Star Battle

The Good
The first color game was released by Namco in October of 1979, and that game was Galaxian. It played similar to other arcade games released at the same time, but it had one unusual mechanic: the aliens would launch kamikaze attacks against you. Some of the home computer ports were done by Atarisoft, and they made a crap job coming close to the arcade version as possible.

Commodore made their own version of Galaxian called Star Battle, and it is perfect. This isn’t surprising, considering the same company was also behind arcade-perfect versions of Omega Race for the VIC-20 and Lazarian for the Commodore 64. Joystick or keyboard can be used, and there is support for two players, with each player taking turns.

When you insert the Star Battle cartridge and turn the machine on, you are greeted the same way you are greeted in the arcade version. You have your score advance table, followed by the game’s attract mode. The aliens and player ship are well designed as they move about left and right. When you are hit by any one of the aliens, the resulting explosion looks spectacular.

The startup tune can be heard when you start a new game, and the background noise the Galaxians make as they wait to launch their kamikaze attacks. The sound of the Galaxip exploding is nice. Finally, the addictive factor is there, as the game will be begging you for “just one more go”, meaning that Star Battle can be used as a “score attack” game, providing that you are good enough.

The Bad
The only thing missing from this game is the scrolling star background.

The Bottom Line
Star Battle mimics the look and feel of the original arcade game by Namco. The graphics and sound are excellent, and so is the gameplay. Just like the original, it will beg you for "just one more go". It is so much better than the attempt from Atarisoft.