In 1978, the world was in danger, and only one laser cannon, shileded by bunkers, could save us all from an invasion of blocky bleepy aliens… This is of course the story of Space Invaders. A story that has been remade and retold countless times over the years, introducing, sightly less blocky looking aliens, and adding more bleeps to their vocabulary, but now, after thirty long years, the next chapter of the story unfolds as Space Invaders gets a true sequel. This game is extreme… Extremely Fun!
Space Invaders Extreme looks at the slow repetitive gameplay of the original, and kicks it into a fast paced frenzy of psychedelic colours, rapid fire, alien smashing beats, combos, double combos, powerups and pixel demons from another planet.
At it’s core, Space Invaders Extreme still holds true to the originals move left, move right and fire at a seemingly infinate number of waves of Invaders, but kicks it up several gears. Gone is the slow moving aliens and even slower firepower in place for quickly scrolling formations which can be hit within the same half second of firing. Formations now take ten to thirty seconds to demolish rather than five to fifteen minutes. Once one groups gone, a completely new formation (no more identical blocks) appears to crry on their onslaught. Speaking of everything being the same, this time the aliens bring with them some interesting powers, including bomb drones (which blow up everything around them when hit) shield barers (hold shields), giant laser carrying demons (you get the idea) and many more. Colour also plays a big part in your enemies as well. Space Invaders Extreme has a brilliant combo system in place, where hitting four of the same colour in a row drops a powerup, ranging from bomb cannons (red) to multiple fire (green) and the laser cannon (blue). Chaining two of these combo’s together lets you try your hand at a bonus stage, where your given a set time limit to clear a goal and unlock fever mode. Fever mode lets you take control of an even more powered up weapon for an even longer time, giving you the change to cause some massive damage as well as rack up a phenomenal score.
After you’ve taken down enough of these rapid fire formations it’s time to meet one of space Invaders eleven bosses. These giant pixelated nasties take up a good portion of a screen and offer a great challenge and a lot of fun.
While gameplay is the most important aspect of the game, Space Invaders does an excelent job of wraping it up in some stunning visuals and sounds. The game offers a beautiful changing belnd of colours, while the retro looking invaders wiggle around in front managing to keep their retro look while feeling right at home in this new-age invasion. The soundtracks filled with funky beats, but what realy sets it apart is your interactivity with it. Your bullet spray and the crushing sound of the aliens defeaat are made up of different beats, giving your defending a melodic tone, complimenting the soundtrack prefectly.
Overall, Space Invaders Extreme takes the classic gameplay of one of the grandfathers of gaming and gives it a much needed rennvation, setting its place in modern gaming. It’s fast paced fun is prefect for quick blasts, while a deep combo sytem alows a longer session to make the most out of their time. While an endless mode would have been a nice addition, the replayability of the levels makes up for it’s absence. It’s also a shame to see that there will be no paddle controller (just like the arcade days) included with the western versions, but thankfully, a Japanese paddle will work with any copy of the game. If your looing for a game to keep you playing over and over again then look no further.
The Flipside:
- Fast Paced Fun
- Combo system opens up many opportunities.
- Very repayable
The Flopside:
- Still the same game at it’s core
- No paddle controller with EU or US versions (although a JP paddle will work)
- No endless mode
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