Score Challenge Ahoy!

One of the few good announcements from the Microsoft E3 press conference was Galaga Legions, a brand-new update to the arcade classic by the same team responsible for the incredible Pac-Man CE.  Galaga Legions follows the style of Pac-Man CE by being a complete re-invention of the game that also remains true to its arcade roots while delivering an incredibly addictive score challenge.

There are two primary differences between this new version of Galaga and its predecessor, aside from the graphics update.  The most instantly obvious is the level layout, involving swarms of enemies flying in on a predetermined path.  A blue line appears on screen showing where the swarm will fly, making it easy to get in place to decimate it on arrival.  This sounds easy until you realize that a full wave of swarms will have ten or more lines on screen before the first enemy appears, making all that advance knowledge feel more like a warning of impending doom than advance tactical data.

Dealing with the huge numbers of enemies on screen at once is made easier thanks to the new options system.  Two extra indestructible shooters fly alongside the ship, adding their firepower to the barrage.  They can controlled to a limited degree with the right stick, however, with a simple flick of a direction anchoring the option in place and having it fire in the indicated direction.  The closer they are to an enemy the faster they fire, so there are several tactics available at any one time in their use.

Most waves of smaller enemies come with a larger enemy attached, frequently well-guarded by the cannon-fodder of the drones.  Taking out the big ship will destroy the entire swarm in one go, making even the largest screen-filling waves survivable with some careful target selection.  On the waves that are set up more like classic Galaga, with dozens of enemies hovering in place guarding a couple of the larger ships, it’s ridiculously fun to carve out a path, fly in dodging incoming fire, and park an option right in front of the mother ship.  Survive the retreat to safer ground and that’s half the wave taken out with, hopefully, a nice 16x multiplier to enhance the bonus for killing all those enemies at once.

Galaga Legions isn’t technically done yet but it’s easily the best shooter so far this year.  Get ready for the kind of score challenge you haven’t seen since the brutal days of Pac-Man CE.