Initial impressions do their best to allay any fears. As a warm, female voice welcomes the player and the classic enemy hit “ping” greets the touch of the DS screen as the player inputs their name, the pessimism starts to subside. Presentation and layout feel fresh and it becomes clear that Taito has come up with something completely different for their 30th anniversary celebrations, of which this game is a product. Selecting Arcade throws you headlong into a bright, kaleidoscope world where backgrounds swirl and move as text and images fade and come into view, while a thumping techno backing track keeps the tempo high. For a moment, the player could be forgiven for thinking Tetsuya Mizuguchi was enlisted to brighten up proceedings.

And much like Lumines & Rez, SIE uses music in a unique fashion throughout. For each shot fired, a successful hit will chime its own particular note, in time with the music in the background. While this is not a new concept in games per se, it adds greatly to proceedings and results in the player listening out for the sound rather than relying on sight alone.

Enemies still scroll across the screen as in previous space invaders titles, but now they are colour coded and vary their movements by clustering into groups, only dispersing once a shot has been landed. They can also swarm towards the player like a gaggle of photographers at the first sign of Britney Spears heading out for a pint of milk and ten Benson. The player is encouraged to shoot enemies in groups of four, which, in turn, sees the player rewarded with a weapon power-up that can decimate an entire screen, though this is counterbalanced by the knowledge that it only lasts for a limited amount of time.

The game awards bonuses for perfect shooting or for clearing columns of invaders and the like. There is real depth on offer for the hi-score addicts out there and it is another indicator of the developers doing a fine job of luring players in with the first few rounds, with their gentle learning curve. Here, the new mechanics are laid out in such a way as to gradually build the challenge before adding more elements into the mix, always encouraging the player to refine their approach.

After moving through a set number of levels, a boss encounter is engaged. Some involve two large invaders that must be shot individually until they glow red, which then causes them to converge into one large invader, with glowing red markers indicating the method of dispatch. Another encounter features waves of minor invaders on the top screen of the DS, which have to be cleared before the giant green invader on the bottom screen makes its way up to you. The twist is that the smaller invaders' hit spots are guarded by a barrier, meaning shots have to be timed perfectly in order to destroy them, otherwise a shot will ricochet off the barrier and cause havoc. The game always keeps the player alert to any new scenario that might unfold.

While SIE includes some battles that may seem reminiscent of those seen in other recent shooters, or indeed copied wholesale from other games, the various inspirations have been taken to heart by Taito for this release. If anything, this provides a fitting metaphor for the game as a whole: this is a title that has taken onboard many different influences in an attempt to update itself to appeal to a more contemporary audience and has succeeded in its intent but has made those influences very much its own. Echoes of Lumines mingle with flashes of Wario Ware, especially in the way bonus rounds are handled and rewards being dispensed in a similar, offbeat fashion. Everything comes together to make SIE feel fresh and invigorated.

Nothing should stop any self-respecting gamer from picking up this title. As Namco proved with the release of the utterly sublime Pac-Man Championship Edition in 2007 on the Xbox 360`s Live Arcade, it really is possible to teach an old dog new tricks. Space Invaders Extreme is undoubtedly a triumph and is utterly essential for anyone with even a passing interest in the genre and gaming history itself.