Is the New Space Invaders Extreme? (yes)

In the world of video games, the word "extreme" has become synonymous with crap. For whatever reason, the world of low-budget games has decided that adding the word extreme will make a bad game more appealing. To an extent, they're on to something, as I've seen many a foolish consumer at Wal-Mart duped into buying total crap like Extreme Bullrider or Extreme Watersports. I always wondered if the sort of people who buy those games are actually capable of installing or playing them on a PC, (a difficult proposition for some less than technically-savvy people). Of course, the Wal-Mart crowd is very different from us hardcore gamers that most game development companies care about and we know that a game needs more than a cheesy title to be worth our hard-earned cash.

All that being said, I might have finally gotten my hands on a game where the word extreme is justified. A couple weeks ago I ordered a Japanese copy of Space Invaders Extreme, (which I will sometimes refer to as SIE), for my Nintendo DS and I have to say I'm impressed. If you played the mediocre Space Invaders Revolution that came out a few years ago, put that out of your head completely and and prepare yourself for a game that paradoxically feels familiar and new all at once.

My first impression once I started playing was that SIE is a combination of the classic Space invaders and the techno-psychedelic rail shooter, Rez. As in Rez, when you fire your weapon or strike an enemy ship, notes are added into the arcade-inspired trance music. That in itself was a cool addition but I figured that was probably as far as Taito was willing to go for yet another arcade remake. It seems for the 30th anniversary of Space Invaders they wanted to do more.

As I worked further into the level progression of whatever mode I was playing I discovered more and more additions that add depth to the game. The enemies are more colorful and vibrant and there are trippy, pulsating backgrounds that add to the sense of movement and overall style. Powerups are now available if you manage to destroy four or more of the same color enemy ship in a row, (which is called chaining, reminiscent of Ikaruga), and the color of the enemies determines the powerup. Examples of such powerups are a spread shot, a shield and a super-powerful laser that is visually and functionally similar to Iron Man's colossal death laser in Marvel vs. Capcom. Also the enemy types are much more varied than in the past. The traditional enemy ships and flying saucers still make up the bulk of the enemies for you to destroy, but you'll also face off against giant versions of the enemy ships, ships with shields that must be broken through, ships that when destroyed break into more ships, ships that explode and damage everything around them and several others that I don't want to spoil including boss battles.

Unfortunately, I did not think to import a paddle along with the game. A "paddle" that plugs into the GBA slot of the Nintendo DS and affords a more arcade-style control option is available in japan. From what I've heard the paddle works extremely well but that isn't something I can attest to. It won't be released in the U.S. though so if you want to use the paddle you'll have to import one, though I can say the game plays fine with a D-pad as well.

Since I don't speak or read Japanese I can't comment on the different game modes or options, though there are options for local and Wi-Fi multiplayer. SIE has been out in Japan since February and is scheduled to release in the U.S. on June 17 at a price of $19.99. From what I've played it's a great fusion of classic Space Invaders gameplay and modern shoot 'em up goodness that truly deserves the title of "extreme," though I'll have to wait till I have the U.S. version in my hands to see.