Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back

The Good
There's a lot to be said about this game: It's arcade-style play mechanics, its take on one of the most classic scenes in the original Star Wars Trilogy, the brief "Star Wars" theme and use of the Force, the challenge, finding that one weak spot on an AT-AT (of which I wiped out six in a row one time), the challenge, the increasingly fast pace.... It's a great shooter, and really captures the fun of the movie, as well as being a competent game even without the license. Best of all, even with the blocky graphics, the vehicles are still easily recognizable.

The Bad
The NES version (though a much larger and longer game encompassing the entire film) did a classic take on this scene. After being shot down, Luke could get out of the Snowspeeder, climb over the hills, and destroy At-Ats in the distance until another Speeder became available. The feature made the took the original gameplay aspect and added one step, which just made it great.

As for this version of the game, it really was a competent title. The above musing is really just wishful thinking from a later game.

The Bottom Line
As a kid, I loved this title, and would play it for hours on end. There are some similarities to Defender, but they did a good job of keeping the Star Wars-themed elements in it to set it apart, as well as keeping the utter hopeless factor of the film's scene. As much as you tried, the At-Ats would eventually make it to and destroy the power generator.

There's been so many Star Wars titles released over the last two decades that it's honestly hard to keep count, but it's surprising that one of the best, as well as one of my most favorite, was among the first ever to be released. Great game for classic enthusiasts. Recommended.