Planets Under Attack

Lore & Background

Planets Under Attack is a strategy adventure game in which the player controls a space fleet with the goal to conquer levels and complete missions in the fight for dominance in multiple planetary systems. Each level provides a diversity of goals, modes, and difficulty levels. The player can conquer an entire planet system before an infested planet hatches aliens, or conquer a planet and hold off all comers. Each mission offers three levels of difficulty, with each level unlocking additional challenges. The game mechanics are packed into missions like rotating asteroid belts, changing star constellations, and varied objectives. By using tactics to complete objectives, the player will carve out a niche in the galaxy and level up to new ranks. A technology tree enables the player to strategically adapt to the game's increasing difficulty; the right combination of technologies is often the difference between victory and defeat. Technologies affect planetary defense, ship performance, and other boosts. In addition to the single player campaign and skirmish modes, the game offers an online multiplayer mode with live battles. There are different game modes: Team Multiplayer, Elimination, Capture, King of the Hill, and Domination, two playable races, and different team constellations, Skirmish and Multiplayer. There are unlockable ranks, avatars, and rewards.

Reader's Guide

Planets Under Attack holds significance as a strategy adventure game that adapts the Galcon formula into a more structured, mission-based experience with a technology tree and varied objectives. Its inclusion of multiple game modes—Team Multiplayer, Elimination, Capture, King of the Hill, and Domination—alongside two playable races and unlockable ranks, avatars, and rewards, provides depth for both single-player and online play. The game's mixed reception, as noted by Metacritic, reflects a balance of criticism for repetitiveness and praise for its gameplay and intuitiveness, as highlighted by the French magazine Joystick's 13/20 rating. Its legacy lies in offering a tactical, accessible entry in the strategy genre with a focus on planetary conquest and adaptive technology choices.

Did You Know?

• Planets Under Attack was inspired by the game Galcon.
• The game was developed by Targem Games.
• It received a 13/20 rating from the French magazine Joystick.
• The game features a technology tree that affects planetary defense and ship performance.