Review: Space Inavders Extreme 2

I decided to do my game review in blog-post form for those who weren't around to see present on Wednesday or doesn't go my session. In any case I decided to review Space Inavders Extreme 2 just because it's unique and a less predictable choice than say Modern Warfare 2 and Uncharted 2.

Basic Info:

Developer:       Taito
Publisher:        Square Enix
Genre:            Arcade Shooter
Platforms:        DS
Released:         2/10/09







Gameplay & Design:

The game consists of two primary playing modes. Score Attack: where the player attempts to achieve the highest score, and Time Attack: to achieve the quickest completion time. A game consists of 5 stages which branch out into different difficulties. In the game you take control of a spaceship on the bottom screen by moving it left and right using the D-pad and to shoot by tapping any of the face buttons. The main objective of the game is to clear waves of enemies known as the Invaders. Most of the action will take place on the bottom screen while the top screen displays various stats and the current score. These basics have been left unchanged since the very first Space Invaders. So in order to meet modern design standards the game now includes various power-ups and bonus rounds. Power-ups are obtained by shooting 4 enemies in row of a specific colour which is known as a set.

Shooting two sets of enemies opens a bonus rounds which takes place on the top screen while the main game still runs on the bottom screen. The player is given 30 seconds to bonus round objective which usually involves defeating the enemies that appear. If this is successfully completed the game enters Fever Mode which maximises the strength of the previous power-up and the score multiplier.

After defeating all the waves of enemies the stage the has to throw at the player they will be greeted by the stage boss and usually requires some strategy in order to be defeated. When the stage is completed the player will be given a rank based on their performance and score.

Presentation

This game is visually stunning. From the intro screen to the main game, the design has a very modern appearance. The sprites of Invaders on the other hand retain their original design which is probably a good decision seeing that it is the design most people are more familiar with. This games packs an incredibly catchy selection of BGM and includes sound effects which are cleverly placed, making it feel really immersive. One fault of this game however is that the backgrounds in the game are animated and has proved to very distracting, especially in situations where the player has focus on avoiding enemy projectiles. Luckily the game provides an option to turn off the animation.

Final Thoughts

Overall this is one pretty impressive game. While only 5 stages is a bit disappointing the branching difficulty and simple controls will make any player happy, be it a beginner or a seasoned player. It is certainly one of the best shooters available on the DS and I highly recommend this game who enjoys playing arcade shooters or is a fan of the franchise.