Space Invaders Extreme - First Impressions

[Curlypaul]

I just picked this up, along with arkanoid for £20 from gamestation - bargain. I've been playing for a couple o hours and I thought that I would share my first impressions here.

Space Invaders Extreme is a very cool update of the classic game. Anyone who is a fan of the original will know that its a slow, trudging affair. Well thats all been changed around for some fast paced, in your face action. The waves of aliens appear and reappear at a breakneck pace and the screen is just incredibly busy with all the power ups and mulitplers avaiable to you. Shooting 4 aliens of the same colour without breaking the run gives you a power up for your weapon, do this twice and the UFO at the top of the screen will start to flash. Shoot this and you'll be whisked away and given a bonus round. Pass that and when you return to the main stage you'll get a power up and a fat bonus for a few seconds. Aparently other combos will earn you other tricks and treats as well, but you will have to experiment to find out what they are (or look at gamefaqs). For example, behind the main action are a series of lamps that light up when you shoot all the aliens in a single column or a row and they go mad like a pinall machine when you light them up.

There are other things that are the same as the original though, and the reason I consider this to be a good update. One of these is the power up system mentioned above that rewards careful shooting with more points that mashing buttons. Fans of the original will know that the bonus from the UFO was not random and to get the highest score possible you had to hit it with the 15th shot, and this mechanic is retained here although it is instantly more noticable than the originals rather subtle bonus method.

Fans will also know that the trick to the original was to get into the rythme that the game seemed to have. It was a simple affair of shoot, move and repeat and high scores were best acheived by zoning out and just concentrating on the invisible beat. Space Invaders Extreme also has a beat, although in keeping with the character of this update it is suitable in your face with a thumping techno soundtrack. The sound of the canon fire is deliberatley musical and can be changed by shooting different enemies in certain orders and I find myself shooting in time to the music which just continues to add to the feel that this is Space Invaders updated the way it always should have been done.

Then there is the online mode. High score tables and 2vs mode all work well and I'm sure will add loads more to the longevity of the game. I played about 5 different people and other than one guy that seemed to dissconnect on me I had no problems. The 2 player mechanic is similar to puyo puyo - when you shoot the aliens they hover over the opponents area for a while. During this time you can shoot different coloured UFO's to change what sort of aliens will fall into your opponents area. Everyone I played was playing for the first time but I can already tell there are some epic online battles in store. In fact I'm going to look for people to fight right now...

Overall I'm well impressed, and I cant wait for the paddle to arrive so that I can test that out too.

btw Friendcode: 124703 404147 please add me and tell me yours

[racketboy]

I'm loving it too!
I'm working on a review of my own as well.
I just wish I could get past the third level. It's not really "hard" -- I just keep making stupid mistakes.

[Curlypaul]

I've only had the one stab at level 3 so far, I went to have a shot at the ranking mode and back to online, which is just great although some of that might be to do with the fact that everyone else is new at it and I stand half a chance. One thing I will say though is that its funny that it keeps your number of wins and your mario kart style score, but it doesnt seem to show you how many battles you've lost. Best not to ponder on them anyway I reckon.

But anyway, yeah I think to reveiw properly I like to finish a good chunk of a game before I feel I can really give a opinion. I'll update when I've played it a bit more and my paddle should take a couple of weeks to get here so I should be able to say whether or not its worth it. I've somehow never played an original machine with a paddle so I'm hoping it will be a good experience.

Have you managed to get hold of one?

[racketboy]

I've only had the one stab at level 3 so far, I went to have a shot at the ranking mode and back to online, which is just great although some of that might be to do with the fact that everyone else is new at it and I stand half a chance. One thing I will say though is that its funny that it keeps your number of wins and your mario kart style score, but it doesnt seem to show you how many battles you've lost. Best not to ponder on them anyway I reckon.

But anyway, yeah I think to reveiw properly I like to finish a good chunk of a game before I feel I can really give a opinion. I'll update when I've played it a bit more and my paddle should take a couple of weeks to get here so I should be able to say whether or not its worth it. I've somehow never played an original machine with a paddle so I'm hoping it will be a good experience.

