Space Invaders Get Even

Nintendo exclusive

Space Invaders Get Even is a video game by Taito for the Wii. Originally intended as a retail release, the game was released as a downloadable WiiWare game instead. It was released in Japan on August 26, 2008, in Europe on November 7, 2008, and in North America on December 1, 2008.

Released: 26 August 2008
Platforms: Wii
Genres: Real-time strategy Shoot 'em up Shooter
Developers: Taito
Publishers: Square Enix
Modes: Single-player
Perspective: Bird view / Isometric
Themes: Action Science fiction
Country: Japan
Age ratings: ESRB E10+
Languages: English

About

Space Invaders Get Even is a video game by Taito for the Wii. Originally intended as a retail release, the game was released as a downloadable WiiWare game instead. It was released in Japan on August 26, 2008, in Europe and Australia on November 7, 2008, and in North America on December 1, 2008. Outside Japan the game is published by Square Enix.

The game costs 500 Nintendo Points. However, only one stage (consisting of two levels and a boss battle), dubbed the "Starter Pack" is initially available. The game's six additional stages must be purchased separately as three downloadable content packs, also priced at 500 Points each. As a result, the complete game costs a total of 2000 Nintendo Points.

Keywords

shoot 'em up
digital distribution
nintendo wi-fi connection
wiiware
digital distribution only

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

The origins of the game lie with the original classic arcade game Space Invaders. However, Space Invaders Get Even puts a twist on the formula by letting the player control the space invaders themselves.

Breaking away from the gameplay of the original game and its spin-offs, Space Invaders Get Even sees players piloting the invader's UFO across a landscape rendered in 3D graphics, which encompasses areas such as cities, deserts, forests, oceans and military bases. By downloading the extra stages, players are also given the option to swap out the UFO in the game with ships from the Darius and RayForce series of Taito shoot 'em ups, as well as a polygonal version of the "classic" UFO from Space Invaders.

Reception

Wired's Chris Kohler found the gameplay in the Starter Pack to be "addictive and well-balanced", yet lamented that making the rest of the stages available only as paid downloadable content was like "the modern-day equivalent of Insert Coin To Continue". Nintendo Life, which gave it an 8/10, called it "a wonderful new take on the franchise", though they also believed that players may be put off by both having to purchase the additional stages and needing to free up the amount of internal memory (approximately 700 blocks) required for the game and its additional content.

These sentiments were also echoed by 1UP.com, who gave the game a B− grade and called the gameplay a "high concentration of amusing (and plain ol' fun)" action. IGN gave it a 5.9/10, praising the gameplay and the game's humor, but could not justify the cost of purchasing the whole package.