Titan Attacks! is the latest release from Puppy Games. It’s basically a modern take on Space Invaders. It’s a damn good thing I love Space Invaders then.

First Impressions

Titan Attacks! Is Space Invaders with the Revenge Of The Titans, Droid Assault and Ultratron aesthetic any one who has played any of those games will instantly recognise. My early sessions of the game resulted in dismal high scores, but as I started to choose upgrades that better suited my playstyle, I was smashing my previous bests.

Single Player

You might have noticed the mention of “upgrades” in that final sentence. Well, like Space Invaders, Titan Attacks! Is wave-based with different combinations of enemy type in each wave, but unlike Space Invaders you earn cash for each enemy you kill, as well as points for your high score. The cash you earn can buy extra or replace lost shields, or you can upgrade your ship with more powerful or faster firing guns, extra guns, screen-clearing smartbombs etc. None of these upgrades are anything you won’t have seen before in other space shooters, but they really invigorate the Space Invaders formula.

You’ll blast your way through five worlds, which amount to nothing more than different animated backgrounds and environmental hazards – though admittedly, I never did get very far. Sure I enjoy games like this, but that doesn’t mean I’m any good at them… It was still fun to beat my own scores on the local leaderboard, rather than depress myself by seeing how my scores stack up on the online boards.

Titan Attacks! controls well with the keyboard or the mouse, though I found myself gravitating towards the mouse for the later waves – if only to avoid the sheer amount of projectiles on screen by that point. Don’t worry, the level of projectiles never gets to a bullethell-type level… (Though I never got to the very late waves…)

Your mileage in Titan Attacks! will vary depending on how obsessive you are with either beating your own scores, your friends’ scores, or the scores of strangers on the Internet. There are Steam achievements to tide you over, if they matter to you at all. But apart from that there’s nothing else to keep you coming back to Titan Attacks!

Final Thoughts

Titan Attacks! is a steal at £2.99 as long as you know what you’re in for, and that’s a Revenge Of The Titans-skinned modern take on Space Invaders with upgrades, leaderboards, achievements, and nothing else.

Graphics - While the art style ties in nicely with other titles from Puppy Games, and while this style was at one point fresh and interesting – too many other titles have been released recently with more advanced and distinctive retro-inspired styles than that in Titan Attacks! to give it anything but a below average score in this area.

Sound - Reasonable gun fire and explosion sounds with, you guessed it, a chiptune-inspired soundtrack.

Gameplay - Controls well, stays true to the Space Invaders formula while not feeling like a clone of it, the upgrade system really makes you think hard about how you play the game, and the leaderboards will keep you coming back. Even if you’re only beating scores on the local leaderboard.