Andrew Laidlaw - Andrew Laidlaw The never-ending battle over the Donkey Kong world record might be more dramatic, but another old-school coin-op game is enjoying a nifty bit of record-breaking back-and-forth, too.
On New Year's Day, old-school gamer Andrew Laidlaw captured the Galaga high score record by racking up a whopping 4,525,150 points in the classic arcade shooter. The score, which was accomplished with only five lives on the game's
hardest difficulty, was verified by video game record authority Twin Galaxies.
Laidlaw's new high score is the latest in a rivalry with fellow Galaga geek Philip Day,
the previous record holder. Day knocked Laidlaw off his perch back in November
of 2009, but Laidlaw's new score beat out Day's old one by over one million
points.
It's reminiscent of the encounter between Donkey Kong greats
Steve Wiebe and Billy Mitchell, whose epic clash for the DK crown was
chronicled in the 2007 documentary, "The King of Kong." But while
Wiebe and Mitchell are anything but friends, Day and Laidlaw seem to get along
great.
"Phil and I were in regular contact while he was chasing my previous record,"
Laidlaw told Twin Galaxies. "I offered any tips I thought I could and he
in turn sent a disc of his gameplay. Our rivalry is very much enjoyed by both."
Next up for Laidlaw? The Galaga 'marathon' record, which allows for more extra lives
but has stood unbroken since 1989.