Have you managed to get hold of one?

I haven't really looked into getting a paddle -- not sure if I'd like it or not...

[racketboy]

Then there is the online mode. High score tables and 2vs mode all work well and I'm sure will add loads more to the longevity of the game. I played about 5 different people and other than one guy that seemed to dissconnect on me I had no problems. The 2 player mechanic is similar to puyo puyo - when you shoot the aliens they hover over the opponents area for a while. During this time you can shoot different coloured UFO's to change what sort of aliens will fall into your opponents area. Everyone I played was playing for the first time but I can already tell there are some epic online battles in store. In fact I'm going to look for people to fight right now...

Is the online just like local multiplayer?
I played against my wife and it was pretty fun. I was hoping for a little more gimmicky stuff though, I guess.
So the whole trick in multiplayer is to get the UFOs?

[RyanDG]

I didn't spend much time with the multiplayer mode, but I am absolutely in love with the game's scoring system. I reviewed the import version of the game when it was first released and despite paying almost 2x what I would have paid at Gamestop or Walmart in the US today, I'm still extremely happy that I did (and in fact I did also pick up the PSP version of the game at Gamestop to complete the duo). The game is genius on so many levels.

[Curlypaul]

I think its the same as local multiplayer yes, and yes the UFO's are the secret to the multiplayer. I noticed last night that shooting them not only changes what kind of alien you drop on the enemy, but the enemy actually drop when you shoot them. In this way you can choose to either send a contsant dribble into the opponents area, or let them build up and send a barrage.

How does the PSP version compare? Cant beleive you bought 2, now thats dedication

[RyanDG]

How does the PSP version compare? Cant beleive you bought 2, now thats dedication

To be honest, I was expecting more out of the PSP version. It's still a great game, but the DS's soundtrack is actually stronger on account of Zuntata's influence. I was also extremely surprised to find out that the PSP version wasn't actually developed in-house at Taito/Square Enix - the game was outsourced to Gulti (who is quickly becoming one of my favorite 'new' dev studios). Kind of one of those interesting random facts that pop up. The backgrounds are also far more distracting in the PSP version since they are all FMV as opposed to the slide show on the DS, but fortunately those can be turned off pretty easily...

As much of a hindrance as I think the two screens can be on the DS with games like this - Space Invaders Extreme really handles it perfectly... The ability to adjust the 'dead space' to your own preference is something that any other action game that uses the two screens to create one play field needs to have.

[JWatts]

This has been my favorite re-hash of an arcade game since Pacman CE on XBLA.

If you're having trouble with slip ups you can always increase the number of extra ships you have in the options screen though I like the challenge of 3. I'm having the most trouble getting on the lower bracket which requires the "good" score.

[Curlypaul]

Well the paddle arrived I'm pretty impressed with it. It took just a few minutes to get into it and offers a lot more control than the d-pad and you can move as fast as you can spin the wheel - great for clearing the screen with those laser gun pups. Unfortunatley the game does not allow you to use the paddle in multiplayer, or ranking mode probably because it makes the game a fair bit easier. The paddle fits into the slot nicely and althougth the wheel feels a bit loose at first, overall its well made and I found it surprising comfortable to hold.

I got the paddle on ebay from pawsland, who despite living in hong kong I can recommend. It came quick and was packed well, the box is still all square corners and in nice collectors condition. I paid £17 including shipping although the guy has put the price up since I bought mine, he's obviously twigged that he's the only guy on the net that has some at the moment. Which brings me onto the other point I like about it - its gonna be collectable. The Scooters of 10 years time will love this interesting add on and its limited availability will only add to that and I'm pretty please that I managed to get one.

Its also good for Arkanoid, in fact it probably adds more to the experience of Arkonoid than it does to Space Invaders. Lets hope that Taito continue to overhaul its back catalogue to this high standard and with support for this funky little peripheral.