I can remember the early 80s like it was yesterday. There I was, a mere lad of only 10 or 11, fresh off a Little League game playing for Celestino’s Pizza of Warwick, RI. Despite our 2-16 record that year, I still have fond memories of playing Galaga at the local DG’s arcade. I pumped token after token into that game.

You see there was something very special about Galaga…it was the only arcade game where you could lose a life by having one of your fighters captured – and then you were also able to reclaim your life and have double the shooting power. However, you had to use some strategy. you were playing with two lives at once and one shot could take both of your crafts out…and no one wants to go into a “Challenging Stage” with only one craft!

Galaga is one of the few games that probably has been close to being on every gaming platform in the world and there’s a reason for it – the game is still just as addictive as it was in 1981. Now it’s available for Xbox Live, and now we’ll really see it get a great makeover!

Whaaaaa? There’s no makeover? Are you kidding me? Apparently not, as Namco decided to make this a game in its old school makeup. You can play ONLY the original Galaga arcade game in one or two player mode (no online play) and you don’t get any gorgeous HD graphics here either.

You do very nice artwork that is reminiscent of the original arcade game side panels, but let’s face it, if I wanted artwork, I’d read viewer mail of game magazines, I want full screen glory, but I don’t get it here. Even in Frogger you could adjust the screen and or use updated graphics!

Analysis: The original arcade sounds are here, and that’s certainly a good thing. It seems as though Galaga is the most sampled videogame sounds out there (with 2600 Pac Man being a close second). The theme from “Challenging Stage” has been used multiple times (how about in WarGames when the tour group pushes the wrong button, for example).

The gameplay itself hasn’t changed much in 25 years. You use the d-pad or stick to move left or right. There are two fire buttons…one is your regular run of the mill “shot” button; the other is a “rapid” button. The rapid button definitely gives you an edge, so use it, especially in the challenging stage. The shoot ‘em up still is a lot of fun.

One thing that the game does allow you do to is to start on any level you’ve already completed; so if you played up to level 14, you can start on level 14 right off – however your points do start at zero, so you’ll have an uphill battle to get to the top of the leaderboards.

As mentioned before there is no online play to speak of, although hot seat 2 player multiplayer is supported. The game will keep your best high scores in memory when you enter your initials, which brings back some old school memories. The only benefit of the Xbox Live Arcade is the leaderboards, which is always a great motivator to play one more game because it often seems like getting 40 points more means jumping 200 positions!

There are 12 achievements in this game, ranging from the mundane “shoot down a red captured fighter” to the insane “play up to stage 30!” As mentioned before, you can start on a higher level when you start a new game, so you really don’t have to play 30 levels in a row to get that achievement, which kind of ruins the aura of that (it’s no badge of honor, like say one million points in Geometry Wars).