N-Philes

So I was in J&R Computer World in downtown Manhattan yesterday and, as usual, I immediately ran to the budget section to see if I could score any obscure gems that no one really talked about much for under fifteen bucks. I took a stroll over to their moderate Gamecube section and looked at the end cap, and low-and-behold, I found the grail of the day. Sitting there in front of me on the top shelf was a single copy of Space Raiders, brand new and in its shuck for a mere $15. Needless to say, I was ecstatic.

There are people out there, people just like me, who really appreciate a game like Space Raiders. Beyond its one-dimensional existence lies a game that is so close to its roots that you can't help but be amazed by its simplistic depth. Whether you're running to the left or running to the right, Taito truly does have that hold on such an amazingly niche audience still after all these years.



Space Raiders starts off with this over-done animated opening sequence that captures the hokey feel of classic Sci-Fi B-movies. The aliens come down, out of nowhere and for no apparent reason and start killing off people, flooding the streets in awe-inspiring swarms. As people run, scream and well, scream, three random heroes seem to rise above the mess and attempt to prove their worth to humanity. One character, an amazingly fit and clean-cut police office witnesses his squadron – including his good friends – die in battle. Another, a sassy blond-haired, leather-clad woman speeding through the city on her motorcycle, finds her fiancee stolen by the invaders, and vows to get him back. Finally, a young boy wearing a Space Invaders jacket is almost defeated by the aliens but lives, and sets off to avenge his murdered friends. These characters are not only the epitome of cliché sci-fi characters, they also all act almost exactly alike in the game's Story mode. They even say the exact same lines before and after a level.



The gameplay is where it counts though, especially in a column like MIA Files. In Space Raiders, you're given the Space Invaders concept to build upon. Run around, hide behind random obstructions and shoot the invaders. These baddies have different attack patterns, but similar weapons are shared between a number of them. The whole game in itself feels a bit like a vertical-scrolling aerial shooter on foot, except you rarely change position in your area and the enemies are entirely free-roaming. The whole point of the game is to clear each area by defeating legions of enemies as they bombard you with bullets and try to get close enough to get a swipe at you. Some of the enemies certainly are creative and a few even get me nostalgic – there are designs that look like the spiritual successor to a few enemies in Bubble Bobble, some even sharing a similar attack pattern. At the end of each area you'll find yourself in a boss fight with Taito's outlandish boss designs, each bringing their own flavor of attack to the mix. In lieu of the game's general knack for being old-school-meets-new-school, you fight a said boss and eventually you get to a point where the boss gets more difficult, unleashing a battalion of bullets and lasers for you to dodge. Luckily, the game provides you with power-ups that can be closely related to Arkanoid's style of enhancements, except everything you get is timed. You receive items that will increase your speed, give you lasers and my personal favorite – create an invincible clone of you that rapidly fires shots at the closest enemy, among other reinforcements.

Taito has a knack for arcade-style games, even when they try to bring exclusive console games to their extensive library. Space Raiders is a bit odd in this respect. All of the elements for a good arcade game are there, but its gameplay modes are a bit off. For starters, in Story mode you can choose one of three characters to play through the same quest and your character can die for an infinite amount of times, also allowing you to continue from the exact point in which you died. The game is perpetually stuck in free-play mode. This isn't that big of a deal considering how it adds a lot to the "pick-up-and-play" value of it all, but hardcore arcade enthusiasts may understandably be a bit disappointed. The other mode of gameplay that is offered is called "Survival". In this, you select a character (a second player can join in too for some cooperative action in this mode) and are told to play through the game with no continues to achieve the highest score possible. I honestly couldn't picture many people playing through all six stages including a slew of final boss fights on one continue, as the game's dynamics seem like they wouldn't allow for it. You'd have to have some seriously tight reflexes that may just be demanding a bit too much from even Taito's hardest of core niche. I found myself praying that every power-up I received was a health regenerator not too far into the game. However, it's still an entertaining mode for gamers such as myself who practically live off a game's replay value to beat their scores over and over again.



Space Raiders may not be the prettiest of Gamecube games, and it may not be a particularly intense experience that oh so many gamers have come to expect from Taito, but it does what video games are supposed to do – entertain. Fans familiar the company's previous work owe it to themselves to pick up Space Raiders, as it debuted at a budget price and has since been discounted a bit. It's a solid game and if you can look past the lack of bells and whistles and take it for its face value, you may find yourself enjoying one of the most unlikely MIA Files games to be released in 2004.