space invaders extreme

[Warp_Rattler]

The thing about the UFOs is that each of the UFOs is unlocked through certain tasks in game. For example, the flashing multi-colored UFO (rainbow UFO) is unlocked by destroying 4 invaders of one color followed by 4 invaders of another color in a row with the Feature meter. Once this is completed, the rainbow UFO will be sent across the screen and if destroyed will send you to the bonus round.

I did not know this.

while holding L or R your current power-up deactivates, and stops depleting. let go and it kicks back in (and resumes depleting).

I also did not know this.

I suppose it would have behooved me to have read the manual, but I rarely read them when they're in English, and figured, "Hey, it's Space Invaders, how hard can it be?" as an excuse for being too lazy to try and muddle through the Japanese. There's seriously a shit ton of stuff to pay attention to in this game with all the various meters, multipliers, gauges, etc. that I have a pretty hard time taking it all in.

Further impressions: the boss battles are really inventive, and a lot of fun. The stage 2 boss battle keeps you supplied with plenty of laser options, provided you remember to dodge the reflections from the shielded invaders, and the third boss puts you up on the top screen, where you have to bounce your shots off the shielded invaders and then dodge out of the way so they hit the boss down on the bottom screen. The stage five boss is kicking my ass so far (on easy, even!) as there's a spot where he just starts dropping lasers in the sort of patterns you'd kindof expect out of a danmaku title. First time in playing a Space Invaders game in which I actually wondered where my hit box was.

Re: the soundtrack, I've always had a sort of love-hate relationship with Zuntata music where I found some tracks enjoyable and others really annoying or just plain weird (see Arkanoid DS soundtrack) but the Space Invaders Extreme one has enough of a mellow electronica vibe that I might just pick it up when it hits. It's sort of like the Rez soundtrack on downers.

[shoe-sama]

wow straight shots only

and a retardedly inflexible chaining system

Here's an idea. Why don't you grow up before you post again? Nobody cares how good you are at games.

what i wasn't saying i was good i was saying that it was boring get a brain

[sfried]

wow straight shots only

and a retardedly inflexible chaining system

Here's an idea. Why don't you grow up before you post again? Nobody cares how good you are at games.

what i wasn't saying i was good i was saying that it was boring get a brain

I dunno. It doesn't sound bad once you get to consider that maybe shuffling your arsenal between the blue laser to the red "bombs" to keep getting four-in-a-rows from varying wave formations to maintain your power-up "ammunition" and gain great bonuses...Seems more like a shmup with puzzle elements. Doesn't sound bad at $20, too. (I still don't see the point of the green powerup, though)

Of course, the only problem is you'd have to wait for that version, at a time when Bangai-O Spirits would possibly come out. And we have yet to see if it comes bundled with paddle.

[shoe-sama]

1d
zomg retro

also damn ikaruga color combos

[eretsua]

so my pre-order arrived here yesterday and i've been happily playing it with my paddle controller for some 3 to 4 hours already. in fact this game is so addictive and fun that's been keeping me from all the work that i should really be doing cause my deadlines are approaching fast.

space invaders extreme is sort of like a 2d rez-level with a space invaders skin while focussing on a color-based chaining system not unlike what you find in ikaruga with a visual background presentation inspired by lumines while not taking to too many steps away from the original SI-formula. add some spiffy graphic, beautiful explosion, big lasers and lovely electronic music to the mix along with the joy of the paddle controller and you've got yourself an awesome little game!

i'm seriously impressed by SIE. never been a fan of space invaders, quite the opposite actually but this is so much more than just another space invaders game. this iteration has flow, dynamics and especially style, lots and lots of style. merging futuristic and retro graphics into a unified whole in a way that can falsely convince you that SIE is made by United Game Artists/Q entertainment.

the music by zuntata reminds me of rez, especially in the way it blends with the use of cowbells and claps as sound effects.

SIE does not appear to be targeted at hardcore (old school) shmup players. when you die the game offers you to continue at the level where you died. when you do so it will give you your normal stock of lives again but rather than starting at level one you'll start where you left off. this also the default action after you've turned the game off. of course you can also select a new game each time rather than continuing.

playing this game with the paddle controller is simply bliss. it's fast, intuitive and precise. the only thing that bothers me is that i still have to find a way to hold my phat ds in such a way that it doesn't go hurting my right hand after a while and can still rapidly press the face buttons to shoot. it should come as no surprise that there is no autofire in this game, no.

for those (left handed) people out there who want to control the paddle with their right hand: yes you can. the game maps the fire buttons also to the d-pad when playing with the paddle controller.

in short: i can highly recommend this game, it's a lot of fun! if in doubt have a look at the official trailer over at youtube or the taito page and then order it. be sure to order the paddle controller along with it! the game is very import friendly (there is some moonspeak but not ingame). if doubt about the psp or ds version all i can say is "paddle controller", end of argument. ;)

eretsua

[-Bridget-]

Gah, did I mention I need this game?

