Sweet Revenge Broken Into Chunks - Space Invaders Get Even Reviewed

Downloadable content is quickly becoming a staple in gaming. Not only is it doing a great job of filling gaps between big budget releases but often it makes those big budget releases even better with additional content or fixes. On occasion, DLC games even outshine their current retail game contenders. It's doubtful that retail game sales will disappear soon, but it may only be a matter of time until most games go downloadable. The ease of putting a game up for download means better games for less coin, which also gives smaller budget developers a chance to shine. With DLC, game companies also seem much more willing to take chances, such as reviving old games or series, as we continue to see with games like Space Invaders Get Even.

Space Invaders Get Even is yet another game that attempts to pump nostalgia into new gameplay. Fortunately, yet again, it works. It's 30 years after the original attack of the Space Invaders. This time you control one of the infamous UFOs, as seen in the original Space Invaders, surrounded by a swarm of colorful 2D invaders. The gameplay in SIGE is best described as an arena shmup (like Geometry Wars) combined with simplified, high-speed strategy elements.

The Wii remote controls an in-game reticule that allows you to send invaders out to attack that area, returning soon after. You have five attack types to choose from at any time, which changes how the invaders will attack. This delayed return means you have to watch your accuracy as well as what attack types you use much more than the average arena shmup. Taking damage can even drop your dispatchable invader count from it's initial count and maximum of 100. Luckily, waggling the nunchuck and remote can summon more invaders but you must be stationary and not taking damage. It's also possible to switch into a mode allowing quick movement but no attacking. If all else fails, you can summon a gigantic UFO to do a large amount of damage to everything on screen but usage of this is limited. Adding to the desperation of your invasion, UFOs can only stay in Earth's atmosphere for a limited period of time though your time limit can be increased by destroying anything on Earth.

The level design is challenging and varied and, despite being spread across a few mission packs, seems to get progressively harder. Each area of each stage has different objectives such as 'free this many invaders' or 'destroy these units' and so on. You'll be up against all kinds of humanity's wild land, air and sea units as well as some huge bosses. Oh, and you can abduct the occasional cow for extra points. Yes, cow abduction simulation is confirmed.


The graphics are very well done with a combination of shiny futuristic modern shmup graphics design with retro 2D arcade inspiration blended in. There's even a bit of B movie inspiration in the UFO's sleek 50s design and the game's excellent yet amusing voice acting. The game has an excellent spoken intro with a voice that sounds a lot like G-Man from Half-Life but more sinister. During gameplay, you can hear the humans' radio chatter, much of it being quite comical as they seem to think they're facing the same kind of threat they faced 30 years ago (in the original game).

For the most part, SIGE is a lot of fun but I do have some complaints, mostly small. The controls work fine but having one button to cycle through 5 attack types is a bit too simplistic. A button to go back to the previous attack type would help a lot. Also, the reticule is a bit too large and makes it a little trickier to aim precisely. That said, this game works best on the Wii since the Wii remote reticule allows you to aim at specific points, not just in a certain direction like a twin-stick arena shmup.

The scoring system in SIGE allows for a lot of improvement on your highscores but it annoys me a little that the game gives you no notice when beating a previous highscore. During the game your current highscore isn't displayed either. So you have to actively take note of what your current highscore before you try to beat it. It's a small problem but hardcore shmup fans will find it a bit annoying. Using ships other than the main UFO (see below) appears to disable highscores as well and while this is acceptable, the game never warns you.

Lastly, my biggest complaint is the pricing. The game plus 1 stage (3 areas, the 3rd being a boss battle) is 500 points ($5 USD). It ends up feeling like a demo that you paid $5 for. That said, there are 3 mission packs available for 500 points each. Each pack comes with 2 stages (3 areas in each) and a new ship to replace the UFO (for example one of the ships is the Silver Hawk from Darius). Once I shelled out the whole 2000 points for everything I felt like I got a lot of content for my money, but I think the initial download should have been a free demo with the extra mission packs being about 650 points each. The whole package is arguably worth even more than $20 but people are still warming up to some DLC games actually being better than some more expensive retail games.

Overall, Space Invaders Get Even is a great game that takes a little more getting used to than Geometry Wars. Fortunately, it rewards your time with a different, slightly more strategic experience. It bends the shmup genre just enough to please a hardcore shmup fan like me, while also appealing to my love for innovative gameplay.


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Posted by TideGear - Adam Milecki at 12/7/2008 3:23 AM
Categories: Wii,Reviews
 

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