Defender is another great classic game to be released on the Xbox Live Arcade.
The graphics of this new version of Defender have been improved with a nice looking background, and the ships, and most everything else as been minorly improved which is nice. With all the improvements it may seem like an unfaithful port, but as with many other coin-op classics on the Xbox Live Arcade you may switch back and forth between original graphics and enhanced.
The sound effects as far as I know are just like the arcade original, only they're coming from more than likely your television instead of an arcade machine. There doesn't seem to be an option to switch to an enhanced sound, but it shouldn't bother anybody. The sound effects are pretty poor, but does it really matter when you're playing a classic such as Defender?
There is more value in this Xbox Live Arcade title than most as its five dollars, and the online multiplayer works really well. The game is really challenging and so are the achievements. The leaderboards add to the fun as well so you can compete with anybody who has the game. The gameplay of Defender is really simple just like most other arcade games. You simply have to save Earth from an alien invasion. You control a ship and may shoot and fly in the left or right directions. You simply must shoot down all the enemy spacecraft to complete the wave you're on, but it actually isn't quite that simple. There are humans roaming the planet and you must try and protect them and if they're in the process of being abducted you may shoot the enemy ship down and catch the human and drop them off for some bonus points. You may also use smart bombs which clear the screen of any enemies. Also teleporting is a neat feature of which you teleport to some random place on the map. The map is basically the same throughout the game unless you fail to save all humans then it will under go a few changes. The game is fun, but sometimes the controls aren't as responsive as they should be. The multiplayer is pretty cool too. It basically has you playing at the same time as the other player, and your scores are posted in the corners. The match will go on until either one of you runs out of lives. The online almost never lags which is probably the best part about it. Defender is definitely a worthy addition to the Xbox Live Arcade. The online works really well, and the only real downside of this port is the controls. Defender is definitely going to be worth it to anyone looking for a good shoot em' up or just a good classic in general.