Published: Thursday, 7th August, 2008 5:01pm

Space Invaders Extreme

The thing about growing up is lots of things that you thought were brilliant in your formative years never seem to be as good as you remember them.

Chocolate buttons seem smaller and less chocolatey.

Neighbours, well, it turns out it's not actually that good at all really. Even before Harold left.

And summers. They aren't as long and as sunny as they used to be, or indeed - if this year is anything to go by - at all.

In similar fashion, those computer games that used to leave you agog with their fiendishness, great music and funky graphics just don't tend to age well in this world of next gen goodness. So when a copy of Space Invaders Extreme for the PSP dropped on my desk for review I was suitably dubious even before I saw it was a budget title.

Overcome your preconceptions though, and this little title is actually more tempting even than the chocolate buttons of yesteryear.

Sticking to the classic arcade game's key features, the aliens are as chunkily pixellated as ever, and your cannon, despite being robust enough to bring down an invading extraterrestrial army, can only move right and left.

The key changes are in bringing in the inevitable unlockables and boss battles to ensure the game is worthy of extended play. If you kill aliens in the correct order you can be given stronger cannons. Meanwhile the UFOs that flew ahead to oversee the fight now trigger bonus waves of would-be invaders, all of which have different attack patterns and areas of weakness which make them seem like actual sentient enemies. Brilliant stuff.

That said, the lack of three little shelters to hide under (until your foes shoot through them) which was such a fundamental part of the original game has been thrown aside.

Some things, it seems, do change.

Don't let this put you off though, with multiplayer play an option as well Space Invaders Extreme is a surprisingly engaging game especially bearing in mind its bargain price. Highly recommended.

Five stars

* Space Invaders Extreme is out now on the PSP and Nintendo DS