Review: Space Invaders Revolution (DS)

Score: 82

Ah, the memories! Both good and bad. There was the initial excitement of the very first arcade video game, back in 1980, in my student hall. Then there was the queue to play the thing. And, finally, if I'm honest, a little boredom in that the gameplay never really changes much - you even get back to (almost) the starting level after a number of levels of increasing difficulty. And now Space Invaders hits the Nintendo DS!

This title has been fairly lovingly crafted - it doesn't use the dual screen nature or stylus input very much, but then Space Invaders was always a single-screen, button-controlled affair and, to be honest, it's not a problem. Instead, the lower screen is used as a mock control panel, with up to six power-up 'modern' features.

Modern features? In Space Invaders? Oh yes. Actually, you can play in original mode if you like, but once you slip into 'New era' mode there are a number of tastefully done variations which breath new life into the game, from super-aliens from which you have to shoott all their cells, to coloured coded invaders that have to be shot down in sequence, to spotting and blasting 'shadow' invaders that blink in and out of existence.

13 different space invaders, 20 locations/backdrops and up to 60 different levels, smattered with collectable powerups, such as shields, support craft and laser beams that clear a column in one go. Add in a 3D sequence between levels and this is one serious makeover of a classic game.

If you liked the original then you'll LOVE this. If you found the original a bit boring then this is still well worth a try, the new features bring it more into the modern video gaming age. OK, so it's not the most original or demanding use of the Nintendo DS hardware, but it still beats the pants off 80% of the modern titles that I've tried....

(Buy Space Invaders Revolution for the Nintendo DS Lite now)