Two Bits

It is arguably difficult to use Space Invaders Extreme as proof that classic gameplay is still valid (as I hinted I might do). On the other hand, the gameplay from 1978’s Space Invaders is valid in as much as the shooter genre is still going strong today (Geometry Wars, anyone?). Space Invaders Extreme is thus little more than a shooter game with Space Invaders sprites. It will do little to invigorate the genre it invented 30 years ago. Yet, as an homage (and we are shown a “30th Anniversary!” screen just in case we had our doubts what this was), Space Invaders Extreme does its job perfectly well.

The game is a true sequel to the original in a lot of ways. The core gameplay is there (shoot ever-falling aliens with your ship) and added onto it are power-ups, new alien types that will surprise you, and increasingly-tense boss fights. The game is, in fact, full of surprises. I managed to make my way through all of the easy and medium stages, and I felt I had seen it all. I was wrong. The hard stage held new alien types for me to face, and I somehow doubt it stops there.

Of course, the fact is, the ever-falling alien waves is uniquely Space Invaders, and it goes a long way towards creating tension. You have to frantically blast every alien on screen before they reach the bottom, all the while dodging lasers, bombs, bouncing aliens – and also trying to shoot the bonus UFO’s and also shoot colored aliens in order to get power-ups to help you clear the screen. It sounds hectic, and it is, but the musical flow to the combat tends to mellow things out. On better runs, you find yourself in a zen-like alien-shooting meditative state, effortlessly dodging the enemy as you “BING BAM BING BAM” to a steady beat.

It’s hard to describe how music and sound work so well in this game, but work well they do. It seems that along the way to 2008, the invaders picked up a bit of Patapon and a dash of Rez, at least when it concerns the integration of audio into a combat experience.

Seeing these 2D remakes of older games, you might hear a sigh of relief behind you, and it will be from gamers old enough to remember anything before the Nintendo 64. During the years that spanned between Playstation to Playstation 3, just about every classic franchise you can think of was resurrected and turned into a “Game 3D/64″ version. The vast majority of them failed horribly. Coming out of those console generations, I had a sense that game remakes were awful, painful experiences. New IP was the wave of the future. Happily, with games like Mega Man Powered Up and Space Invaders Extreme (to name very few), I find I was very wrong – and many developers are finding that not everything has to be played in 3D.

Phew.