Insectoid for Windows

Another chance to rid the universe of evil aliens

Galaga is a videogame classic, a title that took Space Invaders and gave it speed and wow factor. With Insectoid, indie developers Actionsoft have taken that template and polished it up for today's gamers.

You control one of four space ships, and can move side to side along the bottom of the screen, avoiding enemy fire while trying to shoot them yourself. Some enemies drop power-ups, giving you increased firepower and allowing you to use your secondary special ability, which varies depending on the ship you use.

What Insectoid does with the ageing format is add speed and beautiful backgrounds. Enemies move quickly, and you have a limited time to get them before they 'escape' - this means its not too hard to beat levels, but it is hard to kill everything, so there's always plenty of room for high score improvements! The backgrounds change with each level and are really impressive, and really give the game atmosphere.

The levels in the demo are short, and varied which keeps Insectoid interesting, as does the choice of space ship and all the power-ups. There are three difficulty levels, although even the hard setting isn't brutal by shoot 'em up standards (anyone who's played Ikagura will understand). The demo is only 7 levels long, but there are 50 in the full game, and as hard mode features no continues, it's sure to be a challenge!

Insectoid is a graphical treat with plenty of alien variety to keep you coming back to kill more. The difficulty level makes it perfect for newcomers to the genre too.