Earth Defender Review

Missile command games are getting a bit tired these days because of a lack of originality. They typically have you defending the ground with a few missile batteries that you have to protect. The sky is then dotted with missiles that you have to blow up... and there is usually nothing you can do but last as long as you can.

Earth Defender takes the missile command genre and merges it with Space Invaders to create a game that doesn't feel quite as hopeless. Instead of just having hell raining down on you, there are a defeatable amount of bad guys, all that have to be destroyed in different ways, followed by a boss with a set flight pattern and typical boss weak spots.

The game is not so long, as there are only six levels to play through, but all provide a unique challenge, and most important, new bombs to shoot at the enemies. In Earth Defender, the enemies are hurtling towards the Earth, trying to penetrate the force field and then blow the planet up. Some enemies fly random patterns, some fly straight down at you, and some fly in Space Invaders style zig zags, just to keep you guessing. You can destroy them all sorts of ways, and the game supports multi-touch, so you can really get crazy with your bomb throwing action.

What really makes the game though are the great graphics. Each weapon has an individual look, all of the enemies look different, and the bosses are appropriately menacing. The music score is also quite good, giving the game a solid atmospheric "I'm fighting a space war that's not quite as epic as Star Wars" feel. It's not quite a John Williams composition, but it doesn't do a bad job.

For less that the price of a coffee at Starbucks, you can get Earth Defender and wake up to a fresh dose of alien destruction. Now doesn't that sound good.