"This is one of the better ports from the arcade to the Atari 2600."

Introduction:
Space Invaders is among the first of the video games--surprising, since its release followed Pong by 8 years--and indeed, by certain criteria, it is the first. That is, it is in spirit escapism, not linked to sports like Pong or Tank to simulations. And the games that directly followed it were also escapism. It was thus a very influential game, not to mention a lot of fun.

Gameplay:
On a fixed screen, you must destroy all the approaching enemy aliens. The aliens move in a specific formation, which, when it touches one edge of the screen, inches forward and then approaches the other, in a coordinated horizontal movement.The aliens shoot bullets at you, which take a life if they hit. The game is over if the aliens reach the bottom of the screen. You have a few barriers between the aliens and you, which absorb both sides' shots. Between the barriers are empty spaces, which give you a clear shot . The barriers themselves can be destroyed. As you kill more aliens, the remaining aliens begin to move faster. Although this is initially not a concern, and the boost in the enemies' speed is usually outweighed by the distance the alien formation, now sparser, must travel to reach the edge of the screen and advance, when there are only a few aliens left, they will move incredibly fast.

Graphics:
The Atari 2600 port handles the graphics quite nicely. This is one of its better ports. It is faithful to the arcade because it can be and because the developers took the time.

Sound:
There are enough sound effects. The sound of the approaching aliens is almost melodious, and speeds up to what is nearly a song when the aliens are few and themselves sped up.

Story:
Aliens are invading -- good atmosphere.

Conclusion:
Along with Centipede, which would come out two years later, Space Invaders is my favorite fixed screen shooter. It is the type of game that not only creates but also monopolizes a genre. Designers with a certain amount of artistic integrity would have little leeway in what they could do with shooters till the scrolling of Defender and Galaga came about. Asteroids, another fixed screen shooter, is simply not as fun as Space Invaders. And the Atari 2600 was not a good match for the original hardware of Asteroids either. Even if Space Invaders' quality relative to Asteroids and Centipede were arguable, its relatively low but effective technology allowed for it an almost flawless port to the Atari 2600, making it the best fixed screen shooter on the system.

Final Score: 8/10

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 11/23/11

Game Release: Space Invaders (US, 1978)