Okay so I have often wondered how "regular people" (that is, not freaky skills gaming gods) do in Defender -- talking about the original coin-op game, with proper controls (no left-right joystick, no autofire or any other cheat).
When I read about tricks like purposely shooting all your humanoids except one, which you then allow to be lifted so you can kill his captor and then carry him around with you for level after level, I am amazed at the skill it would take to pull off such a trick. I can fairly reliably get to the humanoid replacement level (level 5 i guess it is, or is it 6? not sure), but I still have a lot to learn and every once in a while I get pummeled and lose all my lives on level 2

So... what do MOST people get in Defender? My high score is in the 60Ks, 65K or something like that. Am I still a Defender newbie? Or can I kick the average Defender players ass? I have no idea. No frame of reference. I do not know anyone personally who has the motivation to truly excel at the game. So I am kinda alone in "Defenderland."
Eric.