GAMER'S CORNER: With new DS version, 'Space Invaders' is back

I'll admit that I wasn't exactly filled with joy when my friendly FedEx lady dropped off a copy of "Spade Invaders Extreme" on my doorstep.

First off, there was the name, which I promptly parsed. "Space Invaders" is a roughly 130-year-old game that hasn't been fun since Polk was in office, and "extreme" is one of my least favorite, overused adjectives. At that point, I was nonplussed.

But then I put it in, and (wonder of wonders) I was shocked by how fresh the game felt. Though the basic concepts of classic "Space Invaders" are still there, they've been repackaged and repurposed to feel entirely modern.

The job is similar to that done with "Pac-Man Championship Editon," which took an old standby and made the game mechanics work in a more modern setting.

From a gameplay perspective, the biggest change is the inclusion of powerups to your ship. By blasting four of the same colored invaders in a row, you can net yourself a powerup that lets your ship fire bombs, for example, or shoot a wider beam. In addition to adding variety, there's also now an additional factor of risk/reward, which forces you to wonder if it's worth letting a yellow ship get a little closer so you can bring down your fourth red ship.

The game also is also lightyears ahead of the original in terms of its look. While some of the same sprites are still used, they've been given a new neon coat of paint, making the game resemble a nightclub dance floor.

The nightclub metaphor is particularly useful because it also gives a good idea of what the game sounds like. Shots, explosions, enemies dying, each generate tones and create a sort of erratic techno symphony.

Here's the crazy thing though. With all the bells and whistles, this is still very much "Space Invaders," a game I would have laughed off just a week prior. But the designers have managed to dig deep and find the kernel of fun, that nugget that drew people in back in the '70s, and use it to create a game that's just as compelling now. As retro games continue to get more common, it's a shame more devs can't see the value in that.

Justin McElroy is a freelance writer living in Huntington. His writing appears on video game sites like Gamezebo.com and Joystiq.com.