Atari 5200 Review: GALAXIAN by Atari Upon its introduction in late 1982, Atari hyped 5200 Galaxian quote extensively, and tried to appeal to prospective 5200 customers by promising that it was the first of many SuperSystem "exclusives" to come. Never mind that Galaxian was getting long on the tooth by the time, or that the company was also planning a 2600 version of the game less than a year later. It was still one of the better slide-and-shoot games in the arcades, and Galaga had not yet been introduced by Namco. Graphically speaking, 5200 Galaxian is faithful to the blockbuster coin-op. The ship and the aliens are drawn with a high amount of detail and color, and sound effects, while not particularly varied, are faithful to the original. What brings 5200 Galaxian down a notch, however, is in the swooping of the enemies (or lack thereof.) This home version's enemies don't quite fly down and attack with the same amount of fluidity that is found in the original. It's a bit choppier and it makes it difficult to properly position your ship to aim and fire, or otherwise avoid them. You wouldn't expect the home port to match the smoothness of the coin-op, but it's disappointing nonetheless. Other than that, there isn't much more to say about Galaxian. Even casual classic gamers have probably seen and played one version or another about a billion times. For those who never tire at shooting things, 5200 Galaxian is more than serviceable. Try it with the Trak-ball controller for an unusual gaming experience. Title Galaxian Publisher Atari System Atari 5200 SuperSystem Graphics 6 Sound 5 Gameplay 6 Overall 6 Reviewer Keita Iida