Following in the wake of Star Wars back in the late 1970s, Battlestar Galactica did a commendable job of bringing epic outer-space combat down to Earth as episodic TV fare. Battlestar Galactica the game represents with similar fortitude, at least enough to satisfy space jockeys with an immediate itch in their trigger fingers. As with the TV series, Star Wars this is not. Rogue Squadron is pretty, Battlestar is pretty intense. The fierce and sometimes frenetic spaceship combat bombards the screen and challenges your skills at the controls of a Colonial Viper fighter versus all manner of craft piloted by the Cylon robots. In the mold of Wing Commander, the futuristic fighting places a heavy reliance on technology in the form of radar, homing missiles, long-range sensors, and the like. In fact, when the fighting’s hot and heavy, you’re really just concentrating on chasing and aiming at gunsight reticles, which doesn’t leave time to appreciate the good-looking design and architecture of the enemy craft. The deft controls open up an entertaining mix of gameplay. They enable you to pull some big-time G-forces while maneuvering your Viper, and you can lay down deadly firepower by easily switching between primary and secondary weapons. You can even configure the effects of your missiles on the fly during combat. Additionally, you man a turret gun from a first-person view from within a Colonial bomber. Battlestar Galactica coats a thumb-blistering shooter with an old-school, sci-fi license. There’s nothing particularly special here for classic TV fans, but classic shooter fans will find a battle worth fighting
