" game on your favorite console. Midway’s Defender is a good buy to occupy your time. Don’t wanna spend the 40 bucks for the game??? Just rent it. It is well worth you 5 bucks!!!
~ditto~
The Good
+ Great button setup
+ Fun to hear colonist scream in pain The Bad
- Graphics & Sound need more polishing
- Nothing good to do after beating it
The Stupid
? This game should be much longer
