In Taito's original Space Invaders, you blast aliens before they reach the bottom of the screen. Variations in the number of enemies on screen, their speed and attack patterns gets more difficult as you clear the screen and move to subsequent levels. Well, it's 2008, and we have way too much ADHD to be able to tolerate such simplistic gameplay. Thankfully, Taito responded. With Square Enix honoring the 30th anniversary of the game, Space Invaders Extreme is here to celebrate it with an evolution that, while several levels too short, wholly succeeds.

Trippy graphics make Space Invaders Extreme a blast to watch.

Despite all of the gameplay additions, Space Invaders Extreme remains incredibly simple to play. Move your canon horizontally and shoot vertically at anything and everything approaching you. Achieving the highest score possible without dying hasn't changed, the difference is how you get it. In this version, everything is about chaining kills, whether that involves blasting several invaders of the same color in a row or in a column, of any number of other combinations. The more you destroy without being hit, the higher your combo meter goes, maxing out at 10x if you reach and maintain a Break state. By destroying like-colored enemies, bonus weapons will also drop down; catch them to activate a more powerful weapon (laser, bomb, and broad shot) or a shield for a limited time.

You're not the only one with new tricks, however. Invaders come in different sizes, including the gigantic boss invaders (each with a weak spot). In addition, UFOs will also cross the screen; you obviously want to hit them for bonus points, but blasting certain ones in conjunction with combos will unlock brief bonus stages (called Rounds) mid-level that award you further bonuses. All of these tweaks to the gameplay make for an engrossing experience, keeping you enthralled and always looking to improve your skills.

Space Invader Extreme's aesthetical changes are either incredible design choices or a dismal failure, depending on your perspective. The strobe-light backgrounds are something akin to the nausea inducing Space Giraffe, although not quite as potent. The canon, UFOs and invaders carry over the same basic design from the original, only varying in their colors, sizes and weapons. Even weapons like the wide-beam laser are very archaic in appearance, but the mix between old and new works well enough that it doesn't generate motion sickness. The music really stands out, though, with upbeat techno tracks that perfectly accentuate the on-screen motion, coupled with attack sounds that augment the music in a very Rez-like way.

Despite the positive add-ons to the classic formula, Space Invaders Extreme's greatest flaw is its brevity. With only five levels, the arcade mode is over before you know it. You can always replay levels with advanced difficulty settings turned on, but there just isn't enough variety. Furthermore, Taito stripped the online multiplayer found in the DS version, leaving only an ad-hoc multiplayer mode (and a practice mode, which is the same thing but against a bot). We're not sure why the feature is missing, but we sorely miss it. Multiplayer is basic (who can survive the longest, essentially), but fun. Ad-hoc play requires two copies of the game, which seems unnecessary considering how simplistic the stages are.

At the budget price of $20, we still recommend this reinvention of a timeless classic. The PSP version has a slicker visual presentation and better music quality, but lacks the online play, so if you own both, you'll have to decide which of these is more important to you. Space Invaders Extreme is short but sweet, and reminds us why classics will never die.

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Space Invaders Extreme Game Guide

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