Comparison

Astro Wars vs Downing Draft

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Astro Wars

Relive the 80s with an accurate emulation of a classic tabletop arcade game. Experience authentic retro sounds, graphics, and gameplay with multiple attack waves and a challenging ship docking sequence.

Highlights
  • Accurate simulation of classic handheld machine
  • Full retro sound effects
  • Four waves of attack
  • Simple and addictive gameplay
  • Nostalgic 80s experience
  • Ship docking challenge
Features
Read full description

Astro Wars reviewed in the latest edition of Retro Gamer magazine: "Fans of the old tabletop game from Grandstand will be highly impressed with this accurate IOS port. It looks superb, sounds annoyingly authentic and features every stage and the ship docking from the original game." 72% -Retro Gamer After the success of our Galaxy Invader and Invader from Space games, BeatsNBobs are proud to release our most eagerly anticipated and requested video game emulation, Astro Wars. Also known as Galaxy II *Screenshots show actual app in action and original artwork based on the original packaging. See how close to the real thing it is! Travel back to the 80's and this was THE video game to have in the home. It was one of the most advanced video games of the time with four sub games, coloured fluorescent display and a joystick only seen in the arcades. You could finally have your very own arcade machine in your home. These types of machines were made by companies such as Grandstand, Tomy, Entex, CGL, Tandy, Bandai and Epoch to name but a few. Also known as "Galaxy II" by Epoch • Accurate simulation of the classic handheld /desktop machine • Full retro sounds • 4 waves of attack • Simple and addictive • Totally nostalgic Some reviews so far: Great retro fun ***** by romfordneil - Version 1.0 - Sep 7, 2013 Super gameplay just like the original machine for those of us of a certain age! A blast from the past ***** by Bagpuss1000 - Version 1.0 - Sep 3, 2013 A perfect emulation...... A must for retro fans. Brilliant old skool action ***** by psj3809 - Version 1.0 - Sep 2, 2013 I remember this from the early 80s. It was one if the best tabletop games out there This is a brilliant version for iOS and the memories come flooding back. Well worth picking up TO PLAY: Turn Power ON (menu will disappear and intro music will play). Select Level (Graphics will resemble difficulty level). Press Start (Gameplay will begin after intro music). Fire at all enemies while dodging enemy fire on all phases of attack. If you survive three attack waves,you get the chance for more points if you can dock your rocket-ship. Press fire, left and right for thrusts to land rocket ship. Game is complete when you reach 9999 points or you lose all your lives. To restart, turn off and on Power. If using with iCade or compatible controller, press the iCade button on top left and you can now use joystick and red fire(5) button. NOTE: pressing this without connection to a compatible Bluetooth controller will bring up the keyboard. If this happens just press the button again to turn it off. We have painstakingly analysed every detail of this game and we have managed to achieve 99% of the original. We had to modify the controls as it simply does not work as well on an iPhone or iPad so you now have extra large arrow keys but we have left the joystick in for the purists out there (which you can try to use but we recommend the larger arrow keys). All the sound effects are here. All four phases including the docking sequence. We compared this to two real machines as these also vary with slight details and we are very pleased with the results. We hope you will be too. If you find anything that does not feel quite right let us know from the app. Enjoy this blast from the past and if you like this why not look at our others. More information about this classic game on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astro_Wars

About

Downing Draft

Lead your nation as Prime Minister in this replayable political strategy game. Draft a cabinet, set national priorities, and make impactful decisions to shape your legacy. See how your choices play out and compare your performance to historical leaders.

