Defender was always a hard game but this version definitely seems harder than usual, something that's compounded by the bad controls.
I honestly wonder what the people who develop these games were thinking when they decide to release these games with difficulty levels like this.
Back in the day, the reason why games like Defender were so hard was simply to make sure your game ended after a few minutes so you'd feed another coin into the machine. It wasn't until the "buy in" option appeared in Gauntlet that there was any other realistic alternative to this strategy for reaping coinage.
Nowadays, on a console there's just no need for it. And it's putting many gamers off buying these old titles.
We're supposed to enjoy these games. Part of the enjoyment in gaming is that feeling of progression you get as you play. You get so far into a game before you die. You feel like you're actually getting somewhere.
With Defender, Robotron etc the difficulty curve is too steep for many players, especially the newer generations of gamers. I grew up with these games so I'm used to it. Others I've spoken to have said that just as you're getting into the game, it's over. Because of the high difficulty.
A better set up would have been three sets of leaderboards, one for each difficulty at easy, medium or hard.
I wouldn't have used the terms "easy", "medium" or "hard" either. I'd have used "Casual", "Advanced" and "Hardcore".
It would have allowed players to compete on a leaderboard that more suited how much they want to put into the game.
The fluffy newborn chick of hope tumbles from the eggshell of life and splashes into the hot frying pan of doom.
