Space Invaders Part II - (1979) - Arcade - gameplay

Taito © 1979 [Coin-Op] Arcade Video Game Emulator: MAME 0.215 Okay, okay... so NOW that I play this - I realize where some of the innovation was "engineered" by the copycats. This part II sequel advanced the series by adding aliens that split, a second mothership (which flashed, was harder to hit, and replenished invaders on the current wave) and it also added a brief intermission between screens. Another really cool thing to discover was the "Rainbow Bonus" which is only awarded if the last invader you hit is from the bottom row - and a 1,000pt bonus if he is the bottom-left invader. Much harder to do than it sounds like -- as you have to narrowly miss the bottom dude and knock out people above him first. You certainly risk Game Over trying to get that rainbow bonus, as the last invader drops dangerously close to the ground while you're picking off the others. I used a save state - but it was really cool to see. The extra flashing mothership was a cool 500 pts, but timing that to hit was a bear. All in all, a lot of innovation and I'm surprised it didn't do better. I guess competing next to Galaxian this year, it was obvious where the line had switched and Space Invaders just wasn't as cool. Plus, you can only play it so much before you want variety. Still, a great hit for the year!