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  • Gohst

    Back before personal computers were anything but a “rage” or a “craze,” there was a time when you had to physically get up and walk out of your house before you could encounter a video game. These were arcade machines and spawned many of the games you play here in their different free-version incarnations. One such game is Defender, and it was a lot harder then, than it is now.

    Basically, you take to the sky in a plane and shoot down the enemy. Fair enough. But in this game you can only shoot in the direction of the ship. Originally, you could move in all four directions and change orientation manually – in this version its achieved simply by pressing the opposing key. Essentially, the game is watered down to the n’th degree. There are no backgrounds, stolen minimal sounds, and blocky – oh so blocky – graphics.

    You pick up points by staying in the game longer. Your score constantly rolls on ever increasingly. To score points faster, you shoot the enemy which resemble asterisks’. The big money, however, is in collecting the trapped people in boxes which float randomly around the level. Death occurs when the enemy gets you or you stupidly float into one of their white deposits.

    In all, it’s a mildly enjoyable game, for a brief period of time, but not one that is quickly revisitable. However, what enjoyment it does bring is evident while playing and could be kept around for isolated, intermittent times when quick enjoyment is sought.