Customer Reviews

Battlestar Galactica

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Wow. I honestly cannot believe how many people are complaining about this game's difficulty. Granted, I am a seasoned veteran of flight sims, but my brother-in-law is a casual gamer and he beat the first mission on his first try. That, however, is beside the point, because if you're unfamiliar with modern flight sims in the first place, then you have no business reviewing this game. You should have sampled at least one other flight sim in the past, like Ace Combat 04, and should not have bought it based solely on your love of the show.

I'm not kidding, people. In comparison with Star Trek: Invasion and Colony Wars: Vengeance, Battlestar Galactica is a cakewalk. Take, for example, the secondary weapon system. You have a constantly replenishing supply of torpedoes and can lock on to multiple targets at once. What's more, when you gain bonus points, you earn even more torpedoes that can be fired simultaneously and can raise their agility, speed, or power, though they RARELY miss and are powerful enough (even in the first mission) to destroy a Cylon raider. Additionally, your shields recharge automatically, the Cylons are very poor marksmen, and outrunning enemy torpedoes is absolutely NO challenge.

To those who don't like the absence of difficulty settings and training missions, I suppose that's understandable. However, complaints about there not being cheat options are ridiculous. Like I said, you should have been prepared for a challenge, not a chance to tactlessly destroy everything in sight. The manual IS helpful; you just need to read it more carefully. As for saving, try exploring the menu a little. If you still can't figure it out, a prompt will appear after completing a mission. (Note: The first mission involves both defending the Galactica AND assaulting the asteroid.)

That said, veterans of the Ace Combat and Colony Wars sagas (like myself) will undoubtedly find Battlestar Galactica easier, but also very enjoyable. Missions can be replayed as well as cinematics, which are gorgeous. Graphics, sound effects, and explosions are top-notch. This is an all-around great game for those who know what to expect.

This game is really faithful to the original BSG movie and not the remake ie: the Cylons are reptillian-cyborgs, all the ships fire lasers, the ships themselves look exactly the same as the ones in the original BSG. Only the opening narration in the game (and in the unhelpful game manual) actually allude to the remake (probably at the behest of the game's producers to try & make it coincide with the remake's premiere on US TV). This type of management interference may have angered the game's programmers somewhat (they themselves appear to be fans of the original BSG given the game's faithfulness to the original BSG movie) which is probably why they made 1st mission overly difficult so that many of the gamers would use the following cheat to get through (this cheat allows you to use Apollo & Starbuck as wingmen , basically confirming the original BSG as the basis of this game & shattering all allusions to the Remake). Apparenty there is side-plot which explains that Apollo & Starbuck have travelled back in time to help Adama to fight the Cylon Empire. By having Apollo & Starbuck as wingmen you can use them to destroy everything in the game which helps you to get through the dreaded 1st level.

At the "EXTRAS" menu type the following arrow-keys on the joypad : v v < v v ^ > > (ie: 2-down, 1-left, 2-down, 1-up, 2-right).

You will hear a Cylon say "By your command" and the names of Apollo & Starbuck appear bottom left of the screen.

To get thru the dreaded 1st mission I would advise you press the "select" 3 times to select the full-screen mode (this mode clears the cockpit display allowing to get a full view of the battle screen which makes it easier to target Cylons and allows to enjoy the nice graphics). I also recommend using the "config missiles" option at the EXTRAS menu to give yourself more missiles in the game.

To use Starbuck/Apollo to kill a Cylon target simply tap the ^ (up-arrow key) and they will destroy it (the boys have infinite firepower & cannot be killed. They will destroy whatever is targeted in your cursor, so use the R2 button to toggle the cursor to the desired target & then press up-arrow key & just sit back & watch the boys kill the target). Use Apollo/Starbuck to destroy the Raider Leaders after you are warned midway thru the level that the Cylon Lizards are attacking the galactica bridge (To get this midlevel warning you do have to shoot 1 or 2 Cylons just so that the game is aware that you are still actually playing it!). After the midlevel warning you can just order App/Star to kill 6 or 7 Raider Leaders (Your target cursor should automatically switch to the next Raider-leader after the previous one is destroyed by the 2 boys. If it doesn't then just tap the R2 button twice to toggle the target to the next Raider-Leader. It's a good idea to "follow" the target to make sure the boys kill it after you have ordered them) before the rest of the cyborg-Lizards retreat. it will take a few attempts to get used to ordering Apollo & Starbuck before you can sit back and let them do all the hard work.

