To kick off our weekly segment that is in partnership with “Retro Games” we are looking at Defender, a great game that is on Entex, but also on the XBLA. To appreciate the classics, you can buy any of the games featured in this segment over at Retro Games.

 
The humble electronic tabletop game gets a pretty rough time from modern gamers. Early LED or VFD games use lights to make up the game display, and the problems of creating different graphics to appear in the same place at different times is very difficult if you are hardwiring each sprite in its place.

The results are mixed depending on what type of games you play, invaders with a ship at the base of the screen, and identical looking enemies moving above, are well suited to the technology. In contrast, Pac Man games are hamstrung by the need to put the ghosts and Pac Man in the same place in the maze at different times. Oversized ghosts are generally used, which the Pac Man sprite fits inside. To complete the layout, the dot or power pill sprite then fits inside of Pac Man. Cleverly placing these lights inside and around eachother must have been incredibly complicated, and something of a technical art form. Done properly, they really can create convincing game displays.

One of the most outstanding games to use this technology has to be Entex Defender. Defender in the arcade uses a lot of controls, its scrolling speed is fundemental to its gameplay, and graphics need to overlap a lot, with the ship, bullets, aliens and mountainous backdrop all needing to be displayed in the same places at different times. Most handheld manufacturers of the early 1980s would have never even attempted it, but Entex Defender maintains all the elements which made the coin-op such a classic.

All the controls are included, allowing you to move up and down, and reverse. Fire speed is rapid, and thrust is progressive. The scrolling is surprisingly fast, so fast that Entex even included an analogue speed controller, allowing you to slow things down.

Like most games, there are down sides. Alien variations on later levels aren’t included, and the sound is basic. Because the screen needs to be so detailed, with parts of sprites making up parts of other sprites, the play area is dominated by the colour red.

But what’s amazing about this game is that everything you’d expect from Defender is here, the scrolling mountains, the little aliens stealing the pods and carrying them away, and of course the legendary smart bomb button. If you’re looking for an arcade perfect version, this game isn’t for you, but if you want to experience the best in LED gaming, grab this and some duracells.

 At a great price of £100 for this classic, check this link to buy direct from Retro Games