Galaga/Bud Light Lime

Game: Galaga, Namco, 1981, Arcade
Beer: Bud Light Lime, 12 fl.oz., 4.2% abv
# of beers consumed during play:4
Level Reached: 15th level
Level of Intoxication: Woozy

Game
When I was but a youth, haunting arcades in much the same manner as a felony conviction haunts a prospective employee, one game I would always play if given the chance was Galaga. Most every arcade had at least one Galaga machine tucked away, waiting silently for someone to drop in a quarter and transport themselves to a universe where stars flash in rainbow colors, enemies line up like a school marching band, and the player's ship only shoots two shots at a time. I always kept a couple quarters on hand for this game, ready to get my shmup on as soon as I saw the green and white sideart.

Gameplay
The premise of Galaga is simple, clear each wave of enemies in order to progress to the next. Of course, this single-sentence description belies the complexity and addictive qualities this game posseses. The difficulty curve is steady and honed to a razor's edge. Instead of coddling players, it introduces the enemies, gives about .0025 seconds to get a handle on the gameplay and then plunges the joystick jockey into a world of insect-shaped divebombing aliens, falling missiles, and bright blue tractor beams. This is by no measure a bad thing. As the difficulty ramps up, enemies attempting to turn you into an experiment in pyrotechnics will get steadily craftier and aggressive. The number of baddies assaulting you at one time will also grow denser, until you are weaving shuttlecock-like through a tapestry of silken death. This game having been around for so long, the best players have picked it apart, at times literally bit by bit, and while the information borne of those travels isn't so much strategy as "don't get hit," it is still interesting and at times invaluable. An example in this regard would be the venerable tractor beam sequences. The four green ships at the very top of the phalanx have the ability to swoop down and activate a tractor beam, stealing the very ship you are piloting.
This causes you to lose a life, and if it happens to be your last ship, you lose the game. Fortunately, in a clever twist, this ship is not permanently lost, doomed to attack its former handlers with mindless verve. If the player has the skill, the gumption, and the marksmanship, they may recapture their lost ship, whereupon it joins with the one currently in play, turning them both into a juggernaut of firepower. The twin ship strategy is extremely potent, and something the more seasoned players do right away. The flipside to this is it makes you twice the target on an already rather small playing field, but hey, nobody said saving the universe was easy, time to man-up.

Of course, wave after wave of alien assault can wear thin, so the designers of Galaga thoughtfully included bonus rounds after every third wave, just to give the player a rest and shake things up a bit. In these bonus rounds, the alien ships can't attack and won't come below the divebomb threshold, so the player is free to shoot all 40 of the wildly dancing alien ships without worry. The ships move in fast, set patterns, making a quick trigger finger and a good memory essential in getting all 40 baddies. The double-ship configuration helps immensely. Getting high marks in the bonus rounds is key to earning extra lives, which are given out at specific point tiers.

Over the years, Galaga has become host to some very interesting tricks, bugs, and other knick-knacks of fun. The three most famous are the No More Bombs trick, the Attract Mode Reset, and my personal favorite...
It should be noted now that Galaga is technically one of those old-school games that never end. Galaga does have a finite number of waves, going as high as 255, but depending on the game settings, will invariably reset right back to level 1, leaving the best players to simultaneously laugh inwardly at their skill and also curse themselves for drinking that Ultra Big Gulp before coming to the arcade. Galaga laughs at your modern games and their silly endings.

Graphics/Sound
Being made in 1981, Galaga isn't so much about graphics or sound as it is about crushing even the best players under an indomitable force of enemy attacks. Still, the graphics are clean, clear, and devilishly immersive. A veteran Galaga player is easy to spot, as soon as he drops that quarter, he settles into his customary gamer's stance and completely blots out the world around him. The deep black background speckled with glowing rainbow stars and the tri-chromatic enemies creates a mesmerizing environment that easily captures one's frontal lobe and refuses to let go.
In cahoots with the simple yet compelling graphics is the sound. A scant few themes and a host of very characteristic beeps and boops make each sound an event and each snatch of music a sublime reward. So unique and well-implemented are the sounds and music that they burn themselves into the brain of their followers. Any Galaga player can recognize any of the game's sounds, in any context, and tell you what they are. I'll remember the sound of a level flag appearing until the day I die.

Story
Galaga existed in a time before videogames were expected to justify their existence. In those days, when arcades were the representations of the zenith of interactive entertainment, the only reason a game needed to exist was that it was fun. They had only slightly more writ story than something along the lines of Parcheesi, and all their energies were dedicated to defeating the player. Galaga's story is thus:

"Shoot the aliens until your fingers bleed and your eyeballs dry out."

