Space Invaders Forever drops a trio of games in your lap that bring a variety of gameplay for solo and multiplayer experiences. It certainly treats the Space Invaders franchise appropriately, even though not all the games included work as planned.
Taito has released Space Invaders Forever to the world and the timing couldn’t be better. Back in 1982, my brothers and I played the hell out of Space Invaders on the Atari 5200 the week before Christmas. With no school for nearly two weeks, we put on Space Invaders tournaments that could be considered some of the earliest examples of eSporting. We involved the entire neighborhood. It was magical.
Those memories immortalized my feelings for the original Space Invaders, which included intense fun that never really aged.
Here we are in 2020, 38 years removed from that youthful moment, and Taito brings it all back. Well, a slightly aged version of those feelings.
Let’s get it going.
Space Invaders invading in unusual ways
Space Invaders Forever is really three games in one that carries three flavors of Space Invaders with it. Here’s what you’re looking at:
Space Invaders Extreme
In the original Space Invaders from 1978 (and 1982), the game had rows of alien invaders that would slowly go left-to-right, drop down a row, and then proceed right-to-left. As you shot those beings, the movement became faster and more intense, which upped the emotional stakes. If you were looking for a game not called Perfection to cause you anxiety, there it was.
This time around, Space Invaders Extreme takes that concept and turns it on its random head. The game is perceived to work in the same fashion as the original, but changes up the motion of the invading aliens. Some of the aliens will come down in the original fashion, some will come straight down, some will stay in place. Generally, the levels you go through, which are tiered, change the movements when you eliminate the gaggle of alien rows. You never should expect the same movements through each level tiering up to a boss level. It does create some good variety, while at the same time maintaining what people loved about the original.
The levels also feature different types of aliens that are delivered in different sizes. Some of the aliens are tiny, some normal size, and some are quite large. They are generally mixed-matched in a single level. There are also some aliens that are built to take more than one hit and some that have shields to block attacks. There are a lot of moving alien parts here and all of them make the game far more complicated than the original, which is a positive.
I played this version of Space Invaders the most on this release. It’s fun, it’s a bit random, and it does a good job with delivering a decent experience. My biggest gripe? That annoying background. Whoever made that decision to put that Sega-commercial-from-the-90s background needs to rethink why they are doing it. It was a visual mess that took away from the gameplay.
Anyway, this game mode was still a nostalgic treat.
Space Invaders Gigamax 4 SE
If you haven’t tested your patience with your family during the pandemic, then this is the moment you do it. Gigamax is a four-player experience (you can play solo, but don’t) that starts you off with a traditional SI experience and quickly let’s you know that it ain’t Space Invaders of old. Much like Extreme, you get a variety of different sized enemies coming down on you at once with huge boss battles to cap off stages. Sometimes the aliens switch gears to a Centipede like movement and bring some chaotic gameplay structure to how you approach the match. Despite the chaos, I like what Taito did with this, but it’s not quite as stimulating as the other two modes in this release. I do enjoy playing a four-player game with my kids and wife. It’s far more civil than Jackbox.
Arkanoid vs. Space Invaders
Heartstrings officially tugged. I had a good friend way back in the late 80s get me into Arkanoid. It’s like a special version of Super Breakout, but with special upgrades, you get as you progress through it. Taito felt the need to take that concept and mix it in with a Space Invaders theme, where you defend your space station (and other levels) from invading aliens. For the most part, this mode works just fine. You’re timed in destroying a certain amount of aliens and are given tiered rankings depending on efficiency and points. The fact that additional time drops (which you can catch) and attack modules drop that lead to a huge bow/arrow attack, helps make this game addictive. There’s a lot to love with bringing Arkanoid into the mix in the Space Invaders universe. It’s a natural fit.
The biggest downer with this mode? You have to use that touchpad on the PS4 controller. For years I have been crowing about putting that thing to good use and, as the youngsters say, “This ain’t it, Chief”. I played this mode for about an hour before my poor thumb and pointer called it quits. I like the game quite a bit, but wow I hate those controls long term.
I’ll still continue to play this mode, though.
Conclusion
Space Invaders Forever drops a trio of games in your lap that bring a variety of gameplay for solo and multiplayer experiences. It certainly treats the Space Invaders franchise appropriately, even though not all the games included work as planned.
