As the pilot of a ground-bound "Tank," you are restricted to sliding along the bottom of the screen, firing upward, evading incoming enemy fire with a quick lateral thrust, and using up one unit of shield power to smash low-flying enemies with a burst of energy. Your only hope to stay in the war is to blast motherships, which periodically zip overhead; a direct hit can score you a power-up that will enhance your shields or weapons, or even provide a miraculous last-minute reprieve in the form of solar flares, nukes, or a shuttle raid. (Activision [under license from Taito], 1999)

In finally deciding to buckle down and start a Game Boy section in Phosphor Dot Fossils, I thought long and hard about which game in my collection is the most fun. Hands-down, I decided that Activision's retro revival of Space Invaders is it. Look no further - this game is a blast, literally! It enhances the legend and the game play of the original without betraying it by changing it too much. And perhaps best of all, the Game Boy edition of Space Invaders makes no attempt to ape the N64 or Playstation versions, which Activision released at roughly the same time. It's a completely different game.

The control is smooth, the graphics are crisp, the sound effects - once you get accustomed to what they signify - convey useful information, and the music is best left off. This is one of those rare Game Boy games which beg you to wipe out your batteries by playing a single session for over half an hour - and then to try it again.

Highly recommended!

Rating:  A whole dollar - trade it in for more quarters, you'll want to play this one again!

Reviewed by Earl Green
theLogBook.com editor/webmaster