Shoot, attack and stave off the alien assault by defeating all the Invaders on the screen. After annihilating a battalion of Invaders and defeating the Boss, players move on to the next stage. But it’s "Game Over" if players lose all of their stock cannons...

Space Invaders Extreme 2 builds well on the first Extreme game. Once again this puts a new, funky, spin on that old classic Space Invaders game.

There are two main modes in single player: Score Attack and Time Attack. In Score Attack you must play through five levels and try to get as high a score as possible. In Time Attack you must play through five levels as quickly as possible. You can also play with a friend in the Multiplayer mode.

Instead of the aliens simply scrolling back and forth while you try and destroy them all, Space Invaders Extreme 2 sees the same old aliens you know and love as well as new bosses and additional features including aliens with shields and flying saucers with laser cannons. There's even a bingo level, if you're good enough to unlock it, that allows you to gain more points and shoot for that all important highest score.

There are in-game bonus power-ups which are fairly easy to collect. Shoot four of the same coloured aliens in a row and they will drop a package that unleashes a power (for example blue aliens give you a laser cannon, while black aliens drop a shield which stops alien bombs from killing you). These powers only last for a short period of time, but if you're quick you can unlock another power before your current one runs out.

There are also lamps which you must light up by completing tasks like shooting 10 aliens of the same colour sequentially, or shoot down a row of six aliens sequentially. There are 10 lamps to light up, and once you do you get an additional life.

As with the previous game, the multi-player mode is where most of the fun is to be had. The single player games can be mastered quite quickly by most determined players.

For those that are Space Invaders fans, this game is an essential purchase.

8

Darren Rea