Act: Planetary Defense [by Positech]

Game Review: Planetary Defense
Release: Oct. 17, 2002
Genre: Action
Developer: Positech
System Requirements: Pentium 400 32MB RAM 16 MB Video card Directx7
Price: US $11.99
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I was told once that the Missile Command concept was one of the least successful of all time. That is not to say that the game Missile Command wasn't a ground-breaking great game. It is just to say that the concept has not been something that could be repeated through the years with great success.

Planetary Defense attempts to buck that trend. Instead of trying to rehash the same idea in 3D as some recent games have done, it instead has taken the concept to a slightly different arena. Instead of placing you at the bottom of a screen where you must ward off enemy weapons as they fire from above, you actually control the whole of a planet. The planet itself is in the middle of the screen, which makes for an interesting time as you must defend it from an onslaught that comes from every direction.

The basics of the game Missile Command hold true. There are missiles that are being fired at your planet. To stop them, you must fire missiles that will detonate close enough to the on-coming missile that the on-coming missile explodes. This is often more difficult than it seems. Your missiles must be well timed in order to not overshoot the on-coming missiles by a good distance. In your arsenal, you have two types of missiles, shielded and fast. Each serve a specific purpose. The fast missiles obviously get to a target much faster, which is certainly helpful for those missiles that managed to escape your notice. With missiles coming from every side of the screen, you often don't pick up on missiles that are approaching you. Especially from the top and bottom of the screen, where your actual visibility is somewhat hampered by the screen's aspect ratio.

The purpose of shielded missiles isn't immediately evident beyond their nearly doubly as large explosion at detonation, but for those who play a few levels, you'll quickly run into laser wielding enemies. These enemies float about the planet blasting every missile that you fire. Even more dangerous, as I attempted to knock them out of the sky, I often would get frustrated at them destroying one of my missiles, and would immediately fire another missile. Doing so would cause the second missile to immediately detonate as it ran into the still resonating explosion from the first missile. The enemies that fire the lasers look a bit like satellites, but they move like possessed demons, and when you have several of them on the screen at once, look out!

To add to the interest and suspense of the game, many of the levels have slightly different tasks or set-ups. There are levels where large transport craft are leaving the planet you are protecting. In such levels, your goal is two-fold. First you must keep the planet from being destroyed, secondly, you need to keep the craft safe as they blast off into the same dangerous territory that the missiles are approaching from. My favorite levels had satellite moons orbiting the planet you are protecting. These moons on some boards also serve as a launching point for your missiles and also house people. As they move around the planet, they have the uncanny ability of stopping missiles that otherwise would have devastated your cities. They also block your own missiles from getting very far on occasion.

My first perception of the game was that it was too easy. I started playing through each level one-by-one on easy and was often sitting waiting for missiles to fall...and waiting...and waiting. Soon I attempted jumping to the last level and seeing how difficult it would be. I then tried the level over on 'Hard' to see if that would offer a challenge. I didn't even get hit. So I started having doubts about the game. The biggest change for me came when I was going back through the options and noticed a game speed slider. I quickly put it all the way to the end and was promptly pummeled. I moved it back down and turned the game from a little challenge thriller to an intense and challenging battle. It is difficult for any developer to gauge the game to every player's skill level, but had I not stumbled back into the speed slider, I likely would not have come to appreciate the game nearly as much as I did.

Graphics: 8
While interesting, the graphics are obviously 2D and suffer a little on the special effects side due to that. Still do not think for a moment that the art is not first class on the game. The menus are very well done, and the targeting system that you use, is amazing to watch as it follows your mouse around the screen. Each of the planets is well-rendered giving a very good 3D feel to the game.

Sound: 8
The sound is solid and provides extra atmosphere to the game. Explosions are not over-whelming, and each sound effect is crisp and clear. You will likely be hearing the music in your sleep for days on end an may want to turn it off, but initially I found it very good at helping along the space mood of the game.

Game Play: 9
Absolutely easy to play and pick up. You'll feel in total control of the game from the moment you start it up. This game is a true arcade game that sports everything an arcade should have in my mind. If you fail it is entirely due to your own inability, not to the computer's impossible difficulty or being unable to move in such a way as to accomplish your goals.

Options: 9
The options are a nice treat.  In addition to sliders for the music, game speed, mouse and scroll, there is the ability to set your window size, and to change a few settings that lead to a higher quality of graphics.  I personally really appreciated the ability to unlock all the levels as I enjoy being able to skip around to whatever takes my fancy.

Concept: 7
Rehashes are rehashes no matter how you look at them. While Planetary Defense offers a tried and somewhat true concept, it takes the idea a step further in its evolution. Putting the base of operations at the center of the screen options the game play up to a new dimension that will be difficult to recreate by other games as well as it has been created by Positech for this one.

Fun: 8
Missile Command is always a hard one, but Planetary Defense is a very enjoyable remix of the game. The fine art of timing your missiles so that they explode in front of the on-coming barrage is more difficult than most young gamers realize. Patience and accuracy provide a very good challenge while the need for speed of action will keep you riveted to the screen as you blast through a very generous number of levels.

Overall: 8
From the slick menus through the stellar graphics and challenging varied levels, Planetary Defense is a game that is much better than most people will give it credit for when just glancing at it. It is a well put together arcade button smasher that will keep you busy for more than a few enjoyable afternoons. Added: June 6th 2003
Reviewer: The Mole
Score:
Related Link: Planetary Defense Website
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Language: english