WP App Review : Galaga Legions DX

Galaga Legions DX (Version 1.0)
Namco Bandai Games
$0.99 - $6.99

If you're the type to scroll through the games list quickly in the marketplace and make instant judgement based on the star rating, you'll probably skip pass this app. There is a main reason for all the low ratings, but despite the first impression that the rating gives you and what most reviewers will say is a horrible game, I'll go against the norm and say that Galaga Legions DX is a decent game.

If you're even vaguely interested in video games I'm sure you've heard of Galaga. This app takes the original concept of the game and adds some beautiful visuals and some new weaponry to battle the invading enemies which slice through the screen in multiple waves. The game features three areas where a set number of enemy waves occur as you take them down while racing against the time. There is also a Championship mode. The stream of enemies each have a core which when destroyed results in the whole string of enemies exploding. In order to aid you in the fight, there are light trails that enter the screen, giving you a glimpse of the paths of the incoming enemies.

For the most part, you can pretty much stay centered with the spread gun and the enemies will go down pretty easily. There are a few instances though where the stronger gun helps to cut through an enemies line of defense to reach the core. Since the areas are time based, you'll have to switch your weapons and maneuver a bit if you want a quick time for each wave.

So what makes the game so unplayable for many users? The way Namco designed the touch controls for movement is frustratingly difficult to use. Any part of your screen can be used as the virtual d-pad but the way it's implemented is a bit awkward. Once you touch your thumb onto the screen, the game automatically picks a center point and whichever direction your thumb is touching more of, the ship will navigate in that direction. In other words, even if you try to move your ship slightly downward with a small gesture, if your thumb is touching more of the top portion of where you initially touch, it'll gravitate upwards instead.

This does make the game play somewhat frustrating. If you make quick, solid gestures, it does help with movement but it's never 100% accurate. Even with the faulty control scheme, the game is still playable and you'll hardly die since whenever you get close to getting hit, the game will enter a slow motion state where you can recover and move your ship away from danger pretty easily. Still, it's no excuse for the poor control implementation.

Despite this major flaw, the game is definitely worth checking out. I'm sure that it's an easy fix for the controls and hopefully Namco releases an update to address this issue. Give the demo a try and if it's even slightly entertaining, it might be worth it to pick it up for $0.99 and hope for an update before they raise it back to the original price of $6.99 which is way too expensive (but it seems to be the norm for major developers.)

Pros : Beautiful visuals, solid gameplay (aside from controls)

Cons : Game controls can be frustrating