Battlestar Galactica

Sci-fi TV shows and movies have never been my cup of tea, but the games sure have been great, at least the ones that have found the proper balance between action and storyline. Battlestar Galactica (BG) is based on the cult television series. Fans of the series should rejoice as BG is a nicely crafted game, that is truly aimed at the fans of the series. At first glance, BG reminds me of those good old arcade shooters we had back in the 1980’s, like Space Invaders but much deeper in the gameplay department.

The game sees you play as Adama, part of a group of human colonists who are defending their interests against the Cylons. The game throws you into the middle of a war zone and gives you plenty of different objectives to complete with the help of your team mates.

The ship you control is equipped with all the tools of the trade to help you get the job done. The controls are easy to pick and play and simply the press of a button can execute many complex actions. The combat system has one really interesting feature, which is the ability to lock onto multiple targets at once and fire multiple missiles by simply holding and releasing the square button. While the game is easy to pick up and play, the game itself is extremely difficult. There are two difficulty levels: medium and hard. But whichever mode you choose, you’re in for a long and difficult ride.

The first few missions of the game don’t expect much, except that you know how to operate the missiles. In the later stages of the game you have to have a good handle on flying your ship otherwise you’ll be seeing the Game Over screen a lot.

The AI for both your team mates and enemies is extremely good. Most of the time the enemies travel in little packs, which makes the multiple missile function useful, but while you're busy attacking one swarm of enemies another swarm will be attacking you, so 

you must approach your target with speed and caution. Your team mates are quite intelligent but since you’re the commander of the squadron, you can give a number of commands to your mates to set up different formations or to attack or defend at any given time.

You won’t be in the same ship for the entire game. In the later levels of the game you can control gun turrets and even hop into the Cylon ships. It’s a nice addition as it keeps things new and you feel like you’ve actually accomplished something. Your accomplishments don’t end there, as there are also a number of unlockables. Some of the unlockables include art concepts, videos, ship models, etc.

BG has a number of flaws, which will make you wonder why the developers didn't invest a bit more time to make the game better. The biggest flaw is the save system. Some of the missions have multiple parts and you're unable to save between each part. It’s extremely frustrating when you get to the very end of the mission and die and have to restart the entire mission. The lack of a multiplayer component hurts the replay value. Even just a normal versus mode would have been appreciated, but unfortunately that wasn't included.

The ship models are excellent and some of the background objects, such as planets and stars are extremely well done. The explosions and special effects really create the atmosphere of a war zone. The character voices are superbly done and there are rarely any corny lines or jokes in the game.

BG is an extremely challenging game, with a lot going for it, but unfortunately the game is hindered by some aspects, like the save function. BG is sure to be enjoyed by those who are fans of the television series or those who are just looking for a normal space shooter but I would still recommend a rental before you decide to purchase the game.

- Siddharth Masand