Space Invaders Extreme: Nintendo DS

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patterns and formations. The invader attacks are much harder to avoid, especially without the bases to hide behind.

Some invaders shoot the traditional bombs, others shoot large lasers, others have shields that block against certain types of your attacks, others wear armor so you have to shoot them several times.

There are bonus rounds which vary as well. You might have to shoot UFO's before a timer runs out, or shoot a certain amount of invaders before the timer runs out.If you can beat the bonus round you earn Fever Time, where you can power up for a short time.

Shooting a group of the same colored Invaders can yield bonus points and various power ups, like lasers, bullet spreads, and bombs.

There are Boss Fights. Yes, Boss Fights. In Space Invaders.

There is multiplayer. Local (from one cart), or flawless online. There is a Worldwide Rankings board. (The PSP one only has local multiplayer, the DS one is MUCH better).

The music is based electronic, and based on your gameplay. As you shoot, you make the music. And you will love the music you make. It affect the background as well. Trippy, groovy, and perfect for the game.

There is only one downside to Space Invaders Extreme. No paddle controller for America. In Japan, Taito made a weighted knob peripheral for the DS that plugs into the GBA slot at the bottom. It lets you play with a quick twist of the knob, and gives you a big advantage. SE/Tatio did not make this Paddle Controller available in the states but the game will support the paddle if you able to get one from Amazon Japan or PlayAsia. It also works for new new Arkanoid DS game. A definite purchase if you can.

For 20 bucks you won't find a better shooter than this. Buy this game. Now. If you like Space Invaders 1978, you should see what happens when a classic grows up.

Space Invaders Extreme: Nintendo DS

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at the limited options for fun. I feel that I could get a high score on the old game but I usually quit before losing, as it's a chore to play. The game has been trotted out in "old faithful" and "reimagined" formats for just about every system available, but they all have suffered the same problems as the original: the turgid, formal, repetitive gameplay just didn't age well, and most designers felt that giving the game more flair would dilute the original feel, making it more like Galaga than Space Invaders.

The now: SPACE INVADERS EXTREME reboots the whole concept. If you look at the screenshots, it looks like more of the same: You're still a little shooter at the bottom of the screen, and the invaders are still coming down at you, firing missiles at you and your protective bunkers.

thump
thump
thump
Yawn.

But wait! There's also an "interactive" synth soundtrack that moves everything along like a dance club. The invaders aren't shambling zombies anymore, they're FAST, and so are you. You can grab powerups like lasers that can clear out a whole column (or more!) of baddies with one shot. There are spread shots that can nuke entire rows. The enemy's formations change, sometimes you get big invaders, sometimes they have shields, sometimes they blow up all their neighbors when hit. The once-rare UFOs are now plentiful. The old vanilla 4-digit scoring has been replaced by a dynamic, pinball-style multiplier system with lots of pyrotechnics to match. Every 30 seconds or so, the game changes everything up so you aren't looking at the same phosphor-burn grid for minutes at a time.

Regular, bonus, and "boss" levels cleverly steal from other shooter games like Galaga, Attack of the Timelord (leave a comment for me if you know this cool game!), Gyruss Centipede, Gorf, Megamania, Phoenix, and others. Yes, "boss" levels are in here, where you have some biggies that take multiple shots to destroy. With the lights and music blaring away, these battles are not the tedious grind of old. The game remembers your last completed level, so you can always feel like you're making "progress," not just chasing the pure abstraction of a high score. There are worldwide online leaderboards for comparing your skills with others, too.

The game is also dead-easy to get into, just like the original. Just point and shoot. If you're really hardcore, you can import the Taito Arkanoid spinner to control this game, but left-right-shoot buttons are really more "pure."

To sum up:
Space Invaders classic concept;
Dazzling psychedelic special effects;
Dynamic, "always-on" gameplay that challenges without frustration;
High-score arcade purity with enough progression to make the game feel purposeful;
All for a bargain price.

If you have EVER liked Space Invaders (even if, like me, the thrill is gone), and you have a Nintendo DS or Playstation Portable, you will get many kicks from Space Invaders Extreme.

Import note: the Japanese version of this game is almost identical to the USA release except for a few lines of self-evident explanatory text, but the USA version is cheaper.