The more I hear about it, the more this sounds like an obsession just waiting to happen.


I've always liked Space Invaders (though Im oddly bad at it), and have played most of it's various iterations.

My personal favorite is Super Space Invaders / Majestic 12, despite the fact that that game is pure evil and hates me completely. Always loved that final boss fight, it's one of the most memorable for me.



I'd go and order this NOW if I could just find some blasted money for it...... argh....... I'll find some way to do it.

And I'll buy the US one too once it comes out, but Im definitely importing first just so I dont have to wait.

[RyanDG]

I suppose it would have behooved me to have read the manual, but I rarely read them when they're in English, and figured, "Hey, it's Space Invaders, how hard can it be?" as an excuse for being too lazy to try and muddle through the Japanese. There's seriously a shit ton of stuff to pay attention to in this game with all the various meters, multipliers, gauges, etc. that I have a pretty hard time taking it all in.

Here's the thing... I read the manual (and I thought I read it carefully), but I'm still discovering things in game that affect scoring. While I'm still convinced that the best way to optimize your score is to focus yourself on breaking into Fever time, considering that nearly all scoring options stack as well, it's not as simple as just going for colored invaders. I'm pretty impressed with the variety of scoring techniques you can use in game. For a handheld designed shooter, I also havent found any neatly abuseable areas to milk since bosses don't score points until they are destroyed...

I think this is going to be one of those games that I have constantly with my DS. It is my favorite DS game that I've played so far - and from what I played of the PSP demo, the PSP version stands to be even better.

Here's another neat little thing about the DS game - the "virtual" field between the two screens can be adjusted. I know I may have been a lone in my criticisms of Contra 4 (and a few other action titles) for their use of the Dual screens on the DS, but Space Invaders Extreme at least allows the player to determine what sort of break they want. I find that to be rather positive addition.

SIE does not appear to be targeted at hardcore (old school) shmup players. when you die the game offers you to continue at the level where you died. when you do so it will give you your normal stock of lives again but rather than starting at level one you'll start where you left off. this also the default action after you've turned the game off. of course you can also select a new game each time rather than continuing.

Though the arcade mode does feature a more casual pick up and play build, the ranking mode is what you are looking for. It features 1 credit and 2 lives for an attempt to get the highest score. I think the arcade mode was simply designed as it was so that it allows gamers to play in short spurts... Even though some of the later levels on the branching path are going to require multiple restarts before you start seeing the best techniques...

[neorichieb1971]

Mine just came through the door. Its playing its little intro space invader tune through my speakers right now

I just played a little so far, its a great little game. Obviously I haven't touched on the intricate details of chaining yet. Thats going to take time. I am not a chaining color type guy personally. Still fun though.

[glitch]

"extra mode" get!

Though the arcade mode does feature a more casual pick up and play build, the ranking mode is what you are looking for.

yeah that's nice and dandy but you're not allowed to use the paddle in ranking mode. ;_;

and i'm not sure this game is fun without. no control over movement speed really fucks up the pace. by the time you get where you want to be (and would be in an instant using the paddle), you're too late.

wtf Taito? i mean sure all the high-scores would be paddle users but at worst that'd sell some more paddles right? weird. or is this to make scores comparable with psp players?

also, game is compatible with rumble pack! now all we need is a gba-slot multitap!

[Dylan1CC]

Did not know Zuntata was on board, nice.

[Warp_Rattler]

Oh yeah, and this game has the weird distinction of supposting the rumble pak as well, which means you can have your druthers between the paddle controller and sweet vibrations. It would be kindof cool if the rumble pak did a sort of Rez-like pulsing to the beat; if so, I might try and pick one up, as I swear there are some shops in Akihabara that have bins of the things for $4-5 each. Anyone with the rumble pak that can comment on the game's use of it?

[Necronopticous]

Level 5D is evil.

[Frederik]

This is one of these kind of games that really throws me on my back. I know that once I really start to get a feeling of it I will love it, but at the moment, it´s too confusing.

But man, this game really came as a big surprise, heh? Who thought Space Invaders could be that much fun.

[320x240]

Are there any randomness to the way the enemies shoot or is it "hard-coded" like in most shmups?

[jp]

Mine's still not here.

[Turrican]

I'm waiting a kind soul to do an extensive, exhaustive, depth, hands-on comparison with both versions.

I'm leaning towards PSP for now mainly because DS already has too much great stuff that I need to get.

In truth, the paddle controller looks like a big plus, although I also like to have a GBA cart at handy during my trips.

[-Bridget-]

Mine's still not here.

Drives ya up the wall, dont it?


I ordered a copy of my own on Monday, and the wait is driving me batty, lol.

I havent been this excited about a new release in awhile, and the only OTHER game to get me excited recently is Brawl and it's imminent release.


But I very eagerly await my own copy of this game. It just seriously looks that blasted awesome.


Has anyone written up, like, a guide to this yet? Like for scoring and such, to explain all of it's various gameplay mechanics?