Highlights
  • Draft a cabinet from a deck of candidates
  • Assign ministers to government offices
  • Set national priorities and economic approach
  • Commit to a signature pledge
  • Receive a full verdict on your performance
  • Share your results easily
Features
Read full description

You're the new Prime Minister. A recession is already underway, the public is restless, and the only thing standing between you and history is the government you build. Downing Draft is a quick, replayable political strategy game. Draw your ministers, assign them to the right briefs, set your priorities, and pick the signature pledge that will define your time in office - then watch how your choices play out. HOW IT PLAYS - Name your Prime Minister and party - Draft a cabinet from a rolling deck of candidates - re-roll if you don't like the hand you're dealt - Match ministers to the jobs that suit them across eight great offices of state - Choose your economic approach, governing style and three national priorities - Commit to a signature pledge and live with the consequences YOUR LEGACY When the dust settles you get a full verdict: how many years you survived, your exit approval, your election result, a scorecard across government performance, political capital, cabinet cohesion and your signature policy - plus how you compare to real prime ministers. Share your result with a single tap. Pick up and play in minutes. Optional sign-in with Apple or Google lets you save your progress and personalise your profile. For entertainment only. Player ratings and outcomes are fictional game mechanics, not factual assessments of any real person, party or government.

Screenshots

Astro Wars3 screens
Downing Draft4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Downing Draft at Free against Astro Wars's $1.99. Downing Draft also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.2) and update cadence (every 5 days vs every 12 months). Astro Wars's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and iOS requirement (12.1 vs 15.0). On ratings volume, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Downing Draft is free to download; Astro Wars costs $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Downing Draft holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.2. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 5 and 3 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 69% of Astro Wars's written reviews are positive against 83% of Downing Draft's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Astro Wars ships an update every 12 months, Downing Draft every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Astro Wars versus Downing Draft: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAstro WarsDowning Draft
Price$1.99Free — better
Rating4.2 (5 ratings)5.0 (3 ratings) — better
Positive reviews69.4% of reviews83.3% of reviews — better
Number of ratings5 — better3
Update frequencyEvery 12 monthsEvery 5 days — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.1 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size28 MB37 MB
Age rating4+9+
DeveloperRob WilmotNEUROCHAMPS LTD

Customer experience

Astro Wars

All ratings5 ratings
Positive80.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative20.0%
Written reviews72 reviews
Positive69.4%
Neutral4.2%
Negative26.4%

Downing Draft

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews12 reviews
Positive83.3%
Neutral8.3%
Negative8.3%

Bugs and requests

Astro Wars

Reported bugs

17 issues
  • Lag on left right controls
  • Constant crashing
  • Controls don't work
  • Black screen
  • Joystick works poorly
Show 12 more
  • Game doesn't switch on
  • No sound
  • Controls are so bad
  • Unresponsive controls
  • Docking manoeuvre timing out
  • Cannot move left and right on lander level
  • Sometimes only takes 2 shots not 3 to knock out aliens
  • Ship nor the dock moves in the docking sequence
  • Left right controls need work
  • Controls are not responsive enough
  • Ship dock is uncontrollable
  • No sound on iPad Pro

Requested features

10 requests
  • Improve slider control responsiveness
  • Fix docking sequence timing
  • Make controls more positive
  • Expand responsive area for controls
  • Fix lander level movement
Show 5 more
  • Fix alien hit detection timing
  • Add continuous melody for 10 times in sound
  • Fix docking maneuver timing out
  • Fix ship and dock movement in docking sequence
  • Fix lander level movement and alien hit detection

Downing Draft

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Astro Wars

No in-app purchases

None

Downing Draft

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Astro Wars free?
Astro Wars costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Downing Draft free?
Downing Draft is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Astro Wars or Downing Draft?
Downing Draft is rated higher. Astro Wars averages 4.2 out of 5 from 5 ratings, while Downing Draft averages 5.0 from 3 ratings.
Do Astro Wars or Downing Draft have ads?
Downing Draft shows ads; Astro Wars does not.
Which is updated more often, Astro Wars or Downing Draft?
Astro Wars ships an update every 12 months, and Downing Draft every 5 days. Most recently, Astro Wars was updated on October 26, 2026 and Downing Draft on October 25, 2026.

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