Space Raiders (video game)

Space Raiders, known as Space Invaders: Invasion Day outside North America, is a 2002 third-person shooter video game developed by Taito, a remake of the original 1978 Space Invaders arcade game from its creators. Re-imagined for the sixth generation home consoles, Space Invaders: Invasion Day takes the surface-to-air shooting action of the original title and puts it into a third-person urban street setting on the GameCube (Japan and North America) and PlayStation 2 (the latter only in Japan and Europe). This update features detailed opening cinematics of the alien invasion, story and survival modes, boss battles and three playable characters, each with their own backstory.

Space Invaders: Invasion Day
North American GameCube cover art
Developer(s)	Taito
Publisher(s)	Taito (JP) Mastiff (NA) Sammy Corporation (EU)
Series	Space Invaders
Platform(s)	GameCube, PlayStation 2
Release	PlayStation 2 JP: December 19, 2002 PAL: September 5, 2003 GameCube JP: January 9, 2003 NA: April 19, 2004
Genre(s)	Third-person shooter
Mode(s)	Single-player

Plot

Massive saucer-shaped objects appear in the city skyline of an unnamed city and begin bombing the city below. Explosions continue to reverberate through the city as gigantic plumes of black smoke spring up from the buildings.

The origin of the saucer-shaped objects is unknown. One observer reported seeing scores of green beings emerging from craft, spreading out across the ground and assaulting humans fleeing the aerial bombardment.

Authorities have concluded that the saucer-shaped flying objects are "space invaders". The city has been declared off limits, and the authorities have announced that there are no survivors. However, according to reporters, two males (Justin and Naji) and one female (Ashley), all armed, were spotted heading toward the city center where the alien saucers seem to have gathered. One of the males is apparently a minor (Justin).

Gameplay

The playable characters include a street teen named Justin, a fashion photographer named Ashley, and a police officer named Naji (all of whom have similar play styles). From a fixed height behind the protagonists, the player directs them to aim and shoot at increasingly large waves of various aliens as approach the character's position. Characters can move side-to-side as in the original arcade game, but also have limited movement both into and away from the screen.

Occasional power-ups become available, giving the player temporary access to special weapons. Strategic use of power-ups is required, as the variety of aliens and diversity of their attacks will not allow for the straight forward shooting of the original arcade game. The game contains six missions and can be completed in under two hours. A port of the original Space Invaders arcade game is included and unlocked by a cheat.

Reception

Reception

Aggregate scores

Aggregator	Score
GameRankings	50.5%
Metacritic	40 / 100

Review scores

Publication	Score
Nintendo Power
The Laser	C+
VGPub	9.5 / 10

Space Raiders received generally negative reviews, earning a score of 40 out of 100 from Metacritic. Criticisms included poor graphics, repetitive gameplay and infidelity to Space Invaders. ScrewAttack named it the worst remake or reboot in video gaming because of its radical, unsuccessful departure from the original Space Invaders franchise.

Alex Navarro of GameSpot heavily panned the game, saying "fans of modern shooters will have no use for this trite, monotonous junk, and fans of the original Space Invaders will simply be appalled at how Taito has butchered its classic gameplay into this one-dimensional mess." The site later included the game in its list of the "Top 10 Most Frightfully Bad Games of 2004", where Navarro further ridiculed the game as "a truckload of suck".

External links

• Official website
• Space Raiders at MobyGames