Official Website
Platform: PSP, Nintendo DS

Genre: Shooter

Number of Players: 1 (2 via AdHoc)
 

The Golden Age of Video Games as it is known, officially began in the 1970’s. While simple in their design, they would pave the way for what was to come starting in 1921 when Pong first hit the scenes, but it was merely the beginning. Taito meanwhile would bring something to the arcades years before other heavy weights like Pac-Man or Donkey Kong were released, and it was yet another simple concept found within Space Invaders. The idea; kill the advancing enemy aliens before they killed you. Your only protection against this threat was a collection of barriers which were slowly eroded away by oncoming fire. The Invaders have been seen quite a few times over the years, and now thirty years after their first attempt, they have returned once again.

Space Invaders Extreme is the anniversary edition of one of the world’s famous names in the history of video games, and while it might seem like the same game, there are some new tricks that the aliens have at their disposal, though you as the player have some new tricks as well. The idea of course is still the same and you move back and forth at the bottom of the screen in order to destroy each and every wave of invader before they can reach the bottom and destroy you. Those familiar barriers however are gone, but in their place is something new.

You may recall lines of invaders, all looking the same and they still do to some extent, but they are now come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors not to mention formations. You’ll find the same size aliens you know quite well, tiny aliens, giant aliens, even ones that turn sideways making them difficult to hit, and some of them are even carrying barriers of their own that you’ll need to penetrate. Even those pesky flying saucers have returned as well to make your life miserable, but it becomes much easier if you start grasping the idea behind how Space Invaders now plays.

One of the first things you’ll notice two new meters on the left side of the screen. As you shoot more and more invaders, they will start to build which will not only increase your score, but it will also improve the firepower of your guns, but there is another method to do this as well. Blasting everything as you see fit might work to a certain degree, but chaining the colors together will provide some even better results. Once you’ve managed to shoot down four of a given color, you’ll see a flashing square falling to the bottom of the screen. This will provide you with a temporary change in the way your ship fires. A blue square gives you a laser that can cut through just about anything, the color red will give you bombs while green is a broad shoot which is capable of cutting through multiple levels of enemies. There are also black power-ups which will provide you with a temporary shield.

The saucers also have some new abilities as well, some that will make your task more challenging while others will be more than beneficial. You’ll see the common white ones that the original Space Invaders frequently had, but there are green saucers which will bring in more invaders to the stage and blue ones that shoot an unbreakable laser quite similar to the one you can collect. However, keep watching the skies for some helpful saucers. The flashing variety will take you into a bonus stage which is completely random. These have different objectives like shooting down some many craft and they can also have random effects to endure as well. If you succeed in whatever the goal is, you’ll be taken back into the game for the jackpot phase. For a limited time, each saucer you manage to shoot down will add into your jackpot bonus which is collected when the stage concludes. There are also yellow saucers which will take you to the games roulette round where the craft you shot will determine your bonus, but be wary of hitting the black saucers as they will give you nothing. There are also red saucers which will randomly take you to another round.

As with Taito’s other modernized classic release, Arkanoid, the game is divided into a number of stages each with rounds to work through. At the end of any given stage, you will be confronted with a boss to fight, and they never come alone. Plenty of invaders are tagging along with them while you try and break away the threat, piece by piece. Survival and success will take you to the next stage and at times, you will be given the chance to select your path, taking an easy road if you choose, or one that is much more difficult.

Initially you begin with the arcade mode, but once you’ve finished a game, either by reaching the end or simply allowing to not continue, you will be given a new mode where you can play the stages you’ve already completed. The game also will allow you to continue the arcade mode from the last level you reached, though you will have to start from the very first round just like you would if you continue. There is also a multi-player version of the game with a very simple objective; be the last player alive.

If you’re familiar with the original Space Invaders, you know that graphics and pretty color weren’t something that developers had even really began to think of yet, but that’s all changed. While the original feel of the game is retained with the invaders and saucers, it now has a very colorful, vibrant background. Imagine for a moment you too the original game, added just a splash of color on the main portions of the game, then tossed it onto background that you would see in a game like Lumines. That’s exactly what Space Invaders Extreme does, and it might sound distracting, but it really isn’t and instead offers a great deal of life into the venerable series.

Space Invaders has seen a sequel or two over the past three decades, and none of them have really deviated too far from the theme of the game. That’s true with Space Invaders Extreme, though this might be one of the single best reimagined classic to come along in quite some time. Anyone who remembers the game fondly is going to once again enjoy playing the game, though there’s no endless mode, and this should also serve as a means to introduce the classic to those who are unfamiliar with it save for references from those who “remember when,” and most of them undoubtedly still do. The invasion is on, and hopefully you’re more than ready.

-mike-