Space Invaders Extreme: It's been 30 years already?!

To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the classic space battle, Taito has unleashed Space Invaders Extreme for the Nintendo DS and Sony PSP. I'm notoriously apprehensive about reissues, so it was with great trepidation that I borrowed my 6-year-old's Nintendo DS last night to put the new version through its paces.

The hair on the back of my neck stood up when I saw the skinny uppercase font in the copyright notice, which looks exactly like the B&W text on the old arcade console. It's a small but important flourish that sets the mood for those familiar with the original Space Invaders.

Miracle of miracles, Extreme manages to retain the heart-pounding futility of the original while offering enough variety to appeal to a 21st century audience. The game retains the awkward pixelated alien armada of the classic - along with your valiant "Devo hat" ship - although everyone has picked up a few new tricks since 1978.

The varied alien formations sometimes pack shields to deflect your shots, and they've adopted Paper Mario's habit of flipping themselves sideways on occasion. The arsenal has been upgraded to include laser beams, bombs and kamikaze aliens, along with boss battles. The crumbling shields of the original are gone, but you won't miss them with your newfound firepower.

Most of the changes work, but I'm not a fan of the animated background that swirls endlessly behind the action. Thankfully, it can be disabled in the options menu. The soundtrack replaces the melancholy "doomp-doomp-doomp" of the original with interactive techno themes that musically incorporate the laser blasts and explosions. I frequently found myself attempting to destroy the oncoming aliens to the beat, which was unexpectedly satisfying.

Most of the game play takes place on the bottom screen in the DS version, with the upper screen reserved for score keeping and statistics. Boss battles and bonus rounds make use of both screens, although the awkward hinge gap kept me from enjoying the added screen real estate to its fullest. I didn't have a chance to try out the various multi-player options, but rest assured the game is wi-fi ready.

My only complaint is that Taito/Square Enix seems to be trying a bit too hard to modernize the graphics. They made the right decision to retain the classic pixaliens, but something about the swirling background and cluttered playfield reminds me of the last generation of pinball machines that were smothered by unnecessary animated displays and blinding lights. Oh, and it would be really nice if they had tossed in an Easter Egg that lets you play the original game in black and white.

Conclusion: An unexpectedly enjoyable update to a classic. Recommended.

Space Invaders Extreme is available now in the USA for the Nintendo DS and Sony PSP. It hits shops in Europe on July 4, 2008.