Space Invaders Extreme review

Finally, a game that follows through on its "extreme" promise

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GamesRadar+ Verdict

Pros

  • +

    Actually lives up to claims of extremity

  • +

    Fantastic score system overhaul

  • +

    Makes button-mashing feel good

Cons

  • -

    Still quite simple

  • -

    Extreme tone may grate on some

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    May not sustain attention

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This is extremity on a level you very rarely get to enjoy in your armchair. This is Keanu Reeves in Point Break extreme; this is Snake Plissken surfing through central LA extreme; this is Cliffy B’s tight t-shirt extreme. It’s an unrelenting barrage of light and sound and JACKPOT! JACKPOT!

‘Pedestrian’ is the world you could best use to describe Space Invaders, but Extreme is to the original game what Pac-Man Championship Edition is to Pac-Man. Taito have turned up the neon, cranked up the speed, and thrown a few hundred extra beats at the soundtrack, but it’s the score system overhaul which makes Invaders Extreme one of the best shooters of the year.

Shooting lines, rows, colors, or shapes of Invader increases your score; hitting the yellow saucers throws you into a minigame; win the minigame and you’ll enter Fever mode with infinite power-ups and JACKPOT! JACKPOT! JACKPOT! Space Invaders Extreme makes you feel good hammering on a single button. It’s a simple game made deep, but never unnecessarily complicated.

Jun 29, 2009

More info

GenreArcade
DescriptionThe insanely stylish and wonderfully simplistic remake of the three decade old classic comes to Xbox Live Arcade.
Platform"Xbox 360","DS","PSP"
US censor rating"Everyone","Everyone","Everyone"
UK censor rating"3+","3+","3+"
Release date1 January 1970 (US), 1 January 1970 (UK)
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