Global Defense (Sega Master System) review "Earth's Mightiest Goalie"

What's scarier than ballistic missiles? Ballistic missiles mysteriously appearing from the far reaches of space. What's worse is... they're heading straight for Earth! With very little time to react, Earth's leaders respond by sending their best pilot into space, giving this ace the daunting task of wiping out every missile targeting the blue planet while also heading towards the source. Was this skilled fighter sent in a speedy, stylized spaceship that's equipped with screen-destroying bombs and multiple weapons? S-something better... a satellite that nonchalantly floats through space. If this ends up being the world's savior, then there's really no other choice; the game's cold, silent opening of New York City getting blown out of existence is a grim reminder of what will happen to the rest of Earth.

If you think Global Defense sounds suspiciously close to Missile Command's plot, you're not far off with the comparison. Sega takes the concept of players countering horrifying hordes of missiles and turns half of it into something else. At the beginning of each stage, called the Offensive Half, you must navigate across a screen that slowly auto-scrolls from right to left, shooting down missiles and other obstacles with a cursor while also dodging attacks with your satellite; and this is oldschool, so you know a single touch from said attacks is an instant kill for your pilot. If you let any enemy drift off the playing field without destroying them, your 25-block meter at the bottom of the screen slowly drains away. Though if you want to look at this more bleakly, every missile you let slip will kill thousands if not millions of people. No pressure, right?

But seriously: this game is nothing but pressure. For instance, if you let a single opposing object escape, whether it be ballistic missiles, rival satellites, or turrets, you will be sent to the Defensive Half regardless of how good you did overall. This other half of Global Defense is literally Sega's take on Missile Command, where you must stop an onslaught of missiles from dropping down unto different surfaces depending on the stage. These surfaces can range from Earth and a moon base, to what appears to be a habitat on one of Saturn's moons. Some missiles even split into multiple pieces as they make their nosedive.

Interestingly, missiles come in larger numbers here and faster than in Offensive, meaning the urgency to rid them is higher. Though, along with a more frantic pace in Defensive comes another factor. All blocks that are knocked off your meter in Offensive is carried over into Defensive, and further adding to the tension is that, if all blocks are removed in this latter half, the game immediately ends; doesn't matter if you have lives remaining. So while Offensive may not be as intense as Defensive, you still really need to give it your best to avoid as many misses as possible to stand a chance, especially the deeper you get into Global Defense. As an incentive, if you destroy everything in an Offensive Half, Defensive is automatically skipped for that stage and you get an extra life. Considering you only have three lives and there's no method to continue after they're lost, you're gonna need all the help you can get.



You must do all this while dealing with a limited-but-not-really-awkward control set-up. Not surprising for its era, the game is a port of a Sega arcade title, one with a unique control scheme where a joystick moves the satellite and a track ball moves the cursor. Of course, this doesn't exist on the Sega Master System by default, so a compromise was made where the cursor is the standard d-pad movement, yet moving the satellite requires holding a button while pressing the pad. But despite the stressing nature of the game, it doesn't get to where you can't handle this; it also doesn't hurt that most objects on screen can't hurt your satellite, usually things that are directly hunting it, such as tracking projectiles. As an aside, Sega attempted to replicate the arcade's configuration in the form of a two-player co-op code input, in which controller one moves the cursor and controller two steers the satellite.

Global Defense is surprisingly "deceptive" in its simplicity. On the surface, it appears to be an easy, nonchalant version of Missile Command with a huge life meter and free roam of your protagonist. Then you unveil its layers of difficulty and realize how unnerving the game is to beat in a single session. It does a solid job incorporating its mechanics and features to create a pressuring experience, and if you are interested, the game also goes by the name of its original title of SDI: Strategic Defense Initiative depending on the port and region; considering the themes of the game, yes, it's a direct reference to the now-defunct US program. It makes you wonder if Sega was fully aware of its infamous Star Wars nickname and whether they used that in some capacity. If you manage to reach the final area, you get a deathly answer. An army of them, to be exact.

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