There are times when you want a simple and straightforward experience from your games. This is especially true for older gamers who grew up when the arcade experienced its golden age in the '80s. Storylines were pushed aside for high score chases, and games were very easy to pick up and play. Every once in a while, a modern game tries to recapture some of those feelings. Titles like Pac-Man Championship Edition DX+ and Galaga Legions DX have become perfect examples for how to introduce old game design sensibilities to a new era. For a game like Cosmic Rocket Defender, a number of things prevent it from reaching that upper echelon.

Aliens have invaded Earth, and the military seems unable to stop their onslaught. Their only hope lies with a truck carrying a missile launcher. As the driver of the truck, your job is to go from area to area, blasting away all of the alien craft until none are left.

The obvious influence from the title is Space Invaders, as your terrestrial craft is charged with blowing up enemies from above. Just like in Taito's classic, enemies move back and forth in rows, moving down as they reach the end of the screen. Though the UFO still exists, there are no shields to hide behind, and enemies stay close to the ground at the end of their descent instead of ending the game. The title is also influenced by a few classic shooters of yesteryear. Just like in Galaga, enemies break formation and dart around the screen, most of them coming low to the ground before flying back to their squad. The game also borrows from the old Nintendo game Radar Scope, as the screen is presented in a tilt, complete with a visible grid to help sell you on the perspective.

Despite the classic game influences, Cosmic Rocket Defender deviates from those formulas in more than a few areas. Your vehicle has an armor meter, so it takes more than one shot to down it. Borrowing from some of the shooters that came about in the late '80s and '90s, you also have a megaton bomb that you can use to blow up a number of enemies within the blast zone. Some enemies also drop items when destroyed, ranging from simple point bonuses to shields and the ability for a faster missile launcher. Cash is also dropped, and that gets used between levels to buy more abilities for your truck. You can buy extra speed for your missiles and make them more powerful when they hit. You can also buy extra weapons, like a laser and mortar shot, and you can refill your megaton bombs and armor before the next round begins.

When put together, the mechanics make for a simple but challenging shooter. The enemy firing patterns are anything but predictable, and though it doesn't get as wild as a "bullet hell" shooter, the gunplay can be hectic. The fact that you can only have three of your projectiles at a time before you can fire more adds some tension to the game, as does the fact that whatever extra powers you acquire in one round is quickly erased by the time the next round begins. Boss firing patterns may be predictable, but their firing power ensures that you'll be punished with a quick death if you misread it. For shooting fans, this can be absolutely fun.

The problem is that the game does a few things to negate that sense of challenge. You have infinite continues and no punishment. Aside from the cash you gained in that stage before you died, you keep all of the upgrades you do to the truck, and you can keep all of the points accumulated until your death. The last part is a major sticking point because the title sports online leaderboards for those who finish, and repeatedly sitting on a stage, racking up points, and dying before the stage completes is a very unfair method for reaching the top. The story is very bare-bones and there are no other indicators on the leaderboard beyond the score.

It also doesn't help that the roster of enemies is thin and their introductions come with no sense of importance. Save for their colors, every enemy craft looks the same. None are tougher than the other, and their firing methods are similar. You'll eventually get to invisible enemies who throw bombs, but otherwise, every bout feels too familiar. Even the bosses don't look all that different, since it seems like it is just one type with more additions grafted on.

One really surprising thing about Cosmic Rocket Defender is the lack of options all. PC gamers tend to expect options for almost everything, and a number of them will settle for the basics if the game isn't that demanding. Here, the options simply don't exist. You have the choice to play with either a keyboard, controller or mouse, but none of those buttons can be reconfigured. There's no option to fiddle with sound levels, and there's no option to change graphics resolution. There isn't even an option to play in full-screen, so you're stuck with a window that can only be resized before the title screen kicks in. When you consider that the game was released on Desura a year ago and is only now coming to Steam, the lack of improvements during that time period is really disappointing.

As far as presentation goes, it's clean but nothing really special. Backgrounds look pretty simple, and there's not much in the range of color. With the exception of some basic fire effects, backgrounds are also pretty static. Enemy ships and bosses are simple polygonal creations that are angular enough to be considered something from the early polygon era, though with lots of cleanup. The special effects are also pretty basic, so don't expect anything fancy, even if it all moves at a solid frame rate. Meanwhile, the sound effects are fine, even if they are a bit muted, and the music is a generic guitar riff that seems to loop endlessly.

In the end, Cosmic Rocket Defender just isn't strong enough to capture that old arcade magic. The basic shooting is good, but the challenge that should come with it is ripped away due to a continue system that is way too generous. The presentation would have been fine if any thought had been given to the game options. Considering the very low price, some fun can be had with the title, but it is definitely an appetizer and not a juicy main course that you can sink your teeth into.

Score: 5.0/10