Space Invaders Extreme Review (XBLA)

Downloadable Content notice: This game features a DLC pack for 240 points (roughly $3) released on June 17th that adds three new levels, plus Space Invaders and Space Invaders 2. Thoughts on this DLC pack will be included after the normal review.

The nature of a game is often not obvious just by its title, but Space Invaders Extreme does exactly what it says; it takes the decades-old Space Invaders and tunes its gameplay to its logical extreme. You still control a ’core’ cannon that can only scroll from left to right, firing at oncoming waves of aliens... but everything else has been made faster and more interesting. The four shields from the original are gone, replaced by power-ups you can collect if you kill enemies in the right order. The laser can sweep through entire columns of aliens at once, bombs can hit in an explosive radius, spread shots hit a wide horizontal area, and a small shield that floats with you can protect you. There is also a rare multi-ship power-up that acts somewhat like the twin ship in Galaga, and like the other power-ups you’ll need to be intelligent in using it in order to do well.

The power-ups are a major part of the game, because the aliens are faster and more aggressive this time around. You’ll have to clear them out with record speed compared to the original Space Invaders, and the game rewards you for doing so. Like many old arcade games, Extreme is mostly about racking up a high score. You’ll get extra points for clearing enemies in certain ways (taking out a single row of aliens in order, for example) and clearing mini-games that bring the enemies on at a much faster pace still but also upgrade your firepower to let you keep up. It’s basic, but it works. Technically there are only about five stages, but stages 3 through 5 have variations based on how skilled you are so the real total is probably closer to 10 levels.

One of the most impressive parts of Extreme is the sound and graphics. While the aliens look like they always have, everything else is much more vibrant and colorful, with a music visualizer that follow the game’s heavy beats. Even the sound effects and the rumble of your controller are meant to flow with the music, resulting in a strangely enticing game that is fun to play not only on its own merits, but also because of its audio-visual presentation.