And now to an old friend of ours, one that has moved and evolved the gaming industry from when it was first conceived right through to the present day. Everyone involved in the games industry should have played, or at least seen, this title and maybe the other thousand or so shoot-’em-up games that have directly evolved from it’s immense success. Very few coin-operated machines can claim to have had such a lucrative ‘life’ as that, which Space Invaders has had, going from a ‘geeky’ boy fascination to an international multi-million pound grossing entertainment franchise. The secret seems to be the addictive nature of this game; it pulls you in with its sheer simplicity, one cannon with four defensive blockades versus a block group of alien invaders slowly moving from left to right, easy right? Well that’s what got everyone into it twenty years ago, the thing that’s kept people interested until now is the intensity that this very simple concept provides. Everyone who spent more than twenty pence on this game had structured a thorough strategy with which to get rid of the Aliens with as little life/money loss as possible.

There have been many, many remakes of this game released on many, many formats, all with the intention of reiterating the arcade machines initial performance, a 3D remake on the PlayStation and Nintendo64 was quite a large success but never really took the Space Invaders name to new heights like many people expected. So it seems to be left to the most innovative console of this decade to achieve perfection with the one of the most innovative games of the last decade.

You will all be happy to know that the original game is included in this remake, and it’s not just included either; it’s been integrated. As a small incentive to play the Classic game as opposed to the New Age remake version, the first lot of power-ups accessible to play in the New Age game can only be obtained by obtaining a certain score in the Classic Mode. The score is cumulative so it’s not very hard to do no matter how many times you die, but these few power-ups are the first major difference in this wholly different game. They are accessed along with an alternative fire button through the Touch Screen, which in this case has been utilised as an extended control pad, providing space for seven other buttons, which just couldn’t have fitted anywhere else. The six buttons that supply the power-ups are in comfortable places allowing effortless use of the abilities. These include 3 ranges of moves, from offensive, the Laser and Rapid fire, to defensive, Barrier and Stop, and two miscellaneous abilities rapid movement and Support. This range of abilities gives many strategic options, as the small energy meter on the left of the screen governs how much you can use each power-up because each one uses slightly different amounts of energy. You can turn on two or more power-ups on at once, giving you for instance, Rapid fire Lasers, which use up energy quickly but get rid of the Aliens at an amazingly rapid rate.

            This is something that really shines through in this game, is the amount of focus the development team has put into the strategy behind this game; every level has been designed so there’s a completely different tactic to get through the three stages. In fact I haven’t seen a level yet where you can happily just sit and shoot for all you’re worth. This shoot-’em-up is definitely a thinking mans game. I don’t think it would be fair of me to explain the various tactics you can employ whilst going through this game, as I find it all the more enjoyable to figure out my own strategy with which to complete each individual challenge.

Now, the titles graphics were never really it’s selling point, and even the latest reincarnations of this franchise have kept the graphical representation to a minimum - a very good idea as this game is entirely about game play. Apart from the many minor tweaks within the game, animation improvements and greatly increased lighting effects, there’s little else to comment on. The main progression with graphics in this rendition of Space Invaders is the location each of the levels is set in. The Level Select Screen is a world map on the Touch Screen, so you just tap one of a selection of locations where the Invaders are attacking and you’ll be taken into one of the many varied levels with a perfectly rendered image of a famous landmark from the area you’ve selected in the background. The sound seems very level specific as well; it changes to fit, in a general sense, with the traditional music from the country you’re fighting in.

            I really like this game, it is a great shame the NintendoDS’s wireless link option was never put to good use as I can think of a least two levels where a two player option would enhance the re-play value immensely, shame, but this isn’t in anyway a loss to the overall enjoyment of this title.  The thing is anyone can pick up this game and obtain the same amount of satisfaction and delight through completing it’s many varied and strategically thought out levels, it’s a real game for the masses, everyone should play it, even just to see practical modifications and awesome backdrops now added to this already universally complete package.