Star Defender 3

by Ashley Cotter-Cairns
(Download-Free-Computer-Games.com)

Get a FREE 1hr trial of Star Defender 3 from Big Fish Games!

Flashback! I spent much of the 1980s staring at upright games machines and wondering where the next 10p coin was going to come from to feed them, so Star Defender 3 is a really fun title for me. You'll love it too, if you like shooting aliens!

You're a rookie in star command, or something. Anyway, of course it's you against the universe. Fortunately you're armed; unfortunately, so are the bad guys. You have to blast insect-like aliens as they fly, crawl or creep in from the top, left and right of the screen. Give it a go now!

Shooting things repeatedly kills them and often, you'll be able to catch a bubble that falls down the screen, containing a power-up. This can be a shield recharge, or a better gun, or even an extra life.

You'll need lots of those because there is level after level (100 or more) of this. Every seven levels is a boss screen. You have to face down the huge monster and take it apart piece by piece. These levels are way harder than the regular ones and I found it a bit unfair that you could usually only take one hit from a boss before you died, even with a full shield.

The only other thing I don't like about the game is the pause at the end while the score adds up. Weird. Apart from that, Star Defender 3 is a rarely-seen game type these days and feels fresh for that. The graphics and sound are beautiful, yet retro feeling. You should give the FREE 1hr trial a spin and see if shooting aliens is as much fun in 2010 as it was in 1982!