This year's best retro remake comes coupled with crisp graphics, fun variants of the gameplay and a satisfying challenge
SIE takes the original Space Invaders theme and doesn't change the core principles: You still are on the bottom of the screen shooting the aliens on the top. However, the enemies are varied in the game by color and by mannerisms. When the invaders start to kamikaze towards you after shooting them, you realize how different from the original this game is.
The power-ups in the game, such as a blue laser beam and bombs, not only add more ways to kill your enemies, it also adds a ton to the challenge of the game itself. A lot of the enemies can have shields that deflect certain shots, which adds to the challenge.
The game also adds UFO's on the top to shoot at that can initiate things like Bonus Rounds and Roulette Wheels. Bonus Rounds are more or less micromini games that have you completing a stated objective, like getting 45 items or shooting down 20 aliens.
If the game sounds alarmingly simple, it is. However, the simplicity and charm of an old-school game goes along way to this game's enjoyment and its replayability. The coux of an old school classic is that the game never really changes, however the challenge and the fun from playing the game outdoes all of that.
Space Invaders Extreme does that.