sci-fi

The game is awesome. Unlike many of the cartoonish space games out there, this one looks and feels like you are in space and flying a viper. What I would have given to have had something similar as a kid. The sound effects are just like on the shows and the graphics are excellent. The Galactica and vipers are as the original series, but as you advance you begin to see cylons ships resembling the newer mini-series that is currently airing. It is a perfect blend of the two. The cylons periodically speak and sound fantastic and you also get to pilot a cylon ship. Keeping in formation with them so they don't detect you ain't easy. The first level is quite dark because of course you are in space and can only see what light is reflecting on. This adds to the realistic feel, but created some frustration for me as I wanted a clearer view of the ships around me. I felt somewhat like what a novice pilot must feel, a lot of controls, not sure which is which and couldn't see much around me. However, you quickly adapt. As you move through levels it is not always dark, especially when you are fighting around a planet which reflects alot of light. I found the controls a bit awkward at first. Most controls perform double or tripple functions forcing you to tap once or twice or hold down, depending on what you need, but you do quickly learn. Still in difficult encounters requring quick reflexes you can easily get confused. This adds to the excitement/frustration. I Still have a little trouble with the thrusters, you have to tap twice to execute and tap twice and hold to sustain them. When executed these are awesome!! You also get to control multiple guns on the Galactica itself, loved it. The only real complaint I have is the lack of saves. You have to work through three minilevels to complete one save. This is very frustrating when you work through to the last only to get destroyed in the last few minutes of play and have to start all over again. Still for any Galactica fan, this is a must have. I hope it inspires further Galactica collectibles and games.

I enjoy a good space shooter even though I'm not particularly good at them (I admit that I couldn't get through the first space mission in Star Wars: Starfighter without using a cheat). This is definitely a good one. Graphics are very nice. One thing I like is that you don't feel like you're just floating in space; you feel like you're actually flying. Hitting a turbo boost really feels like you're hitting a turbo boost. The ship controls are excellent, and targeting is easy and intuitive. The ability to customize and tweak your missiles for optimum performance/energy use adds a nice amount of gameplay depth.

For an extra challenge try the in-cockpit view. It's harder because your view is partially obstructed by the cockpit, and your field of view is limited to what you see through the windshield, but it really does feel like you're piloting the Viper. It makes the game feel even more like Starlancer for the Dreamcast, which is one of the best console space shooters of all time (and was also developed by Warthog).

The major complaint I have with this game is one that I'm sure many will share: the lack of save points during missions. You will often make it through all but the last level of a multi-level mission only to fail the objective of the last level and have to start over all the way at the beginning of the entire mission. This is an irritating flaw in an otherwise well-designed game and adds an unnecessary level of frustration to the game, expecially for those of us who are not especially gifted at space shooters (like me). If there were checkpoints within levels, I would give it at least an extra 1/2 star. As it is, it's still an excellent game that's worth checking out if you're a fan of the license or a fan of the space shooter genre.

After reading several of the reviews, I decided to wait until the price dropped below $30. Within a few hours, I had completed the first 3 missions, and had not experienced the emotional frustration everyone else is talking about.
First of all, the game is very, very similar to the old X-wing game. With X-wing, there was about 30 keyboard-based commands which had to be learned throughout the game in order to be successful. With Battlestar, as long as you read the directions, you can get it down to about 10 necessary buttons....no where nearly as complicated as X-wing, and you don't have to take your eyes off the screen to hit W, S, +, or -.
One advantage to the game is that it actually requires some sort of skill. The new Star Wars games seem to incorporate the theory that the person who can hit the fire button the most times wins. With Battlestar, there is an energy level that does not allow you to just hold down turbo and fire the entire time. Also, your movements and time delay have a direct impact on finishing the mission.
As stated in every review, there is no "autosave" button to store progress in the middle of the mission. But then again, there are many games that are like this (Mechassault, Nightfire (007), XIII, Clone Wars, just to name a few). If you liked X-wing, and you like the concept of Battlestar, this is a great game.