Defender 2000 by llamasoft and Atari

The game opens up with a powerful intro track of smashing techno-rave and the intro scene is very cool looking. The title screen lets you choose from 3 play modes (5 if you know how). There's Classic Defender, Which allows you to control the action just like the arcade, or simplified controls. As far as I can tell, this is arcade perfect. Then there's Plus, an updated version complete with a rendered ship, two A.I. droids, smart bombs, new kickin' lasers(just hold the button), and the llightning llaser(automatically zaps the crap out of whatever's in range). There has been a new minteresque effect added into this one. AlgoVision! There are swirls of colors that move to algo-rythms. So if you move, the ground swirls faster and in different directions. There are also little heat waves that flow from the mountains. Lots of parallax scrolling has been added into this version as well. All of the enemies have been rendered, this gives it a very shiny look. The game also controls differently than classic. You can hold down the button and fly in reverse. Then there's the grand daddy of them all, Defender 2000. This version of the game is my favorite. The playfield is now two screens high. The radar is longer, but is now transparent, so you can see through it when needed. The humanoids are now motion captured. The soundtrack is totally unbelieveable! Imagitec Design have outdone themselves on this masterpiece. There is an absolute ton of parallax in this version as well. The floor now includes an effect called warp scrolling for a very smooth look. When you rescue the humans, they grab ahold of your ship and help you waste the aliens. There are now upgradeable weapons. Here's how they go: 1st-gives you a single A.I. droid. 2nd-gives you a shield that allows two hits before it dissapears. 3rd-gives you a second A.I. droid. 4th- gives you a llightning laser droid. He fires regular lasers, and also zaps enemies within range. Llightning llaser power must be charged up though. 5th-Gives your llightning llaser the power to shoot 15 shots per second! This makes for a totally intense blast-fest. If you collect enough power-ups after that, then you'll go to the warp. The warp is like the second one in Tempest 2000, only now they aren't always circular shapes. They are shaped out of the different webs on Tempest! The control in these warps is much improved. The track for the warps is a Beethoven remix. Very cool! Now to the categories.

Graphics-10

Almost every thing in this game has been pre-rendered. It's all in 16-bit color. AlgoVision is a masterpiece. The particle explosions add to the graphic flare. There is so much parallax. Everything looks so shiny. Everything is awesome.

Sound/music-10

OHHHHH YEAHHHH! This game features 7 tracks of totally awesome techno-rave. My favorite is the one on level 6. I think they've outdone Tempest. There is alot of voice in the game as well, and it never sounds the same. It's like every time you hear a guy scream, it's either higher or lower pitched. The bass thumps that come from the explosions are great!

Control-10

Others have said that the control in this game is too slippery. I don't feel that at all. I feel total power, never losing control.

Power-10

This game moves at a blazing speed of 60 frames per second! There is no slowdown or flicker, although I must admit there is some in Plus for some unknown reason, even when the screen is totally cluttered with mucho traffic. The amount of parallax in here is amazing! Even awesome partical displays.

Fun factor-10

You better believe this game is fun! Jeff Minter has all the ingredients to make a perfect game. His games are sure to be fun. You get a feeling of power in this game(like Tempest's, only harder to achieve)that is unmatched by anything else. It may take a while to get the hang of it, but the thrill afterwards is worth is.

Overall: 100%