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Platform:
Xbox Genre:
Action Publisher:
Vivendi Universal Developer:
Warthog Games ESRB:
T (Teen) Released: Q4 2003
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Battlestar GalacticaScore: 7.6 / 10 |
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Pros: -
Graphically stunning (in some sequences) -
Authentic voice-overs -
Tons of unlockable goodies for the die-hard fan -
Easy control schematics and gameplay make it perfect to pick up and play |
Cons: -
Easy control schematics and gameplay make it perfect to pick up and
play…but nothing more -
Camera angle takes away the nostalgia of speed -
Objectives and missions stay relatively grounded and straightforward
without any daunting tasks -
Only real fans will understand the story and characters completely |
Related Links: Review: Battlestar Galactica (PS2) Review: Star Wars Starfighter Special Edition (XB) Review: Star Wars The Clone Wars (XB) |
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"...you can pick up the controller and start a game, without ever being completely lost..." |
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In
gaming, the science fiction genre is one dominated by a couple major
franchises (Star Wars and Star Trek) and filled with smaller series
trying to aspire to the same level. For Battlestar Galactica, though it
may feel like a cheap way to gain publicity for the show (past and
present), which it is, you’ll also find that it is playable enough for
all Sci-Fi gamers.
The
game is set forty years before the current TV series. After setting out
for space exploration, a group of human colonists set up twelve colonies
on different planets in the Cyranus system. As any human would do, the
colonials decided to eliminate the inhabitants of the worlds, known as
Cylons. As you would again suspect, a raging war begins between man and
machine, humans and Cylons. Battlestar
Galactica (BG) is extremely user friendly. By that I mean you can pick
up the controller and start a game, without ever being completely lost
in terms of control, objectives, and so on. Accelerating and
decelerating is done using the two triggers (L and R) while shooting is
done with the A and X buttons. Though these remain the standard buttons
used, there are also more combinations and moves, ranging from barrel
rolls to guiding missiles.
Played
through the 3rd person, the Viper (the fighter you control
for most of the game) is always presented in the center of the screen.
This makes spotting enemies near and far easy, but takes away from an
effective feel of speed.
When boosting for higher speed the feeling of speed isn’t
really felt – in fact, it can feel like you’re not moving at all.
That said, this doesn’t hurt the game too much. Enemies
sometimes come out of nowhere but are embarrassingly easy to destroy.
Even in the hardest mode, when the ships were more agile, laying the
smack down is easy – destroying a ship can be done by firing at it a
few times, nothing special. Throughout
the entire game you’ll be flying through some graphically beautiful
levels shooting down enemies in what ultimately becomes a semi-sweet experience. The amount of mission variation is desperately lacking,
making a linear experience. Some levels do allow you to man the guns of
battleships and destroy planted structures, though it doesn’t spice up
the gameplay the way it was intended to with, again, linear and
straightforward objectives. Since
BG is/was a popular show the detail to minor items is good but the voice
acting deserves the most applause with many cast members lending their
voice talents. The composed music is played through every level and most
enjoyed in the menu screen. During the fighting moments, the music is
barely audible. Other sounds, such as missiles and weapons cast off the
same style as other games in the same genre, though with its own unique
taste fans of the series will recognize. Overall, the sound of BG is the only department without any critical flaws
to be found.
Visually,
BG is very appealing and perhaps the best part of the
game. From the earlier missions this might not be apparent but the later
missions throw you inside some stunning portals and settings that take
advantage of the hardware. The CG cutscenes is another great example of
great graphical achievement, though the same quality is not experienced
in the actual gameplay, it’s nice to see the story played out with
full details. The battleships and other such vehicles remain rather
stagnant in damage detection (meaning that the health of your character
cannot be noticed simply by looking at the ship) and takes away from the
chaos of battle. With that in mind, the only way you can tell the health
of objects is by looking at a small bar next to the object. The
visually impressive aspects of this game do make it appealing for Xbox
gamers but the linear system of gameplay makes getting through
Battlestar Galactica a journey to unlock some of the special features
like deleted scenes from the show, concept art from the game, and other
equally striking features for the Battlestar Galactica fan. This space
shoot-‘em-up should be passed by the average gamer, but for the space
gamer or Battlestar enthusiast, consider at least a rental. -
Eric Lahiji (February 15, 2004)
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