RetroFitted: Can Space Invaders Stage a Comeback?

Jen Chaney — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 14:34:00 GMT

Before there was Super Mario or The Sims -- hell, before there was even Pac-Man -- there was Space Invaders, the 1978 video game that gave us all the ability to shoot freaky buggers from outer space while sitting in the comfort of our own living rooms. It was so popular, even the British fell in love with it (by the way, I love that Super Breakout is characterized as "educational" in this commercial):

Like all wonderful things from the '70s and '80s, Space Invaders is getting revamped for this millennium. Specifically, the game was re-released last month as Space Invaders Extreme. "Extreme" -- that makes it sound so daring, so high-octane, so Vans Warped Tour, doesn't it?

Turns out all that means is that the basic Invaders concept has gotten a little flashier: cooler lasers, room for multiple players, etc. So far, several reviewers -- including Clive Thompson at Wired -- have lavished high praise on the new version, which is available on the Nintendo DS and PSP. (Why not for the Wii? Why????)

The reason for the accolades: Space Invaders Extreme stays true to its original concept and doesn't try to get too elaborate. Here's my feeling about video games: For the most part, I should be able to understand the premise in a sentence. Pac-Man: You eat pellets and run away from monsters. Cool. Space Invaders: You shoot at aliens, who keep coming at you faster and faster, so you keep shooting. Excellent. I get that. It's games that go like this -- "Well, first you have to capture the golden orb, which gives you extra lifelines, at which point you advance to Level Supremus, then you try to capture the super-secret sword" -- that lose me. I don't have time for that. Just let me take 10 minutes after dinnertime and before bed to shoot a few extra-terrestrials and then I'll take the check, thanks.

Long story short, Space Invaders worked in 1978 because its premise was fun, compelling and classic. It will work in 2008 for those same reasons. Now, for the love of God, just make it for the Wii.

RetroFitted appears every Thursday on Strollerderby.

RetroFitted: In Praise of Simon

Jen Chaney — Thu, 08 May 2008 15:02:00 GMT

The electronic memory game Simon was unveiled in 1978 at Studio 54. And after a long night of boozing and doing hardcore drugs with its pal Speak & Spell, the primary-colored toy sobered up and got down to the business of becoming one of the most coveted kid items of the late '70s and early '80s.

Based on the classic children's game Simon Says, the objective of Simon was straight-forward: Remember an increasingly complicated pattern of flashling lights and hit the correct buttons to replicate it. Simon challenged but didn't require much explanation. Its clunky yet futuristic design looked like something straight out of "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," which made it that much more awesome. And parents liked it because it appeared to strengthen kids' ability to memorize, which, as we all know, is the cornerstone of getting a solid education. Simon also had an uncanny ability to suck up a lot of kid hours, another reason moms and dads may have secretly been psyched when one of us wanted to play with it.

You might think Simon just faded away, another casualty of its time, like Pong and Intellivision. Not so. Hasbro still makes a few versions of the game, including a handheld take on the original and a more challenging version called Simon Trickster. I have to say, I don't like the design of the new incarnations as much -- the colors and the fonts don't convey the seriousness that Simon requires.

Look again at the original, pictured above. Doesn't the black background, orb-like shape and protruding set of switches look intimidating? The whole thing screams: "Kids, this ain't no Yahtzee. You gotta concentrate when you play this mutha." If the 1978 Simon could talk, I think it would sound a lot like HAL from "2001: A Space Odyssey." And that's a machine you don't want to mess with.

Still, as much as I miss the more badass version, I have to give props to Simon for sticking around for 30 years. It's proof that the simplest games very often turn out to be the most lasting. And here's proof that Simon can still suck up lots of your valuable time: Play it online here, if you dare.

Photo: Vidgame.net

RetroFitted appears every Thursday morning on Strollerderby.

Strollerderby : '70s

RetroFitted: Can Space Invaders Stage a Comeback?

RetroFitted: In Praise of Simon