I recently found Defender for the NES (technically it's "Defender II", but since neither game has any real storyline, it doesn't matter much). I enjoy playing it quite a bit. I've had Defender for my Atari 2600 for years and years now and I was curious as to how they compare.
So, I played both games back to back and here's what I've noticed so far:
Music: NES version has better music (although it's only at the beginning of the game). Atari 2600 version has almost no music at all.
Sound effects: The NES version has more sound effects, but I like certain sound effects from the Atari better, especially the subtle little "splat" noise your hapless human makes if you shoot the alien ship but don't catch the human in time before he hits the ground.
Graphics: The NES version has more detail in the ships. Your ship kind of disappears when you shoot in the Atari version which looks weird. I like the cityscape full of skyscrapers in the Atari version better than the barren mountains in the NES version though.
Gameplay: Almost the same except that there is the added dimention in the Atari version in that not only do you have to catch the falling human, you have to bring him back to the ground to get all the points. In the NES version, he is kind of absorbed into your ship when you catch him.
Options: The NES version has more options including being able to play with the arcade controll scheme which makes flying the ship a bit harder.
Difficulty: The Atari version is a bit easier to play than the NES version. Especially if you know about the bug in the Atari version that lets you fly below the city buildings so that you can't get shot. That way, you can sneak up on alien landers and shoot them just as they are picking up humans for easy points.
Have you guys played both console versions? If so, which did you like better? Overall, I like the Atari version slightly better though the NES one deserves props for being a bit more faithful to the arcade version.
P.S. I also remember there being a version for the Gameboy Advance that had the option of "updated" graphics and choices of different ships with different abilities. It was OK, but I prefer these two console versions over it. There was also that abomination of a game for the Xbox where you tried to play Defender in 3-D. A nice idea, to be sure, but controlling the ship was a real bear. As hard as the classic modes are, the 3-D mode was even harder for the worst reasons.
So, I played both games back to back and here's what I've noticed so far:
Music: NES version has better music (although it's only at the beginning of the game). Atari 2600 version has almost no music at all.
Sound effects: The NES version has more sound effects, but I like certain sound effects from the Atari better, especially the subtle little "splat" noise your hapless human makes if you shoot the alien ship but don't catch the human in time before he hits the ground.
Graphics: The NES version has more detail in the ships. Your ship kind of disappears when you shoot in the Atari version which looks weird. I like the cityscape full of skyscrapers in the Atari version better than the barren mountains in the NES version though.
Gameplay: Almost the same except that there is the added dimention in the Atari version in that not only do you have to catch the falling human, you have to bring him back to the ground to get all the points. In the NES version, he is kind of absorbed into your ship when you catch him.
Options: The NES version has more options including being able to play with the arcade controll scheme which makes flying the ship a bit harder.
Difficulty: The Atari version is a bit easier to play than the NES version. Especially if you know about the bug in the Atari version that lets you fly below the city buildings so that you can't get shot. That way, you can sneak up on alien landers and shoot them just as they are picking up humans for easy points.
Have you guys played both console versions? If so, which did you like better? Overall, I like the Atari version slightly better though the NES one deserves props for being a bit more faithful to the arcade version.
P.S. I also remember there being a version for the Gameboy Advance that had the option of "updated" graphics and choices of different ships with different abilities. It was OK, but I prefer these two console versions over it. There was also that abomination of a game for the Xbox where you tried to play Defender in 3-D. A nice idea, to be sure, but controlling the ship was a real bear. As hard as the classic modes are, the 3-D mode was even harder for the worst reasons.