I don't profess to be an expert, but that sounds like a winner to me.

Beer
I'll start off by saying that this beer isn't nearly as bad as I've heard, the less than exciting light lager that is Bud Light combines with the not-quite-lime lime flavoring, and ends up being something a bit better than the sum of it's parts. Not much better, but still, I don't hear many people complaining about the sum of sugar, partially hydrogenated oil, and soy lethicin. That's not to say Bud Light Lime tastes better than sugar, partially hydrogenated oil, and soy lethicin, but the point I'm trying to make is that if pressed, I'll admit Bud Light Lime is acceptable as an alcoholic beverage when other primary, secondary, and tertiary choices are unavailable. The problem I see with Bud Light Lime and it's ilk is the fact that somewhere along the line, bars became disinclined to serve beers with accompanying extras. Going to a popular club and ordering a Corona with salt and limes was roughly equivalent an insult to the person tending bar as forcibly violating them with a bowling pin coated in Tabasco sauce. If they did acquiesce to your request it was usually accompanied with an oppressively steep bartab. Seeing a chance to kill two birds with one stone, beer makers began issuing lime, chelada and moosetaint variants in an attempt to keep both niche "extras" drinkers happy, while giving bartenders time to page furiously through their bartender's bible looking for the recipe for the imaginary drink some kid with a fake ID ordered. The problem with this is that this legitemizes the homogenization of drink flavors, and makes omitting or charging extra for such flavor enhancing accoutrements much easier for bar and club owners. It's not that I'm hanging out on my little soapbox, but really, if I'm expected to give 15-20% tips, I expect service that accompanies such gratuities. Also, depending on locale, "moosetaint" may or may not be an actual flavor variant, especially if you tip poorly and the barkeep's name just happens to be Moose, order with caution. Okay, moving on.

Point is, that the bitter, sharp flavor of Bud Light Lime isn't terrible, but it will never compare to a fresh, a la carte mixture measured by yours truly. The stringent aftertaste also weakens this particular offering, but if you like American pilsners, and you've already had a few, this particular variant will barely offend your overworked tastebuds. To be fair, the lime flavor isn't hideous, and if you're inclined to such fanciful dashes without the trouble of mixing up your own to taste, you may feel a particular happiness come over you. Still, for the rest of us who are able to cut our own lime and pinch our own salt will find this brew lacking in small but significant ways. To each their own.

The smell is basic hops and malts with a sheen of citric acid dulling the senses. Imagine smelling a freshly baked chocolate cake, covered with rich milk chocolate frosting and topped with fresh strawberries just as someone comes and sprays you in the face with diesel fuel. Yeah, it's like that. Not that I find the smell of lime off-putting, but I really cannot stress this enough...this isn't the lime your pappy grew up with, this is lab-lime, and while it might be close, it ain't perfect, and something deep within your brain will incessantly remind you of this as you drink, right up until you anesthetize that portion of your brain with enough lime-y alcohol. It may take a while.

The bubbles are rather prevalent, particularly if you've just eaten something else or have a fresh palette. Such carbonation may take you by surprise and cause you to feel fuller than you really are...much like your new prison cellmate. At the same time, the relatively low alcohol content-a paltry 4.2%-will be hard pressed to get you safely to la-la land, especially if you sip from these bottles like the commercials would suggest you do. Not saying anyone should take Bud Light Lime to the head with wild abandon, the end results of which I cannot speculate on a case-by-case basis, but if one is so inclined to do so, just be prepared for the potential pain and suffering on the other end of the ride.

So after all that text, what is my official verdict on BLL? As opposed to the myriad of beers I've tried and henceforth vowed to never again go near, Bud Light Lime is actually something I would be willing to drink again, but only if a tactical nuclear warhead mysteriously came out of the heavens and obliterated every other kind of beer in existence.

The Matchup
While my opinion may not be shared by everyone, I hold Galaga as one of the top 5 videogames ever made and so I could be drinking anything short of arsenic as accompaniment to this game and it would be an outstanding experience. Beer of course ups the ante, even if it deadens my coordination a bit, and makes the time I spend with this game all the sweeter. BLL doesn't really go far to extending or even reaching that apex, but as already mentioned is an acceptable substitute in the absence of something more desirable. In that regard it manages to edge out a great many of the lesser beers I've ingested, and that's gotta count for something.

Cheers/Game on.