Space Invaders
Taito’s classic shooter receives a PlayStation makeover, yet fails to attract much attention.

The original Space Invaders was unleashed in arcades more than 20 years ago and has become an important part of video game history. With the recent resurgence of classic games over the past several years, in the form of classic compilations and remakes, it is no surprise that one of the greatest games of all time has received an update. What is surprising, however, is that the developer, Z-Axis, hasn’t strayed too far from the original formula. Unfortunately, this is both good and bad.

A cool opening cinema kicks things off.

Climb Aboard the Mother Ship

The new Space Invaders game, published by Activision, certainly starts off on the right foot. An excellent cinema sequence opens the game and gets the juices flowing. It shows exactly what has become of the little tank that saved the planet from those pesky invaders after the ’78 attack. The aliens themselves also make an appearance in the opening movie and, of course, are up to no good again. This video sequence is nicely done and has some great music and sound effects accompanying it. In the manual, you will find the complete story, so you may want to read it before you pop the disc into your PlayStation. In short, though, this is the same type of "alien invasion" story line that has appeared in a countless number of games and movies.

There are a few ways you can play the new Space Invaders game. You can choose to play a normal game, or you can try your hand at the Expert mode. A two-player mode is also included and, unlike with the original game, will allow two players to play on the same screen. This definitely makes the game easier but provides some entertainment nevertheless. An instructional mode is included as well, for those of you who don’t like reading the instructions. There is a Classic mode on the disc that contains the original Space Invaders, but it only becomes available once you beat the game. You can save your game at any point during gameplay, which is good for people who may find the game difficult.

The Old School

The original Space Invaders featured several rows of aliens that moved slowly from left to right and would come closer to your tank as they progressed. You were armed with a tiny land-based unit that was only able to fire one shot at a time. The more aliens you shot, the quicker they would move. Eventually, there would be only one alien remaining, who would move frantically across the screen. It was always a frustrating experience to get killed by the last alien after you successfully destroyed the others. There were several barriers protecting you from the alien's fire, but they would be obliterated after many hits. Mother Ships would periodically fly across the top part of the screen, and you would receive bonus points if you hit one. This helped to earn that all important extra life.

Two-player action!

New-School Action

In the new Space Invaders, all the aforementioned elements are here, along with several new additions. Instead of battling the aliens on one planet, you will begin on Pluto and make your way toward Earth, where the final battle takes place. Each planet has a total of 10 waves and a boss character, who you fight at the end of the 10 waves. You will need to learn each of these bosses attack patterns to defeat them. Usually this means losing a life, but it’s possible to beat most of them without any trouble. Luckily, you now have a more powerful hover tank at your disposal. You will also get to play a bonus stage after every five waves. This bonus stage allows you to take out some non-threatening mother ships to help earn extra points. For every 50,000 points you earn, you will receive an extra tank.

Fans of the original game will recognize the barriers. This time, the barriers can be used for both offense and defense. If you shoot at the barriers, they will move upward, causing the aliens to crash into them. However, like in the original game, the barriers will be destroyed after a certain number of hits, and they are not available on every level. The aliens have drastically changed. A greater variety exists among the aliens, and each of them has a unique appearance. Besides just having a different appearance, the Invaders now have their own special abilities. Each planet will introduce you to a new type of alien, with the loading screen giving a complete description of the new Invader. Some of these new Invaders may take multiple shots to kill, while others have a more deadly attack after being shot. At any rate, you will need to develop a little bit of strategy to deal with them.

Another new element is the color-based power-up system. Along with receiving power-ups after you shoot a Mother Ship (time stop, shield, double shot, etc.), you will also receive a new weapon after you shoot four of the same types of aliens. For example, the first four waves on Pluto contain only one type of alien. After you shoot four of them, you will be awarded a power-up specific to that group of aliens. These power-ups range from swarm missiles to an acidic cloud, which produces a giant glowing ball that takes out all of the Invaders in its path. It is more difficult to shoot four of the same aliens on later levels because there's a larger variety of them and they are more spread out. Also, you must shoot the same four aliens without shooting a different type in the process to receive the power-up. If you do shoot a different type of alien, you will not receive the power-up. Power-ups can only be used once, so make sure to use it wisely.

Who Knew Space Consisted of 2D Backdrops?

The graphics are pretty good, for the most part, but the PlayStation’s graphical abilities are not fully exploited. On each planet, you will see the same static background during the 10 waves of action. The backgrounds are decent, but they only provide a few active elements, like blinking lights or a small mist. As mentioned before, the aliens are nicely detailed, but they lack a bit of personality. They all move and animate very much the same as one another, and only the "special" aliens that appear on each planet offer anything new, graphically. The boss characters, on the other hand, are all well done and vary in appearance. A couple of the bosses will bring a smile to fans of the original Space Invaders. There are also some satisfying explosions when you blast multiple alien ships or take out a whole row of ’em. Shrapnel from the destroyed ships flys all over and produces a very satisfying effect. This is nice eye-candy, but it’s sometimes hard to see fire from other enemy ships when these huge explosions occur.

The bosses look more menacing than they really are.

Give Me Back My Sound Effects!

This game is lacking in the music/sound effects department. After watching the opening sequence, I assumed the same type of pulse-pounding music and hard-hitting sound effects would remain throughout the game. Sadly, this wasn’t the case. The in-game music, just like the backgrounds, stays the same for each of the ten waves, changing only once you fight a boss. Most of the music is quite bland and unexciting. Having to listen to the same song for 10 waves also becomes very annoying, but you can adjust the settings in the option menu. The sound effects are also relatively weak when compared with those in the opening sequence, and they lack punch. It would have been great if the original Space Invaders sound effects were in the game. Pac-Man World implemented some of the original Pac-Man sounds to great effect.

What?! A Space Invaders Game That's Too Easy?

So far the game doesn’t sound that bad, so why the low rating? The main problem with the game is it’s too easy. Shooter fans, and especially fans of the original game, will most likely beat it in one sitting. This is a result of the many added power-ups and extremely easy bonus rounds that have been added. They’re nice little extras, but they take away most of the challenge. At the very least, the bonus rounds should have made the player work for his or her extra points. The bosses are also very easy to beat once you learn their simple attack patterns. Although no power-ups are available during the boss levels, simply dodging their attacks until you learn the correct pattern leads to success.

Save the Planet Some Other Time

Once you beat the regular game you will view the ending cinema and unlock the classic Space Invaders. Ironically, the classic Space Invaders is more fun and challenging than this remake. After viewing the dissapointing ending cinema and unlocking the original Space Invaders, there is no reason to play this game again. The two-player mode doesn't really add much replay value, because the game is easy enough as it is. If you’re a huge Space Invaders fan — and I mean huge — you might want to buy this game just because it's a new Space Invaders game. However, since there isn’t a "museum" feature feature detailing any of the game's history, it’s best to stick with a rental.

Supports:

• 2 Players
• Dual Shock Analog Controller
• Memory card