Platform: Nintendo 3DS

Developer: Puppygames

Publisher: Curve Digital

Release Date (NA): February 26, 2015

Genre: Arcade Shooter

Nerd Rating: 7 out of 10

Reviewed by Cloud3514

When publisher Curve Digital describe Titan Attacks as a modern take on Space Invaders, I didn’t expect what we got. I’m not really sure what I expected because a “modern take on Space Invaders” is probably the most apt description this game can get.

As far as I can tell the story in its entirety can be read on the Titan Attacks website, quoted here for convenience: “As the last surviving tank commander on Earth, single-handedly turn back the evil invading alien army, drive back the Titans across the Solar System, and defeat them on their homeworld…“

So it can be imagined that there isn’t a lot to the story. There are no cutscenes and no intro. Not even a text crawl to explain what’s going on. Similarly, the music is nothing notable. There are a few generic electronic tracks and nothing more.

Titan Attacks is Space Invaders. It’s not like Space Invaders, it is Space Invaders. The player controls a single tank fighting against alien ships slowly descending to the Earth. The tank fires vertically to destroy the invaders before they can reach the ground and the invaders move faster as they’re destroyed.

Where Titan Attacks differs from Space Invaders is that between rounds, the tank can be upgraded with more hit points, smart bombs, extra guns and more. There is also a much larger variety of enemies. There are the usual invaders and bonus dropping UFOs, as well as tougher invaders that fire missiles at the tank, smaller invaders that move faster, invaders that stay stationary, but take a few shots to destroy, among others.

This adds some depth to the game, but with no narrative to speak of, the only thing to keep the player going is the game itself. Space Invaders fans will have no problem with this. Anyone else will likely get bored or annoyed pretty quickly, especially since the game only gives the player one life. While the tank can be upgraded to be able to take more damage, the player still has just one life. If you die, you have to start over completely. There is no way to save the game outside of a temporary save to put the game down, which is almost a moot point thanks to the 3DS’s sleep mode.

Surprisingly, there is occasional slowdown. It’s very minor, but it’s still there. The 3DS can handle far more than the game throws at it, but for some reason, the game will have trouble keeping a constant frame rate. It’s so minor that it doesn’t hurt the game, but the fact that it happens at all is surprising.

The worst thing about the game though is that it feels like a Flash game. The presentation, graphics (which are a nice looking retro 16-bit-esque style), music and gameplay makes the game feel like a mid 2000s Flash game. While the game is good, I find it difficult to say it’s worth spending money on with this in mind.

Space Invaders fans will love Titan Attacks. The upgradable tank and larger enemy variety will give them a game that feels like the original, but with some added depth. Anyone else will likely find it to offer little more than a well made Flash game.

Titan Attacks is also available on PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita. Now if you’ll excuse me, I feel compelled to put together an all-Rush mix tape.