Games for Lunch: Space Invaders Extreme
In a nutshell: Space Invaders meets Geometry Wars. Ow, my brains...
1/29/2009 9:04 PM | 2 Comments | Page 1 of 3
Developer: Taito
Publisher: Square Enix
Release Date: June 17, 2008
Systems: PSP (reviewed), DS
ESRB Rating: E
0:00 I've never been a huge fan of the original
Space Invaders (I was always more of a
Galaga man, myself), but I've been hearing good things about this fast-paced, portable remake. Before I even turn on the game I'm entranced by the clear plastic shell for the UMD. Wicked!
0:01 "Taito Corporation.
Space Invaders 30th Anniversary.
Space Invaders Extreme!" reads a sexy voice right out of the Starship Enterprise. The title screen has a large dancing invader with lines of other invaders across the top and bottom. The logo/title replaces some Es with 3s for no apparent reason. What is this,
Driv3r?
0:03 I have a love/hate relationship with games, like this one, that let you preset your starting number of lives in the options screen. I always set it as high as possible, but I always feel bad about it, like I'm cheating somehow.
0:04 "Stage 1, Let's Go," reads the screen. A driving techno beat matches all the crazy, multicolored crap floating around the background. Like the original game, I've still got a little ship at the bottom of the screen, firing up at the slowly encroaching invaders. Luckily, though, the firing rate is much faster. The n-shaped shields from the original are gone, making it feel a lot more like
Galaga -- a good thing.
0:05 Power-ups? Really? A blue block floats down from a destroyed invader and gives me a thick blue laser that absolutely EVISCERATES everything. Hoo yeah!
0:06 I somehow activated "Roulette" and shoot a red for a "Random Round." This brings up a side game where I have to collect 50 gold coins that drop from the dancing spaceships I hit. Craziness!
0:08 Two more types of power-ups: A "Broad Shot" that shoots five purple lasers side-by-side, and a thick yellow "Bomb" shot that explodes on impact. I still prefer the laser. Also, new enemies alert: large invaders (just like they sound) and invaders with yellow shields that need to be blown away. Nice!
0:09 "BOSS," the screen practically screams. He's a large red invader made up of tiny red pixel blocks. I have to knock out the blocks to get to the core ruby. "STAGE CLEAR3D." I get bonuses for chains, "Features," "Breaks" and "No Miss" waves, plus "Fever Time," a special state I reached once (don't ask me how). I end up with "Rank C." I feel I'm missing a lot of the deeper scoring strategy here, but I don't really care.
0:11 I love the way the sound of my shots melds with the sound of the music ... reminds me of
Lumines.
0:12 I notice that when I hit an invader, it fills up a meter on the right that's divided into two sections of four invaders each. I try filling up each section with a single invader color: green, then blue. Nothing happens, as far as I can tell. Then again, if something did happen, I'd probably miss it given all the craziness on-screen.
0:13 My first death, from an errant shot that I didn't see amidst all the craziness. I'm kind of surprised it took this long, actually. Being able to block most incoming shots using my own bullets helps a lot.
