Battlestar Galactica looks more like its Sci-Fi series counterpart than the original TV show, but you won't hear me complaining about that. The fights in space are jam packed with colorful visuals, both in the foreground and background. There is plenty of stuff going on all the time, and it can even get to the point where you really can't tell what's going on anymore. This is definitely one flaw with the whole visual scheme. With all that debris and background objects floating around out there, you almost become claustrophobic.

The graphics may look like the new show, but the sounds stay true to the old one. The lasers and explosions are a spitting audio replica of what the old series offered. The music is also back, and fans will immediately recognize the theme song and the various derivations of it throughout the game.

Battlestar Galactica's release was timed well with it's TV counterpart's; both seem to be capitalizing well on the apparent new found interest in the series. The game highlights the more intense moments of the series as you take to space as one of the Galactica's pilots. Along the way, you'll fly various ships, some familiar and some not, including bombers and also Cylon ships.

Battlestar Galactica is strictly mission based, and you'll see a lot of variety in each mission, though not always to a good end. It wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't for the fact that there are no checkpoints at all during each mission, and they take a relatively long time to complete. If you get near the end and you screw up, it's all the way back to the beginning, something that wears on you after you've tried the same mission five times in a row and always die when you're about to finish it.

Upon finishing a mission you will be presented with an evaluation of how well you did. Depending on a number of factors, like how many missiles you dodged or how many of your wingmen died, you will be able to get new wingmen and they will learn new skills. These wingmen will stay with you throughout the entire game, unless, of course, they meet their untimely death at the hands of the Cylons.

You can also unlock a good number of extra stuff related to the game and the series. Things like trailers, concept art, and renders, as well as cheats, all can be had if you fly well enough. Though it doesn't do much for the game, it is a nice little incentive for fans of the series to do their best.

Battlestar Galactica is a little bit of a challenge at first, as it throws a lot of things your way in terms of flying in outer space and doesn't really let you get the hang of space combat before you're barraged with Cylon ships. Once you do get a hold of things, there is a pretty good challenge waiting for you. The game manages to reach a balance between the number of opponents you're up against and how hard they are to defeat.

Utilizing the dual analog action the PS2 controller offers, Battlestar Galactica gives you some decent control over the ships you fly during the game. You're pretty maneuverable, even in the heavier bombers, and once you get the hang of it you can actually start to dodge missiles with ease.

Where the control lacks is in how it handles targeting. Due to the tons of stuff going on at any given moment, and the fact that the HUD in this game is one of the most confusing and over the top I've ever seen, it's really hard to find what you're looking for and then follow it. It will come with practice, but this is definitely something that the developers could, and should, have avoided.

Since Battlestar Galactica has little to no replay value aside from trying to unlock all of the unlockables, only real fans of the series will enjoy it. There are plenty of other space sims out there that are far better than this, maybe not visually, but definitely in the way they pull off zero-G dog fighting. However, if you're dying to get back into the Battlestar Galactica craze, this game is definitely worth a look.