VITALS
Developer: TAITO/ Square Enix Co., Ltd.
Publisher: Square Enix, Inc.
Players: 1
ESRB: E (Everyone)
Space Invaders Infinity Gene is a high definition port of last year’s iOS game by Taito and Square Enix. The games offers everything from the original, plus new stages and bosses.
Space Invaders Infinity Gene starts off nearly identical to the classic black and white game, but quickly starts to evolve stage-by-stage into a music-driven shooter. As you progress through the game, it transforms from 2D to 3D and allows movement around the entire screen. The game also offers a real-time ranking leaderboard in the top left hand corner at all times.
The game offers four modes of play: Normal, Challenge, Bonus, and Music modes. Normal mode is the basic game mode. Challenge is a collection of 99 randomly generated levels. Bonus mode is a collection of levels unlocked throughout the progression of Normal Mode. But, it’s Music Mode that stands out as the most unique mode, allowing players to generate levels based on their own music.
Most of the time the game is very enjoyable, offering a sense of satisfaction and the urge to play “just one more level.” The game really begins to shine after the first few levels and turns into a mix of Space Invaders, 1943: The Battle of Midway and Bit Trip. Unfortunately, the game also seems to have a handful of levels sprinkled throughout that seem downright unfair and force the player to unnecessarily replay it a dozen times.
The art style of the game is a mix of vector, line, and pixel art with throwbacks to the original game art; the blending of styles creates an eye-pleasing, intense visual journey. The game can get a bit chaotic at times causing players to lose track of what is in the foreground and the background, which can cause abrupt crashes.
Space Invaders IG offers not only a high level of replayablity across its four modes, but a sense of vintage video game nostalgia. Overall the game is a great example of taking a classic arcade hit and putting a modern spin on it.
Space Invaders IG is available on Xbox Live Arcade for 800 Microsoft Points and on PlayStation Network for $9.99.
This review is based on a XBLA review copy provided by Square Enix. All images courtesy of Square Enix.
No Comments