Galaga re-imagined as a rail shooter; that’s the basic concept for Galaga 3D Impact. The result is a game that feels somewhat like Star Fox except you don’t have to save any anthropomorphic friends from being shot down.
Bug-like aliens fly towards the screen and shoot orange orbs at players. In Galaga 3D Impact, you can counter these shots by firing lasers. Your ship is also equipped with a tractor beam, which you can use to absorb enemies. This could have been called a "level up beam" because absorbing enemies unlocks new weapons like missiles and bombs plus strengthens your lasers. When the game starts there are only two buttons to concern yourself with A (laser) and B (tractor beam). By the end of the game your ship is a death machine and every button is mapped to some kind of weapon.
The most useful tool is probably the force field (R button), which blocks all enemy shots for a few seconds. Other than your lasers, the force field is your main form of defense. Galaga 3D Impact only gives players one life bar and no continues to shoot through the game. It’s one long score attack with a few supply containers that restore your ship’s shield. As a standalone game it would be short, but it’s actually one of the six games in Pac-Man & Galaga Dimensions. The compilation, which comes out on July 27, also includes 3D versions of classic Pac-Man, Galaga, Galaga Legions, Pac-Man Championship Edition and a new motion controlled game called Pac-Man Tilt.
When I first saw Galaga 3D Impact the game only had gyroscopic controls. Fortunately, Namco Bandai went back to the drawing board and added analog stick aiming. You can still use both hardware features, but motion control and glasses-free 3D don’t mix since its too easy to lose the sweet spot.