[Aquas]

Wow. Just tried out the PSP trial demo and couldn't help but keep playing the first stage over and over. This game is really a surprise. It's gonna be hard to wait until 6/17/08 when it ships in the US, but I think I will if only to support some old school game that deserves the cashola from the states.

The music ques are what really get me. I haven't played REZ before but I do like this. It's just... got a nice feel to it

Oh, and I uploaded the demo here so you don't have to register to fileplanet to try it out.

http://aquas.lardpirates.com/files/sie.rar

extract into psp > game.

You'll also need a newer version of the PSP firmware.

[Turrican]

oh my gosh THANK YOU!! this demo is sweet!

[-Bridget-]

This came in the mail for me today.


HOLY HECK. This is seriously one of the best games I've ever seen.

I love the way it plays, and I absolutely love that wonderful scoring system. And the bonus rounds and boss fights are just grand. Third boss ate my face.


A couple of questions:

Firstly, what does "feature" mean, and also "break"? Havent quite figured those out yet, but Im guessing they're important.

And what's that row of counters with "Bass" and "Drum" and those?



Hopefully a bit of experimenting might let me figure that out, but for now, some help would be appreciated


I'll probably be playing this aaaaaaaallllllllllllllllllllll night......


EDIT:

Ok, I figured out what "Feature" is, learned what Fever mode is for (boy was I doing that wrong before).

Still dont know what "Break" is,

And what's with those flashy indicators in the background, that say things like "same shape" and column and row.....

EDIT2:


Ok, I've learned how to get the indicators to start blinking.....

For the row/column ones, I'd originally thought it was as simple as, well, taking out rows/columns.... but it seems like the color/shape rule is here too. So if you have a whole row of green dudes, and you take them out without killing any of the upper rows, one of the "row" lights will turn on.

But if the formation, in that row, has, say, 2 greens, 2 whites, and 2 blues, then even if you kill them in a row, you wont light up the indicator.


Secondly,

I've learned what causes the "Rainbow" bonus.....

In the original Space Invaders, if you managed to leave one of the "fat" invaders, the guys at the bottoms with the big round heads, as the last invader on the screen, then when it was moving to the right, some sort of bug would produce a wierd series of lines as it shot by.... everyone referred to this as the "rainbow" trick.

So if you can get one of those guys to do that, then when you finish him off, you get that bonus. As far as I know, it only works with the round guys, but it's possible there might be additional conditions necessary in this version.



And the more I play this, the more awesome it seems.... I love how you can keep your chain going by shooting down enemy bullets.... It's saved me from broken chains lots of times now, and can make it easier to throw the "feature" chains in there with your main combo without breaking it, thus getting into Fever mode while already having a high combo....


Oh, and "Extra" mode is insane.

[jp]

My copy came in today.


This game is f'ing brilliant.

[eretsua]

thanks for the headsup on the rainbow trick and the column lighting up thingy, Bridget.

did you get the psp version or the ds/paddle controller combo? either way, have fun with your new addiction!

[-Bridget-]

thanks for the headsup on the rainbow trick and the column lighting up thingy, Bridget.

did you get the psp version or the ds/paddle controller combo? either way, have fun with your new addiction!

I got the DS version, but I dont have the paddle controller.

Though, Im sure Arkanoid is similarly awesome, I plan on picking that up once I have some more cash (the release of Brawl sucked away the last that I had).



Still havent figured out "Break" yet.


And what exactly happens if all of those indicators are lit up? I havent been able to QUITE do it yet.

[jp]

There is a Hi-Score thread for this now. You guys should hit it up.

I also explained "Breaks" in it.

[D]

You guys ever saw this ps2 controller?
apparantly it is crap.
http://www.play-asia.com/paOS-13-71-r-49-en-70-2j8.html

[Warp_Rattler]

So that's what that thing is. They've got a couple used at the local Sofmap, but I couldn't for the life of me figure out how in hell the controller works by looking at it.

I thought for a moment that a disc-only version of the collection might be pretty cool, until I remembered that the original Space Invaders, like Pong, is pretty garbage when you play it today. I mean, it'll always hold that special place in history, but some titles age better than others.

Anyways, I'll be hitting the Hi Score thread soon!

[Pit]

This game is really awesome. Though I had great expectations I'm simply enthusiastic.

And what exactly happens if all of those indicators are lit up? I havent been able to QUITE do it yet.

You get an extra life.

[jp]

You get an extra life.[/quote]






I did not know that.


SCORE!!!!!!

[grovsnus]

Strangers on the internet influencing my consuming habits: This thread made me order an ice blue DSL, space invaders extreme, bangaio and suchie-pai 3. I got the pink spinner too.

Good times ahead.

[eretsua]

glitch also has an icy blue dsl and a pink paddle controller and the combination actually kind of works. though i do prefer my own silver ds with a silver paddle combo, a lot more harmonic and calm to look at.

as far as the good times ahead, definitively!