Previous Next

Space Invaders seems to be making a comeback in Livewire's latest game. Although the game has been given a few novel twists, there are still remnants of the old classic in there.

This is a standard shoot-'em-up game but someone has tried to add 3D effects. And failed.

The story goes that galactic hyperways have been built to allow transport between distant stars, but the transports are attacked, without warning, by the Triad.

Your job is to save the galaxy and you do this in two stages. First, you must destroy the Triads and then clear a path through the asteroids for the transport ships. Your sole weapon in helping to bring about galactic peace is your laser gun.

The first screen asks you to destroy the Triads. They group themselves, invader-like, in the distance and every couple of seconds one of them will break away from the group and come towards you.

If you don't manage to destroy it, then your shield will suffer damage and its rating will decrease by around 15%. Too many hits and your shield will be totally destroyed and you lose a life.

It took me some time to get used to this game. Although the game allows joystick control, it's still not easy to play. Everything moves very fast. This doesn't make the game any more exciting though, just fast.

Once you've destroyed the Triad, your final task is to clear a path through the meteor storm. Large meteors hurtle towards you in real imitation 3D and you have to give them a quick blast of your laser before they get near enough to blow you to pieces.

It took me about an hour to get to this stage and, feeling duly pleased with myself, I waited for the next task. But, despite being promoted to a novice, not a lot happened. The first screen repeated itself and the game was no different.

Although not too playable, the game does have some clever features.

The sound effects are quite good - it plays Toccata, by Bach, while you're blasting away, which helps relieve the boredom of the actual game.

Control is through a joystick or the keyboard. You can change the keys used if you wish by selecting one of the options from the larger menu. This menu allows you to turn the tune off, select difficulty levels and select one or two player game.

All things considered, I've seen far better on the C64. The graphics are adequate, but the 3D is nothing spectacular.