In the 2nd half of the 1st mission use App/Star to destroy as many (or all) of the Cylons and the 5 satelites (simply tap the R2 bottom to select the target then press up-arrow to have it destroyed by the 2 boys). You will still have some bother trying to save your lame wingmen (just use your missiles and tap the R2 & up-arrow key to have App/Star to kill the nearest Cylons attacking your wingmen). Once you have saved your wingmen use App/Star to destroy the shield generator (again use R2 to toggle to the target then tap up-arrow to order the boys to kill it).

Then target the orange spots on the big asteroid (these are tylium deposits) and get the 2 boys to destroy each one. In the meantime you will have to use your missiles to kill off a few of the cyborg-lizards that are attacking you & your lame wingmen until App/Star destroy all the orange bits on the big rock. The big rock then explodes, just fly away from it and tap the R1 once and quickly hold it down (this uses your turbos to escape the explosion). You are then finally through the dreaded 1st mission and will be awarded with a cool cut-scene of a Cylon warrior reporting to the Imperious Leader (The Chief-Reptile). Be sure to save your game to your 8mb cartridge and you will never have to play the dreaded 1st level ever again.

Just remember it will take a few attempts to get thru the 1st level even with the above cheat (thanks to the still tricky part of saving your lame wingmen from the Cylons). Don't worry when you do have to start the mission again just let Apollo & Starbuck do all the hard work. It is a great cheat that will get thru the 1st level. It's great to hear the boys shout "FOR THE COLONIES!!" before they destroy a Cylon Lizard.

P.S. You know it might be a good idea if the PS2-gamers that have completed all (or most) of this BSG game actually sold their 8MB cartridges containing their "saved-games" on Ebay for the rest of us no-hopers to purchase (hint, hint).

I think we all now agree the first mission is rediculously difficult... so Im not going to repeat what others said. I will however offer another hint: If you target the "cylon leaders" and kill the leaders only.... the rest of the cylons will bugger off. So.... learn how to use missles and learn how to target.... and it will be a breeze.

Now... for the rest. This game has some beautiful cut scenes and great acting for a video game. The in flight graphics are fantastic as well... from the vast beauty in space, to the debree, to the planets, right down to the fighters and explosions they cause when you destroy them. If you are a fan of the wing commander series and the freelancer game (on PC).... these graphics match that quality beautifully.

Flight controls are simple, although they may seem a bit intimidating at first (almost every button has a secondary function as well). After about 1.5 hours.... I had the nack of it (thats how long it took me to beat the first mission).

All in all.... after the first mission.... the game is simply awesome. I almost gave up on the game when I couldnt beat the first mission. Im defintily glad I didnt.

PROS: Graphics, Flight control, Cut-Scenes, Bonus Material, Story line and "did I mention" Graphics.

CONS: First mission is much too difficult and frustrating and save areas are few and far between causing alot of repeat play (but the game is only 15 missions long... they had to make it last somehow). If it wasnt for these two CONS, the game would be a "5".

All in all... expect to be aggrivated by the first mission. But dont give up... you will be glad you didnt.

It's a very hard game. You are unable to save, which means you have to restart the game from the beginning. After awhile it becomes tedious, boring, & useless. There is no novice setting, and there are no tutorials. The manual is very vague. It only tells you that you can load a saved game, but it doesn't tell you how to save. Also, there is no place that I can see a device were you can activate a cheat code, even if it exists. It's a shame that a BSG game finally comes out to be a total lemon. It looks as if the game was rushed to coincide with the new upcoming tv show for the mighty dollar without it being tested for proper gameplay. Until cheat codes come out for this game, it will be almost impossible to enjoy. Also, Amazon does not take back refunds on opened Video Games.

--Follow Up:
After playing the game for a while, The game does save but you have to clear a few levels at a time. If you die in any one of the levels you have to restart from the beginning of that level set. To clear the mission where you have to protect your wingman, use the smart bombs to weaken the cylons attack group.

The game does have excellent graphics. Be patient, you will get better. The game should have been better descibed in the manual which is definately vague. Vivendi is very poor in responding to emails and long distance phone call run arounds, and they are not cooperative. Bad reveiws like this one could have been avoided.

And as far as the comment stated by another reveiwer is concerned "if you're unfamiliar with modern flight sims in the first place, then you have no business reviewing this game.". Every person who shells out $50 of his hard earned money, wheather an ace or not, on a product should have EVERY right to review it to help other consumers as to the nature of the said product. That is what this respectful forum is for.

