Originally posted March 1st 2015 on the Seafoam Gaming forums

Title: Titan Attacks!

System: 3DS (eShop)

Price: $9.99

Release date: 2/26/2015

The main game/story

In this arcade-like game reminiscent of classics such as Galaga, Galaxian and Space Invaders, you take control of a small tank who is responsible of defending the universe from mysterious alien invaders… A simple plot for a game simply like the good old days of arcade gaming!

Graphics

The game uses graphics similar to arcade games like Galaga 88 and Mappy, in the sense that they are early 2D graphics, but have signs of shading to make objects pop out a bit. Sadly there’s no 3D effect in this version, which is unfortunate as it would have really looked nice on the 3DS’s 3D screen.

Music and sound effects:

Most early arcade games didn’t even have music. …To be honest this game doesn’t have much either. There are a few songs here and there, but nothing memorable in the sound department, save for the digitized “wave completed” voice you hear after every level.

Gameplay

When you begin the game for the first time, it starts off rather simple. You shoot the enemies at a very slow pace, and it seems rather boring. However, after the first level is complete, you’ll see this game’s special feature, similar to Fantasy Zone in the sense that you can upgrade your ship to defeat enemies faster, get more life points, use powerful bombs, ETC. This is done via money you obtain for defeating the onscreen enemies or by catching the aliens that fall toward the ground, and the further you go, the harder the game becomes, meaning that it’s a constant struggle of getting faster and stronger weapons to defeat all of the enemies as quickly as possible in order to keep your multiplier high.

Despite the fact that this game has 100 stages with increasing difficulty, however, it’s meant to be a high score game and nothing more. The game wants you to replay it and do better in the normal and bonus stages in order to get a higher spot on the online leaderboard. While a fun concept, it can get very tiring quickly, making this a game better suited for short bursts.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Titan Attacks is a fun arcade throwback similar to classics like Galaxian and Galaga, with fun upgrades and addictive gameplay. However, at it’s current price of $9.99, it’s incredibly difficult to recommend at this point in time, especially since you could pick up similar games for a much cheaper price. Even with online leaderboards giving extra replay value, it’s a pretty shallow experience. I give Titan Attacks! a 5 out of 10, and only recommend it to those who are huge fans of arcade classics and won’t mind spending quite a bit of money for a game with little content.

Thanks to Curve Digital for the review code.