Space Invaders Forever on paper should be a must-buy. It includes three very different variants of the classic Taito shooter, one of which is the best re-imagining of the original ever made. The problem is the other two are serviceable …
Space Invaders Forever on paper should be a must-buy. It includes three very different variants of the classic Taito shooter, one of which is the best re-imagining of the original ever made.
The problem is the other two are serviceable at best.
Space Invaders Extreme is the first game, and is a superbly manic take on the classic arcade title. It barely even resembles its inspiration at times, with hugely satisfying power ups, a thumping trance soundtrack, and quick-fire bonus rounds.
It’s so fast paced you barely have time to think, and even though it was originally released back in 2008 it feels very fresh even today. Although it’s occasionally a bit too manic, it’s never dull and online leaderboards are a wise addition to help maintain your interest.
Space Invaders Gigamax SE is a more acquired taste. A short multiplayer focused experience, it sees you team up with three other players against a massive wave of foes.
It’s fine if you’re playing with friends, but with only three stages it’s over before it can gain any momentum – and is nowhere near as polished in terms of presentation as Extreme, feeling more than a little throwaway.
Then there’s Arkanoid vs. Space Invaders, a port of the mobile game from 2016. You can’t even play this game docked, as it needs to be held in portrait mode and controlled via the touchscreen. Despite this you can have it playing on the TV sideways, for some reason.
The gameplay basically sees you dragging your bat around the bottom portion of the screen, deflecting back the enemy projectiles. You can occasionally use a bow power-up – controlled by dragging and flicking your finger – to clear multiple invaders.
There’s 150 levels so it’s definitely the meatiest title of the three here, but it can’t quite hide its mobile game roots – occasionally feeling a little too shallow and unsatisfying despite the swathes of content.
It’s certainly an interesting combination of two classic titles though, and has a very different tone to something like Extreme.
Ultimately Space Invaders Forever puts together three very different takes on the arcade classic, but it’s a shame nothing new was created for this collection.
Because of this lack of new content the pricetag feels a little high, although if you’re a shooter fan who hasn’t played all three of these games before this is undoubtedly worth picking up.
