Titan Invaders

One look at Titan Attacks! and you’ll be instantly reminded of Space Invaders. There’s no point in hiding it, Titan Attacks! is heavily inspired by the 1978 arcade classic but don’t be disappointed. Space Invaders was a classic for a reason and while I doubt Titan Attacks! will be remembered with the same reverence, it won’t be laughed at either.

Titan Attacks! is one of those ‘create your own story’ kind of games. You won’t play Titan Attacks! for it’s story. Usually I’d be quite annoyed by this; however, considering Titan Attacks! is a swan song to late 70s arcade games, I think it’s understandable.

Also, Titan Attacks! won’t be winning any ‘best graphics’ awards; but, for a spiritual sequel to Space Invaders I don’t think Puppy Games were aiming for that. The color pallet changes from planet to planet making each planet feel distinct and giving you a sense of progression. Also, All of the sprites looks clean and crisp-which is impressive for a Nintendo 3DS XL screen. Meanwhile, the backgrounds look interesting without distracting you from the difficult task ahead.

However, the fact that this game is on the Nintendo 3DS I would have appreciated the implementation of 3D graphics. Also, the music isn’t of the same caliber as the music found in Space Invaders or Galaga; it’s bland and forgettable. Do yourself a favour, while playing, and plug your earphones into your phone instead of your 3DS.

Nonetheless, the real reason you’ll play Titan Attacks! is because of the gameplay. It plays very similarly to Space Invaders: you shoot down a variety of ships, gain multipliers, chase high scores etc.. Nevertheless, Titan Attacks! isn’t a carbon copy of Space Invaders and it definitely improves on the original formula.

In addition, Titan Attacks! is, on the whole, a fast paced game, unlike Space Invaders where precision was favoured over speed. If you miss an alien you’ll most likely get another chance, especially as your ship upgrades throughout the journey.

Yes, Titan Attacks! centres around upgrading your ship. “How” you may ask? With the highly original concept of spending money. Sarcasm aside, I really like the ship upgrading mechanics. Do you want more or stronger bullets? Extra guns or smart bombs? The choice is yours.

Furthermore, if you’re bad at the game, like I am, you’ll be pleased to know that you buy extra shields (lives) at any point. However, the closer you are to running out of shields the cheaper they’ll be; not only creating a risk reward mechanic, but rewarding more skilled players with extra cash to spend on upgrading their ship. Making money, for less skilled players at least, much more useful than points.

Moreover, I really enjoyed the unpredictability of Titan Attacks!. In Titan Attacks! if you defeat an alien ship it might come crashing down towards Earth allowing for bonus points. Similarly, occasionally the alien will eject from their ship which you can get extra cash for collecting.

The one frustrating thing with Titan Attacks! on the 3DS is the bugs. There have been several times where I’ve been on a 7x multiplier on a later stage and the game will crash. This is extremely frustrating — especially as Titan Attacks! lacks an autosave function. You can always resume Titan Attacks! at the beginning of any planet (20 stages). But for a game centered around high score chasing, it’s unexcusable that you can lose a perfect run simply because of a bug.

Nevertheless, I would like to mention that after to speaking to some of the other members of Middle of Nowhere Gaming that the bugs aren’t in the other versions of the games: PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita and PC.

The Verdict 7.0 out of 10

At the end of the day you won’t leave Titan Attacks! disappointed, unless you get plagued by bugs. So, because of that, I would recommend that you play Titan Attacks! on PS4, PS3, Vita or PC, at least until the 3DS version get’s patched. Titan Attacks! is not the longest, the prettiest or the most innovative game. But it is fun. You’ll never be bored while playing. And if you are? Well… you probably just died.

For more information about what the score means, check out our official review scale.

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Lucy Pallent is a Senior Writer at MONG. She is a girl gamer from a rock in the middle of nowhere and is the world’s biggest n00b. She likes Nintendo, JRPGs and food. Feel free to follow her random ramblings on Twitter.