As the DX implies, the game is an enhnaced version of Super Destronaut, which adds new features on the game in order to make it look more complete than before.
As soon as we hit the Title Screen, we can select the following options
CHALLENGES: You can select one from a list of 30 possible Challenges.
CLASSIC MODE: The Main Game
TIME ATTACK: Reach the highest score possible within a short time limit
HARDCORE: Harder version of Classic Mode
MULTIPLAYER: Classic Mode for two players.
One day you are asked to get 10,000 points, and another to clear waves in a matter of seconds.
Challenges is one of the side-modes of the game, and the new feature that puts the "DX" on Super Destronaut's name. The main objective of this mode is to complete a list of 30 different objectives on different game settings and even with time limits.
01.- GET 10,000 POINTS IN CLASSIC MODE: This is the easiest of all challenges, it just requires to hit the 10,000 point mark in your score to complete the challenge. You can die three times before the challenge ends in failure.
02.- KILL 40 ENEMIES IN CLASSIC MODE: Just survive the level until you kill an over all of 40 enemies.
03.- COMPLETE 3 WAVES IN CLASSIC MODE: Each wave is a group of enemies thrown at you, killing all of them will launch another one. Eliminating 3 waves of enemies is the objective. You have 3 lives to accomplish the task.
04.- GET 2.0x MULTIPLIER IN CLASSIC MODE: Destroying an enemy will increase your multiplier by 0.1, so that means you'll have to kill 20 enemies in total.
05.- GET 2 POWER-UPS IN CLASSIC MODE: The big orange "Invader" gives you a random Power-Up that upgrades your ship's weapon for a brief moment of time. You only need to defeat the Item carrying Invader twice.
06.- HIT A GREY ONE 10x IN CLASSIC MODE: Sometimes, an Invader becomes a falling gray dead body that becomes invincible, but you get 50 points for each bullet you throw at it. Shoot at the dead Invader 10 times to complete the challenge.
07.- GET 50,000 POINTS IN CLASSIC MODE: This is like challenge #01, but this time it requires 50,000 points.
08.- KILL 100 ENEMIES IN CLASSIC MODE: Like challenge #02. However, the challenge is to kill 100 enemies.
09.- COMPLETE 5 WAVES IN CLASSIC MODE: Just like in challenge #03, just with 5 waves to destroy.
10.- GET 5.0x MULTIPLIER IN CLASSIC MODE: Similar to challenge #04. If you can reach 2.0x, this time is gonna be more than the double: 5.0x
11.- GET 3 POWER UPS IN CLASSIC MODE: The same deal as with challenge #05 but with 3 Power Ups.
12.- HIT A GREY ONE 20x IN CLASSIC MODE: Like in challenge #06, now you have to reach a total of 20 hits on dead Invaders.
13.- GET 50,000 POINTS IN 30s IN CLASSIC MODE: This is starting to look like G-LOC Air Battle. You have to hit the score within 30 seconds.
14.- KILL 100 ENEMIES IN 40s IN CLASSIC MODE: Shoot down 100 enemies. You have 40 seconds to do it.
15.- COMPLETE 4 WAVES IN 50s IN CLASSIC MODE: Now that you can survive long waves, the game pits you in a time limited Wave Killing Spree. 4 waves in 50 seconds to accomplish the challenge.
16.- GET 5.0x MULTIPLIER IN 30s IN CLASSIC MODE: Like challenge #10, but this time you only have 30 seconds to reach the mark.
17.- GET 3 POWER-UPS IN 40s IN CLASSIC MODE: Get lucky enough to get the big orange Invader that gives you an item quite often 'cos you only have 40 seconds to get three Power-Ups
18.- HIT A GRAY ONE 20x IN 30s IN CLASSIC MODE: A variation of challenge #12. The challenge consists on accumulate a total of 20 hits on a dead "gray" invader in 30 seconds.
19.- GET 100,000 POINTS IN HARD MODE: Remember chalenges #01 and #07?, This time you'll be required to reach the 100,000 points mark in Hard Mode. This time you won't have extra lives if you get hit.
20.- KILL 120 ENEMIES IN HARD MODE: Eliminate 120 Invaders and you only have one single life to do the job.
21.- COMPLETE 5 WAVES IN HARD MODE: Similar to challenge #15, the only difference here is that you're required to survive 5 in Hard Mode, and that means no extra lives if you get hit.
22.- GET 7.0x MULTIPLIER IN HARD MODE: Similar to challenges #02 and #10, just in a much harder game mode and with no lives, reducing the room for error drastically.
23.- GET 4 POWER-UPS IN HARD MODE: Like in challenegs #5 and #11, you have to pick 4 Power-Ups now. But this time is in Hard Mode, so you don't have extra lives if an Invader kills you.
24.- HIT A GREY ONE 40x IN HARD MODE: Just like challenges #06 and #12, only requiring a total of 40 hits. The only problem is you only have one life to accomplish the task.
