A 3D update of 1980's coin-op classic, Defender has players guiding a star fighter from a behind-the-ship perspective in an attempt to thwart an alien invasion. Pilots must once again rescue potential abductees, only this time the threats are bloodthirsty bugs called Manti. Battles take place in a campaign format, playable with a friend in cooperative mode, as pilots engage alien swarms across planetary surfaces on Venus, Mars, and Earth, as well as in the far reaches of space. Players will be able to control pitch and roll using the left thumbstick, perform evasive maneuvers with the right thumbstick, and use both forward and reverse thrusters to blast ahead or to fall back. A lock-on targeting system lets players isolate an objective, enemy, or friendly unit. Six ships are available to pilot, each offering different characteristics in speed, armor, agility, strength, and special weapon. All ships have the capability to pick up items on the ground or in the air, including colonists and friendly units such as tanks. Whether it's the light and nimble fighter or the slow and heavily armed bomber, techniques such as barrel rolls, loops, and reversals are also possible, and familiar weapons such as smart bombs can eradicate multiple threats in one blinding flash. Navigating the environments is accomplished with the help of a scanner, which delineates enemy fighters in red and friendly units in blue. Various upgrades in weaponry as well as extra lives can be purchased with credits earned during missions. Once players find and rescue colonists during their mission, they can drop them off at multiple locales. Colonists returned to a drop zone will earn players power-ups, while colonists deployed at either a missile crawler or a tank factory will allow players to build ground units for additional support. Those brave souls who have been captured by the Manti will mutate into new and more deadly Manti craft. Two-player options include cooperative play as well as a deathmatch

KMFDM and Trigger provide hard, pulsating rhythms that lend an even more realistic feel to the int

Fend off the alien advance on the various planets and moons of the solar system including Venus, M

Engage the alien invaders in Single-Player Campaign Mode or Two-Player Cooperative Campaign Mode

Choose from six different types of ships, from heavily-armed bombers to quick and stealthy fighter

Upgrade your ship between missions and earn multiple power-ups including shields, advanced weapons

Average Customer Review: ( 7 customer reviews )
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I am about 1/3 of the way through the missions, they get progressively tougher. When you fail a mission you can start it over. Some of objectives in the missions seem impossible at first, but when you have the right ship, the right weapons and the right strategy "its like butter, baby"!

5 of 6 found the following review helpful:

OK game, you could beat it renting! Don't buy.Sep 22, 2003
By Nicholas A. Virgilio
The Defender game for Atari was such a great ground breaking game, this version of defender is a disappointment. The only thing that would have saved this games was to of had the original Defender unlockable, like the Frogger, Spy Hunter and Pac Man XBOX games.

I give it 3 stars mainly because the game navigation is horrible, there is absolutely no replay value and the multiplayer is completely worthless, unless you enjoy getting sick from flying around in circles. The multiple ship and buying of weapons is also pretty useless. I pretty much stuck to one ship. I found it much easier to complete missions when I stuck to only 2-3 weapons, its a pain scrolling through multiple weapons while in combat. IDifferent buttons would have been a better idea. I just kept buying more ship lives with my money.

Pros are that the graphics are pretty good, some of the missions are fun and challenging, and the "flight simulation" is pretty good too.

This game is one of those that you should rent and beat within five days. Luckily I bought it used for $15.00 on Amazon. I will probably not resell it as I never sell anything.

4 of 5 found the following review helpful:

great update to a classic space shooterDec 27, 2002
By Andrew Kuzel
This PS2 version is fairly true to the original; it maintains a lot of the style and substance of the arcade classic as far as enemies, crazy mutants, saving colonists, and the sheer relentless feel of the original. It has the added dimension of strategy, as you have to deploy and manage auxillary units to complete missions, you won't succeed by just being a firing maniac.

As you'd expect, the graphics are fantastic. The gameplay is generally top-notch. The different ships and weapons give a lot of options and different feels. Make sure you save multiple copies of games in progress so that you can try them out.

The major pain with this game is on the logistical end, it seems that it wants to make you suffer. Starting, loading, changing things on the fly is slow and VERY tedious. You can't trade in weapons you don't like, so if you run out of credits - tough luck - start over (or reload one of your saved games!). Some of the voiceover game characters are obnoxious; especially when they lag the action. You will hate your CO and that lame nazi mad scientist.

It has three levels of difficulty which is really nice. The "rookie" level is a good start; its moderately challenging - more so in figuring out what you have to do than in gonzo firing. This makes it a reasonable choice for the more casual player. Although it has its problems, and the classic version is NOT included (bummer), I'd say its a must have for those of us that get into spaceship shooter type games.

5 of 7 found the following review helpful:

Good Game!Nov 18, 2002
By Frothy Jawa
Easy to control. Good graphics. Neat looking ships. Able to build vehicles and use them to defend. Really good game!

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