Its hard to begin with Space Invaders. If you're talking about the world-changing 1978 version, few people will have actually played it outside of messing around with a copy in MAME. The quality of the franchise has not exactly been elevated by the pure, unfettered nonsense tossed out of hell and disappointingly slapped with a Space Invaders label, either. Even on our current generation there's already been a couple of meek attempts at reinventing the classic squid-slaying shooter, such as the rather confused Space Invaders Evolution for the - which offered up Space Invaders with 3D graphics and a first-person view - and the oddly disconcerting Space Invaders Revolution for the DS.

At least all the mediocrity proves that Taito know how to flog a dead horse. You'd be forgiven for dismissing Space Invaders Extreme as another lazy cash-in plopped out for the series' thirtieth anniversary, instead it proves itself a desperately needed shot of adrenaline to the venerable arcade classic. It takes Space Invaders a step further, evolving into a complete series reinvention: a defibrillator to the chest of the aforementioned deceased mule.

It is all a pleasant surprise, really. Space Invaders Extreme is actually very enjoyable. It essentially revolves around the premise that high scores are really, really fantastic and it's also a title that clearly believes that any sequel to a genre-defining original should be pretty damn proud of its roots. No first-person mode in this one. If you concur, then Space Invaders Extreme will probably be the best budget-priced handheld title you'll ever pick up. It's distilled the essence of the current trend for re-imagining retro gameplay and pushed out a budget priced cartridge filled with pure shooting bliss. Its reinvention owes a lot to XBLA's Pac-Man: Championship Edition as well as Q Entertainment's Rez and Lumines, but instead of just looking like a me-too it becomes something special on its own.

Your bread and butter of the game lies in the Mode, where you progress through a series of five music-themed stages whilst blasting away any and all formations of invaders that appear before you. Perhaps taking a nod from Outrun, it branches out into easy and hard routes from stage 3 onwards, giving you a total of thirteen different levels. Bosses of various shapes, sizes and difficulties pop up every now and then. If you lose all your lives you're allowed to restart from the beginning of the level, a piece of generosity not afforded to you in Ranking Mode, a three-life-only affair that allows you to upload your high scores to the internet and temporarily bask in pride until you realise billions of people are far better than you are.

It's all rather overly-accessible and unremarkable until you factor in the scoring system, which basically revolves around the invaders all coming in various snazzy colours; it is here where the key to unlocking the game lies. Light up four invaders of any other colour than grey and they'll drop a time-limited weapon power-up: greens give you a wide shot, blues drop a powerful laser, reds leave you bombs and blacks give you a shield. Shoot another batch of four and a flashing UFO will ping itself horizontally across the top of the screen, and if you shoot that you'll be launched into a mini-game which, if completed, gives you 'fever time' where your ship is ultra-powerful and can wipe out entire formations of invaders with ease. Other bonuses are released for getting invaders from the same row and column, also. The whole thing bops and slides along in time with some excellent music. Combine this with the psychedelic backgrounds and you're starting to see the wonderful almost-hypnotic experience that Space Invaders Extreme really is. After about twenty minutes of playing I got so drawn in that the game may very well be slipping in subliminal messaging, telling me if I don't beat my high score I'm not allowed to go to bed.

There's a dazzling sense of balance that comes with Space Invaders Extreme. Its ancestor basically pioneered the shooting genre, and all those technical and stylistic advancements have somehow been re-integrated somewhere or other into this new game. The only thing that's really been taken away from the classic Space Invaders game are the four lumps of intergalactic rock that served as temporary cover from attacks. Perhaps the emotion most familiar with Space Invaders - the growing sense of anxiety and dread as the invaders speed up when you thin their ranks - is effortlessly captured and re-created from the fossil of its ancestor with more efficiency and grace than the entirety of Jurassic Park.

The graphics are crisp and sharp, not too snazzy and not too lazy. It all feels just right. It is simple, but intelligent. It feels fresh and familiar. Not too easy, not too hard. Space Invaders Extreme is a walking oxymoron. It does what a good shooter does and balances risk with reward, encouraging you to play it with flair and rack up huge combos then shoots you down for getting ideas above your station. Essentially, Space Invaders Extreme becomes an experience that I think everybody should get in on, but I'm also fully aware that it's the kind of game that can't really be appreciated unless it's played. None of my prattle can do much to change that. But, if you are sitting on the fence about this one, I urge you to take the plunge and pick it up.

80%

By Martin Gaston

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