This 1980s classic is finally on XBOX Live Arcade and as long you like the game before, you will still like it now.
Every level except the challenge stages starts out with ships coming up to their formation at the top of the screen with different patterns as you progress in the game and firing at the same time. You're a plane-looking ship that is limited to left and right movement trying to destroy these ships to move on to the next level. After the enemies form at the top, they start coming down firing at you or hitting you by themselves. There is a enemy ship that can capture your fighter and you lose a life, but you have an opportunity to regain that fighter if you destroy the captured ship or just waste the one you lost. The challenging stages are basically target practice for the player as you try to hit as many ships as they come and go adding to your score. These stages have a higher chance of perfection if you have a dual fighter prepared for it. These levels will get progressively harder with more enemies and limited chances of survival.
The 360 port of Galaga feels like old-school Galaga. You can adjust the screen to any setting, but it is better in default setting anyway. The controls are basically three things with the left stick as movement with the A and B buttons as firing shots. The major difference for this 360 version is the continue option when you lose all your lives and you can continue from the level you died, which I don't know if the original arcade cabinet had that option. This continue option is good for new players, but veterans might be a little disappointed since they can go to level 40 without dying. It is also the cheesy way to get the 200 achievement points as well. Speaking of achievements, The points in this game are very easy ranging from having a dual fighter, killing a captured fighter, completing a challenge stage, seeing all the different enemies, and progressing through the stages (points at level 10, 20, and 30).
In the end, Galaga for the XBOX Live Arcade is what it is meant to be, which is classic Galaga. It is arcade perfect with a continue option to make the game a little easier even though you can get all the points in like two to three hours depending on your skill. It is five bucks as well with games like Uno, Frogger, and any arcade classic out now. It is highly recommended to fans of the game and people who want the easy 200 points.