Space Raiders a hollow shell of a game that shouldn't come close to satisfying a gamer of this age.

User Rating: 4.5 | Space Raiders GC
Space Raiders is a remake of the old classic, Space Invaders, and attempts to bring that game to a new age. However, it fails to add anything new and exciting to the formula, instead leaving it as a hollow shell of a game that shouldn't come close to satisfying a gamer of this age. What we're left with is a game that too closely resembles the various flash-based Space Invaders clones floating around the Internet, but with better graphics and a price tag.

The basic gameplay should sound familiar. You control one of three characters with different weapons and abilities, run from side to side without ever moving forward, shoot random creatures, stop a massive invasion, and avenge your fallen allies who were killed by the alien menace (in this case, a street gang, a police squad, and a boyfriend) in a quest that lasts roughly 1-2 hours. The characters all function similarly, but their arsenals differ enough so that they don't feel like mere skin swaps. The aliens themselves, instead of all appearing at once, come in very small waves, and once they're defeated, a boss fight ensues.

There are other changes made to the gameplay. For example, in Space Invaders, the aliens gradually approach you, eventually enter your line of movement, and would kill you after it crashed into you. In this game, the same thing happens, but instead of being completely defenseless and waiting for your demise, you get this magic dodge roll maneuver, which not only damages the alien, but sends them flying back to the top of the screen. They have also added a health bar and special bar, which stores charges (up to ten) that you can use to execute special attacks. You can use one charge to throw a grenade, which deals heavy damage, and usually wipes the screen clear of enemies. You can also use two charges to execute a super move, which differs from each character. These moves do some interesting things, but they're nowhere near as useful as two grenades, let alone one. To balance the whole thing out, the aliens actually put up a fight, and fire at you constantly, so you'll need all these advantages to survive...or maybe you would if you didn't get infinite continues.

The developers tried to give you a reason to play by adding in a storyline, to give some sort of context to the whole thing, and at first, it works. The opening cutscene starts with the aliens swarming Earth, destroying everything in their path. It is here that we are introduced to the three characters, and are shown what the aliens took from them. The characters grab their weapons, and lead the fight for the survival of Earth. It's a bit stale, but it gets the job done. However, any tension that was accumulated is completely obliterated once you actually hear the characters speak. Words cannot aptly stress how mercilessly horrendous the voice acting really is, so I won't even bother trying. It snaps you right out of the experience faster than anything you could possibly imagine, and leaves you with a terrible, sinking feeling, as if a part of you just died inside. Simply put: It's bad.

After you play through one of the storylines, the adventure is pretty much over. The ending is nothing special, and it's made almost unbearable by the abhorrent voice acting. You can play through the survival mode (which supports up to two players) or either of the other two storylines left, but, aside from trying to beat your high score, there really is no point. There is nothing to unlock, there is no profile that tracks your stats, and there is no character development system of any kind. After about ten minutes, you'll have seen what the whole game has to offer, and that is disgusting for a sixth-generation video game. If you absolutely must play this game, buy it used, and return it the next day.