ULTIMATE GUIDE

STRANGE SIGHTINGS IN THE SKY. INCREDIBLE REPORTS OF CATTLE MUTILATION. THERE CAN ONLY BE ONE EXPLANATION: THE INVADERS ARE BACK! AND THIS TIME, THEY’RE FASTER, MEANER AND MORE POWERFUL THAN EVER BEFORE! FORTUNATELY, IN TAITO’S 1990 FOLLOW-UP TO THE CLASSIC ARCADE SHOOT- ’EM-UP, SO ARE YOU…

WORDS BY GRAEME MASON

Fewvideogames have the cachet of Taito’s Space Invaders. This fixed-screen legend kick-started the popular shoot-’em-up genre and remains admired today, 38 years after those incessant aliens began their inexorable descent on the Earth. Space Invaders II introduced new invaders in 1980, while Return Of The Invaders gave us a fresh, colourful display and some puzzling enemy formations in 1985. Now, those pesky aliens have all sorts of devious tricks up their constantly flexing sleeves; fortunately, there are some improvements to the player’s vehicle as well. Gone is the cumbersome and singular shot tank of the first game. Instead, this lithe machine (nicknamed CG30) zips across the bottom of the screen, ready to dispense laser death to any alien foolish enough to cross its path.

With Midway’s unofficial Space Invaders II and Taito’s own sequels not quite exhilarating arcade customers the way the original did, the latter coin-op giant opted to introduce some creative elements to the classic Space Invaders gameplay. So while the fixed screen remains, Super Space Invaders borrows multiple gameplay elements from its peers, welding them to the renowned sounds and enemies of the 1978 icon.

Originally titled The Majestic 12, or MJ-12, Super Space Invaders takes place ten years after the first successful defeat of the predatory aliens. The invaders are pouring into our solar system via a circular wormhole, and their gargantuan fleets are assembling above the Earth. Once more, it’s up to a lone hero to take the fight to these aggressors and blast them back into their own space. In terms of gameplay, the template for Super Space Invaders broadly sticks to the formula that made the first game a smash: a series of alien phalanxes bob above the player, their bombs, lasers and missiles raining down upon your position. Each set of invaders descends the screen, lowering when it reaches an edge. Should any alien reach the bottom of the screen, the player loses a life – not ideal, but a little less terminal than the original’s apocalyptic game over.

After a familiar foe initially confronts the player, there are several new types of invader, each with a unique ability. Insectoid flying enemies break formation and wheel down towards the player in the spirit of Galaxian; some invaders split when shot, creating two more opponents; others grow fatter with each wound, finally bursting after absorbing more laser fire. There is also a more extensive range of formations. Humanoid figures circle above the player, spinning as they descend while double banks of invaders lower at an even faster rate. Long robots and insects infest a factory-style level while one despicable set of these meanies warps across the screen, culminating in an even-quicker decline.