|
PSP
Space
Invaders Galaxy Beat -
New Import |
 |
 |
|
|
 |
Short Summary
Nearly three
decades after defending the planet against alien
invaders that spanned the horizon, a new threat from
beyond the solar system appears. Jet to Pluto and
combat the threat with twin turreted cannons and a
powerful beat shot that requires perfect timing with
the music in order to be effective. As the enemy
fleet advances, more planets are defended with
Neptune and Saturn served up next. In addition to
the newfangled Space Invaders action, the original
Space Invaders from 1978 may be enjoyed in its black
& white glory and a multi-player VERSUS mode where
the screen serves two players simultaneously or up
to 4-players may link wirelessly.
Verbose and Lengthy
Taito digs up a
classic and revamps the game with a 3D solar system,
flashy cinemas, and rhythm shooting sensibilities.
Four modes are available once the action starts:
1 - CLASSIC
The original game that started it all in original black & white
aspect ratio. There is an option to expand the
screen ratio to widescreen and the ability to
save/load, select NO BGM, and set the amount of
lives and extend score parameters. The widescreen
option merely stretches the entire screen across so
that everything looks weird and out of place.
2 - MATCH-UP
Rotate the screen 90 degrees like Star Soldier and play
a VERSUS game of Space Invaders where 2 players take
one side of the newly elongated playfield and blast
at aliens. Before the start of each bout, the level
and amount of ships may be adjusted. To start the
game, hit the top triggers.
One player uses the D-pad side where the UP and DOWN arrows move
left and right while the RIGHT D-Pad direction
shoots. It's also possible to use the analog
thumbpad to move left and right and shoot, all in
one convenient control mechanism. On the other side,
TRIANGLE AND X move right and left respectively
while the SQUARE button shoots. Between the two
players are a pair of massive Space Invaders and 16
smaller purple invaders against each player. When
the purple invaders are shot, they bounce upwards
and the aim is to delay their descent as long as
possible all the while avoiding their shots. Whoever
gets stomped first by the advancing aliens loses.
3 - FUTURE
In the intro to the game,
the solar system is viewed from a fast moving camera
which starts off at the sun before peeling away to
take in Mercury, Venus, Earth, the red planet Mars,
some rocks rolling in the asteroid field, Saturn,
etc. All is dandy until the camera pans in on a
fleet of menacing ships that are en route into the
solar system.
The first battle takes place on Pluto (Plute) where the player's
ship docks in an installation before twirling around
and thrusting into battle. As the aliens come into
view, one realizes that it's a funky new 3D version
of Space Invaders where the player's gun turrets are
seen on the bottom of the screen while bopping alien
invaders rotate up and down in a 360 degree
playfield. Move left and right to view how they
surround the player's ship. Blocks float in front of
the player's turret which serve as temporary
barriers.
The aliens are four deep and fill the entire expanse around the
turret and one must tap the "O" button to fire the
left and right guns alternately while the TRIANGLE
button fires the beat shot which is tapped in time
to the music. A mother ship shadows the aliens from
the background and replenishes the stocks of
invaders that have been blasted away. While the
soldier aliens may be destroyed with conventional
shots, Mother can only be harmed with the beat shot
attack.
Whereas the original Space Invaders had a sense of urgency about it
since aliens were stomping downwards, there is
nothing of the sort here. The game rolls onwards
with forgiving pace and moderation. You can spin
around and look at the stars and the aliens won't
come any closer or attack with any more fierce
determination. They just sort of hang around,
bobbing and weaving around while loosing a fireball
or two. The UFO mother ship will continually release
new alien invaders so the prerogative is to destroy
the mother ship in order to advance to the next
planet. To defeat mother, beat shots must be
accumulated and timed to shoot the big bird from the
sky. Sequential bursts of Beat shots are available
as long as you time them properly with the music. If
you miss a beat shot cue from the music, you'll hear
an empty sound and read "Miss" on the upper left
corner of the screen. Time it properly and a pulsing
beam and satisfying phaser sound emits as the volley
flies off into the distance to hit the ship.
4 - WIRELESS
Hook up with multiple players for Invader
action.
OPTION
Toggle Auto Save: On/Off
Data Save
Data Load
Help
Exit
HIGH SCORE
View the scores of elite players.
NCS Game Notes
• The L and R triggers change the perspective
from a 3D head-on view to an isometric view. Press
again to view the action from a perspective that's
slightly further away and higher up. |
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|