This means players have to go back and replay earlier levels multiple times in order to progress onto the next planet.The Rugger Team is an exploration, planetary survey, and defensive force. Stars are awarded based on performance during a level, and Tatooine has twelve levels. Tatooine is the starting planet, and to unlock Hoth, players need to collect forty-eight stars. Three other planets are visible, but locked away behind “coming soon” subheadings. But I soon realized I could go back and repeat levels on harder difficulties for increased experience and a chance at a rare relic, which are used to increase the power of the chosen champion.Ĭurrently there are only three planets available in the game: Tatooine, Hoth, and Endor. The orbital bombardment ability is one of five support card options that players can purchase with in-game currency as well as real-world cash.Īt first, I was frustrated with how difficult Galactic Defense was, figuring that the game was not-so-subtly nudging me towards buying more support cards. Many times I had to rely on the lane-clearing orbital bombardment ability to clear out the lanes when things became too hectic. The varied amount of enemies that the waves throw at you is overwhelming. However, beyond the first level, Galactic Defense gets challenging quickly. Players familiar with Kingdom Rush will be able to jump right into the game utilizing many of the same standard tower defense strategies. The blaster tower is the standard, ranged tower an infantry tower dispenses melee units, an artillery tower will slowly damage units hit by its shells, and the droid tower slows enemies and increases the damage done to them by the other towers. The towers are all straightforward and easy to understand. Much like Kingdom Rush, the levels in Galactic Defense require the player to strategically plan out the placement of four different types of defensive towers, which can be upgraded a handful of ways to further facilitate a particular usage. Players can freely move their champions throughout the level as they see fit, and their abilities will automatically recharge after a short duration. Each champion has their own unique abilities that the player can utilize to their advantage on the battlefield.įor example, Darth Vader has a brutal lightsaber attack that damages enemies all around him, while Luke Skywalker can summon a droid that attacks nearby enemies while slowing their movement speed. The Dark campaign features villains like Darth Vader, General Grievous, Darth Maul, and my personal favorite, Boba Fett. Luke Skywalker, Yoda, Chewbacca, and even Admiral Ackbar are some of the champions players will get to control in the Light campaign. These champions are the characters that Star Wars fans will recognize in a heartbeat. The major difference, and what ultimately fueled my decision to play more on the Dark campaign than the Light campaign, is that each side has unique champions that the player controls throughout the levels. The choice is not definitive, and players can switch back and forth between the Light and Dark campaigns as they wish. Right from the beginning, players have the option to play as the good guys or the bad guys. In fact, that’s a good place to start the review: Star Wars Galactic Defense is essentially two games in one.