We all know Space Invaders, it’s one of the most iconic video games of all time. Control your little tank or whatever, shoot the invading aliens as they slowly make their way down the screen as they make it from one end of the screen to the other. The drone boops rhythmically echoing in your head as you blast your way through countless aliens, trying to hit the UFOs and getting to the next level by clearing screens. Countless ports, pretty new coats of paints, and attempts at reworking it into something else have been done, but this is the first time I was kind of like whoa, this is different but this is FUN!
Space Invaders Forever
Developer: TAITO
Price: $29.99
Platform: Switch (reviewed), PS4
MonsterVine was supplied with Switch code for review
Space Invaders Extreme takes the usual formula and cranks it up to 11 with a visual facelift, tons more mechanics, and an overall frantic gameplay pace. You will rapidly be moving through different waves and different enemies as you blast your way through the alien force, changing kills for more points, fighting big boss monsters, and probably becoming a little confused because this game really starts to feel like visual vomit at some point during gameplay. Bright colors, pulsing lights, and a messy UI can be a little confusing.
I love shoot ‘em ups, so I do enjoy me some Space Invaders but even I was getting confused as the pulsing background goes along with the great new soundtrack and huge words flash by, levels rapidly progress and it becomes a little hard to really take all the information presented in and actually process it. Thankfully, that’s not going to stop you from blasting your way through tons and tons of levels because as long as you keep moving, dodge shots, and blast aliens you are going to progress!
All the extra fluff and such just feel a little lost on the average player, but I’m sure there is some small sect of hardcore Space Invader players seething right now because that stuff is probably integral to doing high score runs and other high-level things like that. It just kind of felt like there was no consequence to me just taking in the spectacle of it all as a casual player, instead of trying to really understand everything going on in it. Thankfully the ole’ vertical Shoot Em Up skills carried me far in this one because it feels much more like a traditional Shoot Em Up game than its predecessors and that’s honestly a great thing and one of the first times I felt like they really managed to do this revamp RIGHT while still feeling like Space Invaders.
Did I mention the music is absolutely bangin’!? TAITO’s in-house sound team Zuntata did it, and you can tell they really had a blast with it because it just feels like the perfect accessory to all of the things going on on-screen in the perfect way. I loved a bunch of the tracks, and even in times where the on-screen action wasn’t particularly engaging, I was super into it still because of the music. Really, a killer job there as well as the sound design in general. Familiar sounds mixed and mashed together in all kinds of ways to give the retro sounds a bit of new life to it.
Space Invaders Forever also comes with Space Invaders Gigamax 4 SE which is basically classic Space Invaders but retooled for you and 3 of your friends to take down a MASSIVE fleet. It was a pretty cool distraction, and would probably be lots of fun to whip out for game night here and there.
Also included, is a port of Arkanoid Vs Space Invaders which is a single-player game that seems to be a port of a mobile game due to the touch screen only controls and vertical orientation. This was actually WAY more fun than I expected since I am a big Arkanoid fan. Think Arkanoid with more enemies, but the thing you reflect are the enemy attacks rather than the usual Arkanoid Ball you bounce around in that series. Simple, but a fun little diversion and an excuse to actually use your Switch’s touch screen.
The Final Word
Overall, I had a lot more fun with Space Invaders Forever than I thought I would, especially the main attraction, Space Invaders Extreme! From people who have never touched Space Invaders to the high score holders of yore, I think there’s a whole lot of good in this package, and it’s worth checking out!
– MonsterVine Rating: 4 out of 5 – Good
