DS Review: Space Invaders Extreme

by Rangebar Merani on July 7, 2008 at 12:26 pm

Thirty years after the original Space Invaders, Taito has resurrected the popular game and made it better than ever. Of course, after thirty years and with the technology we have these days, the game should easily be better than ever.

Although I wasn’t even born when the original Space Invaders was released, I can still say that it must have been one hell of a game to still be recognized by gamers today. Space Invaders Extreme doesn’t stray from its older brother’s roots, but instead makes the game feasible to this generation of gamers.

Space Invaders Extreme is, simply put, a fun and fast-paced old-school arcade shooter with tons of action. But when I say tons of action, I mean repetitive action. The gameplay itself is much like the original. You’re a spacecraft that has to take down the space aliens and UFO’s, ultimately trying to get the highest score you possibly can.

As you’re shooting down your enemies, you’ll be granted new power-ups that will allow for easier chain combos, thus allowing for a higher score. At the end of each stage there is a boss, each of which has a particular way of being defeated.

You’ll occasionally be able to access a secret challenge stage, but only by shooting the multi-colored UFO that will randomly float up at the top of the screen. Although an incredibly fun game, the action is very repetitive, but with a few different gameplay modes, you can still keep the game fresh.

There are four different gameplay modes in the Space Invaders Extreme including Arcade Mode, Ranking Mode, Stage Mode and Multiplayer Mode. Arcade Mode is the regular game mode that takes you through each stage one by one and saving your high score when you get a game over. In Arcade Mode, you’ll be able to save and retry if you lose all of your lives, but in Ranking Mode you won’t have an option to do so.

The Ranking Mode is just like the Arcade Mode, but when you hit the game over screen you’ll have to start all over again. The point of the Ranking Mode is too get the highest score you possible can with just two lives. You can then upload your score to the Global Rankings via the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection to see how you compare to other players around the world.

The Stage Mode gives you the option to play through all the stages you’ve unlocked individually. You just pick what stage you want to play and challenge yourself by seeing how high of a score you can get just on that one stage.

The Mulitplayer Mode is by far the most fun mode because not only can you play using the DS Wireless Connection with a friend, you can also get online via the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection to play against players all over the world.

The Multiplayer Mode gives Space Invaders Extreme a much needed replay value with the ability to play with anyone at anytime. Like I mentioned earlier, the Multiplayer Mode also gives you the ability to upload you’re Ranking Mode high score to the Space Invaders Extreme Global Rankings.

Space Invaders Extreme is a good looking arcade game with bright colors on a 2D plane. I mean it’s a DS remake of an old-school game, so I didn’t expect much from the graphics, but really they’re not that bad.

The top screen of the DS shows off your current score and a bunch of other random meters and numbers, all of which aren’t really necessary. However, the audio is not bad offering a pretty nice techno soundtrack, which fits really well with the look of the game. Other than that you’ll hear tons of beeps and swooshes as you’re shooting at your enemies.

For a $20 price tag and the ability to just pickup-and-play at anytime, Space Invaders Extreme is totally worth purchasing. The game is a fun and fast-paced shooter with old-school tendencies, but with a new-school attitude. Multiplayer Mode adds a much need replay value and the feature to upload your high score online is pretty neat, too. After all is said and done, this game is the most extreme Space Invaders game ever.