Galaxian

The Good
Most of the Atarisoft conversions of then-classic arcade games were flawless, and Galaxian is no exception. The lazy arc of the enemies as they dive to fire at you is identical to the arcade.

The Bad
CGA's color palette limits the game to four colors, so the game is not as colorful as its arcade parent.

Galaxian does absolutely no speed checking, so you need to slow down your PC (or find an original 4.77MHz 8088) to play it.

The Bottom Line
Like Galaxian? Got an old PC? You know what to do.

The Good
Not a real standout, Galaxian is a really solid game with nothing really special. It has adequate (CGA...) graphics, adequate gameplay...

The Bad
... and adequately horrible sound effects.

The Bottom Line
Well, if you liked Space Invaders, you'll like this one - it's not much different.

The Good
I'll be quick since there isn't much to talk about. All in all, this is my favourite arcade style game on the NES.

Gameplay: To quickly describe the gameplay, it is a clone of Space Invaders. Both games are easy to pick up but difficult to master. In Galaxian you take control of a spaceship and your objective is to destroy all enemy ships before you can progress to the next level. The game is played for score, meaning that it has no final level, final boss etc. You just play until you loose. Gameplay is simple and the controls feel smooth. I get better every time I play it and we often compete with friends who will make the highest score. It is great for passing some time and for playing with friends.

Graphics: I don't have much to say about graphics since this was in the early days of the NES. What's more, I'll give the designers credit for making the stars in the background glow and twinkle. In many other space games, the background is just a black mass covered with white dots. I also like the way the enemies explode when you shoot them. For 1984 the graphics are nice.

Sound and Music: Music is absent except for the tune that plays in the beginning of the game. Perhaps it is not a bad thing since the game takes place in outer space. The game has a bit of feeling of isolation which is kind of cool. The only sounds that can be heard are the humming of the enemy's engine, the laser blasts and the explosions. The atmosphere makes it perfect for playing in the middle of the night with the lights turned off.

Multiplayer: The game can be played by two people but separately. After a player dies, the other one takes control.

The Bad
I have only minor complaints about this game.

Gameplay: No major complaints.

Graphics: No complaints at all.

Sound and Music: The sound of the enemy swooping down. God, that irritates me!

Multiplayer: If one of the players is a pro, the other one might have to wait for about an hour to play.

The Bottom Line
The game is a great way to spend some free time without going deep in things like plots, character development etc. And it is pretty simple - you just shoot and avoid being shot at. If you are a fan of old-school arcade games then be sure to give this game a go!