Galaga Legions

Another solid reimage of a classic game. The simplest of ideas but with perfect execution. Will not disappoint new and old fans alike.

A brilliant reimagination of a classic that's up there with Championship Edition. [Dec 2008, p.84]

It’s another one of those high-score hypodermic needles – you get addicted on getting a higher score so you keep repeating it over and over, working out new ideas for drone placement each time. It’s like a chess game at 100 mph, challenging and twitchy, all at the same time. On that point, Galaga Legions ranks up there with the best of them.

Toppling "Geometry Wars 2" from its throne is now the goal for any stripped-down Live Arcade shooter, and Namco Bandai deserves praise for delivering a game that comes within grasping distance of this lofty aim.

If you enjoyed the original Galaga, or are a classic shooter fan, then you'll love this true sequel to one of the greatest arcade shooters of yesteryear.

Multiplayer would've been cool, but these Legions will still keep you busy.

In the end Galaga Legions provides the fast, intense and unforgiving gameplay modern shooters tend to go easy on.

It's an incredible shooter that feels like bullet hell with enemies replacing the bullets, but a little variation would have made it perfect. [Fall 2008, p.55]

Addictive, frantic and a worthy sequel. [Nov 2008, p.100]

This game screams multiplayer. But, if you are a shooter fan, single-player will be enough to satisfy your thirst.

Galaga Legions aspires to be a Galaga for a modern age, and in some ways, it is. But by excluding so many surrounding enhancements, such as more single- or multiplayer modes, arcade shoppers of today might be a little miffed at getting what would have been a complete package back in the quarter-pumping days.

Galaga Legions answers the call with some of the most frenetic and psychedelic visuals this side of Geometry Wars. While the amount of gameplay in the $10 download might leave a bit to be desired, there's no doubt that Galaga Legions is more proof that classic games can be revitalized without selling users short or deviating too greatly from the vintage design.

Galaga Legions is a fun, imaginative XBLA game that I'd recommend in a heartbeat during almost any other time of the year -- but given its lack of content and the other, much more impressive games from the Summer of Arcade, Galaga Legions might not be for everyone.

Like the inextricable pull of a tractor beam, Galaga Legions captures the spirit of a 27-year-old arcade classic.

With just a five-area adventure mode and a points-focused championship mode (and no multiplayer). there's a lot less content here than in, say, the recent "Geometry Wars 2". [Nov 2008, p.80]

Legions is incredibly fun, but the serious lack of modes will end your experience far too early.

Given how well they did with Pac-Man, it is hard not be disappointed with the lackluster Galaga Legions. You cannot help but feel like they could have done much better. Legions is a solid offering, but lacks the depth to justify the 800 MS Points price, and is certainly not the next great XBLA title.

On its own merits, Galaga Legions is an enjoyable but short game. But for old school gamers the original title, available on XBLA for half the price, has much more to offer.

Whilst there doesn't appear to be much to Galaga Legions on the surface, there is a level of tactical skill in placing craft in the right place at the right time, as well as a memory game for the swarm patterns. As a twitch shooter, there's a definite addictive quality that is perfect for the arcade high-score chase.

A brash precocious young upstart of a game kicking its ancestors in the shins impatiently but paying them just enough respect to be worth your time and money.

Galaga Legions offers an addicting style of play as well as provides a substantial challenge for any high score junkie.

For hardcore shooter fans, Galaga Legions is an essential purchase, and can rightly be considered the definitive Galaga game. For everyone else, we can't recommend it over Retro Evolved 2, which remains the Xbox 360's best shooter by a country mile.

As a game following in the footsteps of the Galaga legacy, Legions doesn't do a very good job. Other than the ability for ships to capture other ships, nothing about this game feels much like the original game.

Those looking for a rigorous score-attack challenge should look elsewhere. [Nov 2008, p.103]

Inventive fun, just not the pure twitch shoot-'em-up that the name suggests. [Dec 2008, p.102]

Fun, but it's far from great.