XBLA's retro fad continues: Defender
by Richard Mitchell 
{ Nov 15th 2006 at 11:30AM }
Another Xbox Live Arcade Wednesday is upon us, and this week's entry brings us yet another retro title, Defender. Yay, Defender. Granted, I'm all about Contra and maybe I'm not old enough to have fond memories of Defender, but every week that XBLA gets another Atari/Pac-Man era game, I die a little inside. When I write the headline, all I want to write is: "This week isn't Small Arms" or "Still no RoboBlitz." Where are all these exciting, independent titles? We've only got six Wednesdays left MS! Are you expecting people to buy Arcade titles as Christmas presents? Again, I apologize to all the Defender fans out there, but it's high time we got another indie release on XBLA.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
John @ Nov 15th 2006 11:44AM
hells yes!! defender! i'm all over this.
slimbloke @ Nov 15th 2006 11:43AM
I've got to say, this is THE classic I've been waiting months for... just the sound effects sends me back into a retro-bliss fuzz!
ruiner @ Nov 15th 2006 11:46AM
I kind of agree, the only love for these are the nostalgia factor...I really do love my independent XBLA games more than the retro titles.
Les Doodis @ Nov 15th 2006 11:47AM
I'm in full agreement. If I wanted to play crappy old games, I'd buy an Atari 2600 on ebay with 50 games for $20. Sure, it's nostalgic for some, but playing these boring retro games gets old real quick.
Bring on the newness already.
MattyFyi @ Nov 15th 2006 11:47AM
man this is great news, best retro acrade game of the early 80's hands down. I'm now wishing there was an arcade type controller for 360, there isn't one yet is there ?
Measure @ Nov 15th 2006 12:14PM
I don't mind retro games... but if i'm going to pay for them, I better get a lot more value from them than if I fire up MAME or some java version on the internet.
24-player pacman, each in your own maze, but a race to the highest points total? That would be a fun XBL experience.
HoozyerdadE @ Nov 15th 2006 12:19PM
@#4 - you can use the DOA arcade-style stick if you can find one. As far as Defender, I loved it in the arcades, but I hope they take advantage and make it widescreen. I'm tired of playing a 12" tv inside my 32" LCD. I'm also looking forward to Battlezone, especially with a little 2006 updating thrown in. The PS3 has mostly new indie-type games for it's "live" variant, hopefully Microsoft doesn't mess this up and starts releasing more original content for Arcade.
xfan @ Nov 15th 2006 12:27PM
My comment on this is, no matter what is published, someone isn't going to be happy.
I love the retro games and can't wait for more. It's the perfect outlet, as they're cheap, and most have new features. There's comfort in already knowing a game and what to expect. At the same time, if you hated the original, you're probably not going to show any love for re-release.
I also enjoy the original games never before seen. This one is hit and miss. I'm not going to mention any specific titles, but there's a few titles I question why they were released, but then again, this is perhaps the perfect outlet for such games. There are definately some winners in this category on the way, but they're not arriving quick enough. I really wish we'd see more than one game a week, and having to wait until Wednesday is starting to become a chore. I wish they could come out any day.
Tony @ Nov 15th 2006 8:15PM
Just because something is old doesn't mean the only value it has is nostalgic. Gamers throw that word around so much that it's practically lost its meaning.
Sure, there's some nostalgia value... but there's also the fact that a good deal of these titles are very good games. Defender, despite age and appearance, is an important and entertaining game. The same is true of many of the other retro releases.
I want unique stuff too, but that doesn't really devalue a game such as this by default.
SeNiLe911 @ Nov 15th 2006 1:00PM
This is a great game but to hard to play with a Xbox 360 controller. I use to play this game for hours on one quarter at the arcade, rolling it over like 4 times and then giving it up to some kid watching me. You would definitely need a arcade style controller for this one.
SuicideNinja @ Nov 15th 2006 1:03PM
Yeah...it's getting lame. If I wanted to play defender, I'd hook up my C64. Or play it on my cell phone, PC, or wherever else.
XBLA is cool, but they should go a little bit more recent. And why not more REAL arcade titles? With 3-4 player CO-OP?
*cough* ALIENS VS PREDATOR *cough*, Xmen, TMNT, Final Fight, and the like?
SuicideNinja @ Nov 15th 2006 1:10PM
LOL, when I say "REAL" I mean, "more fun". =)
LunarDuality @ Nov 15th 2006 1:20PM
I too love certain retro games but am generally more excited about the indie titles. Why can't MS release a retro title *AND* an indie title each week...that would certainly quell the "no matter what is published, someone isn't going to be happy" talk to some degree.
It's just hard waiting when you know that Small Arms, Assault Heroes, Mutant Storm Empires, Castle Crashers, RoboBlitz, and more games are out there...waiting to be finished or certified or released.
Then again, I'm super backlogged with games...so I shouldn't complain too much... (^_^)
TxdoHawk @ Nov 15th 2006 1:25PM
Richard, I'll say it for you. This isn't Small Arms. Or Roboblitz. Or Settlers of Catan, or Carcasonne, or Mad Tracks, or Hoopworld, or Castle Crashers, etc. etc. Heck, I'll even buy the Worms port if it doesn't suck, I can't find my disc of Armageddon.
Anyway, my main point is that 1800 points have been sitting in my account for weeks, waiting for something to come out that I actually want. Given that I had my fill of Lumines on the PSP, 2 did nothing for me. But at this point practically any of the other games they announced that aren't old arcade games would do.
Lion @ Nov 15th 2006 1:26PM
Yay, another great classic! Do we have them all covered now? Can we get some new IP's now? I want some more original titles!
Matt @ Nov 15th 2006 1:50PM
While I don't mind the occasional retro title this is getting tired. The games i've enjoyed most have been some of the newer ones including Cloning Clyde, Uno, Marble Blast etc... Please let's get some of these new titles rolling. In my perfect world we'd get 3 new titles and one retro each month. (5 wednesday month's need not apply)
zenprism @ Nov 15th 2006 5:11PM
I was really hoping Microsoft would be unleashing some big guns on Arcade this week, what with the P$3 and Wii launching. Unless they're planning a stealthy Friday launch like they did with Ultimate MK3.
Will we be playing Small Arms on Thanksgiving? Huh Microsoft? Please?
Ben Hollis @ Nov 15th 2006 4:05PM
I'm turning off the Arcade autodownload until they start releasing new titles. No sense wasting my time with this stuff.
My poor MS points have been wasting away in my account for months now.