Whats a sci-fi list without Space Invaders? Taito Corporations arcade classic is not only one of the cornerstones of sci-fi games but also one of the seminal titles in all of video gaming. Originally released in 1978, Space Invaders saw you fight off hordes of alien enemies with a tiny laser; perhaps we could consider it the original horde mode. Inspired by Star Wars, the gameplay is extremely simple, yet effective. You move side-to-side while firing your laser at the aliens slowly descending on your position. The simple gameplay made for a very addictive gaming experience and thats why Space Invaders experienced such unparalleled success. As with any game, it gets progressively harder the more aliens you defeat, the faster they start to move down the screen to engulf your tiny futuristic craft. Just to make things that little bit more frantic, the music speeds up too. In some stages, the aliens fire back at you and in others you have bunkers which can be used to protect yourself from the lasers fired by the aliens. Shortly after the games release, specialty arcades which stocked only Space Invaders machines opened in Japan; this is telling as to how successful the game was. Amazingly, this simple arcade shooter had made over $600 million dollars in Japan in its release year alone. Space Invaders left a huge legacy everyone can recognise those tiny aliens!
Hailing from South East London, Sam Heard is an aspiring writer and recent graduate from the University of Warwick. Sam's favourite things include energy drinks, late nights spent watching the UFC with his girlfriend and annihilating his friends at FIFA.
