Galaga '88

The Good
I remember playing Galaga during the late 90s on some sort of arcade machine I had, and while I wasn't too impressed with it as a kid (hey, I had Duke Nukem 3D and Spyro 1 in the same room), now that I've played it again I gotta admit it is one hell of a good time.

Galaga can be best described as a more complex and overall more fun version of Space Invaders. Most of the time you're fighting an army of aliens on the top of the screen while you're at the bottom. The difference is that unlike Space Invaders there is much more interaction with the enemies, as they might separate themselves from the main group to attack you on their own, split into various mini-aliens, or even combine with others to form even larger aliens! Some of these battles become really intense but they aren't overwhelming (usually) so if you're good at this type of game you shouldn't have too many problems with it.

There are various powerups too that dramatically increase your fire power (and also allow you to take more hits), and various orbs that if collected allow you to progress through levels faster.

The best thing about Galaga '90 is that despite being a pure arcade game it has much more variety than most of the similar titles. Each level until the very end is different and features different types of enemy formations, enemy types, graphics and obstacles. There are even some vertical scrolling levels that play more like regular shmups and even a few bosses thrown in for good measure. There really is no filler material to be found here, and there's even a bonus game in which the enemies don't attack you but instead do crazy spins while dancing to music, making them even harder to hit, but it's pretty amusing.

The Bad
The game's biggest problem lies in the sound department. I understand that it was 1988 but the ship cannon's sound is irritating, and some other sounds are as well (especially the "music" that plays during an encounter with a large swarm.). The game also had very few music tracks to begin with. But well, I managed to get used to this, and it doesn't really influence the gameplay in any way so it's tolerable.

Also I was only able to get the ship powerup later on in the game but I think that was my fault.

The Bottom Line
A breath of pure arcade gaming is essential every once in a while, and Galaga '90 is a good pick for that. It's not the ultimate video game but it is a lot of fun, and that's all that counts. A definite must buy for shooter fans, but anyone should pretty much give this game a try.