25.- GET 200,000 POINTS IN 60s IN HARD MODE: This is gonna get tricky, since you're not just playing in Hard Mode with one life only, now you have a time limit with 60 seconds, putting you in a hurry to get 200,000.
26.- KILL 150 ENEMIES IN 60s IN HARD MODE: This is the hardest of all challenges; killing 150 Invaders in a minute. This is not gonna be easy considering the game will throw you Invaders that need 3 hits to die.
27.- COMPLETE 5 WAVES IN 60s IN HARD MODE: It just gets worse, 5 waves in 1 minute. Be praying to get the Power-Up carrying Invader and the Laser Bullet to help you more than once.
28.- GET 11.0x MULTIPLIER IN 60s IN HARD MODE: A brief relax after two tough waves, getting the 11.0x Multiplier in 1 minute could be tricky, but not impossible.
29.- GET 4 POWER-UPS IN 60s IN HARD MODE: Another "Matter of pure luck" since you need to get the Power-Up Invader frequently in the random variety of enemies on a wave.
30.- HIT A GRAY ONE 50x IN 60s IN HARD MODE: Even with 1 minute, it's easy to get the 50 hits on dead Invaders.
Vintage styled shooting with a modern twist, bring a stereo with ZZ Top's "Afterburner" CD, and it's all set for a retro styled gaming session.
Classic Mode is the basic Arcade Mode with never-ending waves of enemies just like the traiditional Space Invaders. The main objective here is the same as in the old school: Hit the highest score possible before losing all your lives.
All in one minute or you'll die. Too bad you don't get time for each wave defeated.
Time Attack's game mechanic doesn't require too much explanations: Defeat all the waves you can within a time limit to reach the highest score possible. The only problem with this mode is that the time is too short, just 1 minute with 30 seconds, and there's no way to add extra seconds to keep on playing. You can die as much as you want on this mode.
One hit and it's all over, ¿Can you hit the million points without dying in the process?
Hardcore is basically the same as the original Arcade Mode with one difference: You only have no lives, so it's "One mistake and you're dead".
While the game remains faithful to the original Space Invaders, the game adds a twist in gameplay by adding new weapons.
TRIPLE BULLET: Fires three bullets "..." instead of the "." adding aditional firepower as it takes a 3 hit-to-kill enemy with one shot.
MISSILE BULLET: This is the Homing weapon of the game, as your ship launches missile after missile chasing any enemy in sight.
LASER BULLET: The most effective of all the weapons since you can take 4 enemies in a vertical line, making it extremely useful when it comes on taking strong enemies without losing time.
The overall gameplay is very basic, yet solid considering the game designers made a simple game for the sake of old school nostalgia. The only complain about the game is the hazards that come from the background. Sounds crazy, but you have to take care of the dead gray Invaders hurled at you from the background because they can kill you in contact. To be honest, taking care of what comes to you works on After Burner II and Super Hang-On, not in a Space Invaders clone where the priority is to eliminate the alien waves before they hit the bottom.
Another problem with this game is the power up system which is based on pure random, sometimes when you expect to get the Laser Bullet, you could get the Triple Bullet instead. Something as basic and simple as a power up system has its own icons to identify the weapon we want or not to take, and Super Destronaut DX fails on the execution.
In an interesting gameplay feature, the game adds a twist on the enemies attacks, rather than the simple straight bullet, they will fire diagonal shots, "S" curving bullets and homing missiles at you. Fortunately, the missiles can be destroyed with one shot.
Aced in less than two hours. Blazing Star took me more than that.
For an expert player, it will take an hour and a half to obtain all of the game's achievements. So we're with another Achievement score-milker in the end, but 1 hour is already worth of being called a challenge compared with trash like FullBlast which only takes minutes to unlock everything.
Graphically, the game aims for the old school and that means using blocky pixel designs that evokes the legendary Taito shooter. However, being old-school doesn't mean you have to be one-color only. Super Destronaut DX uses gradient colors on each "Invader" making the game more alive while keeping the retro-touch. The background uses the vectorial-lining style using grids for the terrain and the sky, while using curves for the trees.
One of the differences between the original Super Destronaut and its DX version is not just the inclusion of a background, but also a yellow "border" and the player score is in yellow instead of gray, giving a more bright and colorful look to the game.
The music department is pretty catchy with its electronic music that evokes the early 2000's prior to the Paul Van Dyke era combined with some 80's styled High Energy percussions. There's also voice samples in the game, making it more arcade like despite the retro atmosphere of the game.
SUPER CURIOSITYNAUT SP
- The sound made by the Bomb Bullet when fired is almost identical to the bomb drop sound from Super Nova (Darius Force).
Overall, we have a "Space Invaders with a Twist" that takes a classic vintage shmup with modern elements that provide a good-yet-relaxing challenge. I'm sure old-school lovers will be happy with this one.