I don't care how good the graphics are, or how great the sound is, the game is just unplayable. You don't have the ability to save the game when you need it. I'm stuck on the first level, with a stupid mission to protect the other viper pilots. I only have about 30 seconds to save them, before they die. And then I have to start the entire first level again. This happens about a half hour into the game. Play 20-30 minutes, then have 30 seconds to figure out what is going on... Yeah, good idea.

I've warned you... don't waste your money. I sure wish that I hadn't.

Yeah you're right, that first level was one of the hardest. I played and failed at that level for Centons on end. I tried to get the cheat book but no luck.

And I really thought about giving up, but I just felt like any gaming addict, to draw enough resolve to get through it. "Frak!"

Once I figured out that you need to hike up the Viper missle power and kill the Raider Leaders, and in the next scene to find the sattlite quickly and blow them up, take down the asteroid hot spots, then finally, I made it past the first save level.

My advice would be for any buyer or fan: stick through level 1 and once you pass it, it's worth it! better than the easy fortunes at Caralon.

The next levels are quite good. you've got several levels with Cylon BaseStars, one with the derelict old spaceship, another flying the cylon raider, one as the Galactica gunners having a battle while in lightspeed, and many others.

Two particularly difficult ones:

Riding the comet- you gotta blow as many asteroids so it wont damage the galactica, and when the cylons appear, try to blow as many Cylons, and if anyone wants the tip of how to survive, well, all I can say is "run away".

The penultimate level was the absolute hardest, destroy the Cylon leeches, then the hardest thing of all, destroy the basestar and hope paulus dosen't get killed, then a couple of cleverly hard obstacles which i finally figured out, and then the last level is a breeze. but I had fun in that penultimate level.

The cutscenes are first rate, though I wanted to see more full screen Adama character moments. After all, the game revolves around him.

all in all, great game. I recommend the game.

By Your Command.

Yeah, there are some flaws (can't always save when you'd like, no tutorial missions), but if you like Battlestar Galactica this game is for you. It took me a while to beat the second mission, but thanks to the other reviews here I was ready for that. I just stayed patient, used each attempt to learn something and tried to have fun even when I failed. The game really is fun. I highly recomend it.

The Graphics of this game are awsome, sound also, but playability is just rediculous, even getting the hang of the game you are frustrated, they could have done it more realistic, it's a sad state when the troop carriers have more armor than a Basestar. Over all if your a fan of the show you will like it, however replay value is another story when or if you get through the frustration of getting through the 15 levels you will be happy to get rid of the game.

I just purchased this game. Be forewarned, there are no training flights or tutorials and the game manual really is not that helpful. Essentially, when you load the game, you are flying your first mission as a novice pilot.

The first mission is difficult and you may get frustrated. Try choosing the different views until you find one that you are comfortable with. Yes, the Battlestar Galatica will be destroyed many times until you get the hang of the game.

The graphics and sounds are awesome. The game is quite enjoyable and even addicting.

My advice for Vivendi Universal is to add tutorials and/or training flights in the future.

I was stuck for a long time on the same part in the 1st mission as another rewiewer, where you have to (try and) save your wingmen from dying (right after you blow up the small satellites).

I finally succeeded at getting through that stage by noticing that if you pump up "speed" vs. "power" on the missile tweaking menu, you get more missiles. So, after blowing away the last small satellite, try and turn towards that big asteroid where your wingmen cluster around so that you can get a head-start when the interim movie clears. Then Turbo (note, as we die-hard fans know, that big white button was labled "Turbo" not "Afterburner" in the original series :) over to your (incredibly untalented) wingmen and when you get close enough for missile lock, fire off a full spread.

It seems like if you start annoying the pursuing raiders, this distracts them a little so you have more time to kill them off, even though pushing speed vs. power means multiple missile hits to kill each one. Fire at the ones closest to your wingmen first.

Other notes, once, after the initial missile salvo, I overshot and the raiders were actually shooting at the wingmen from behind me (I was too close to the wingmen). I tried to back off to be able to shoot the raiders when they passed me (too late). Also, that big asteroid really gets in the way sometimes. Try and make sure your initial beeline to the wingmen gets you way to the same side of the asteroid as the wingmen are on. It's worth a slight detour.

After that, there's just a couple more (much easier) things to do before the game offers you the opportunity to save.

Overall: 3 stars, all for nostalgic sounds and graphics! -2 stars for frustration (mainly about the save points as others have mentioned) and I agree with the earlier poster, I would have really liked to be able to launch (why were there three switches AND three buttons required to start the engines in the series, anyway?? :) and land!

On to Mission 2! :)

GC.