Invadazoid

Infobox VG
width =
title = Invadazoid


caption =
picture format =
developer = Bantam City Games
publisher = Reflexive
distributor =
designer =
license =
series =
engine =
version =
released = July 05 2005 [ [http://netscape.com.com/pc-games/invadazoid-pc/4507-9696_7-31452508.html?tag=specs Invadazoid (PC) Specs. PC Games Specifications] ]
genre = Arcade
modes =
ratings =
platforms = PC
media = Download
requirements =
input =

Invadazoid is an arkanoid style game created by Bantam City and published by Reflexive.

This game mixes up arkanoid game style and the original Space Invaders. From Arkanoids' point of view, bricks are replaced by aliens and from Space Invaders' point of view, player gets a ball but loses gun which can be picked up again as a power-up.

Game modes

Invadazoid offers 4 game modes, 3 of which are available at the start of the game.

Invasion mode

Much like a campaign mode, in Invasion mode you must save Earth from hundreds of alien hordes. To complete invasion mode, you must vanquish all enemies in 8 cities all around the world. Each wave is led by a boss, which is sized like 4 normal aliens put in square, and is very tough to destroy. You will get a gun power-up if you kill the boss to help you destroy remaining aliens. In any level, except the alien battle formation levels, you can encounter an UFO, which does not attack you, but is covered by aliens. If you destroy it, it will award you 500 points and a gun power-up. If you encounter second UFO and destroy it, you will get 1000 pts and a gun power-up. Each city features ten waves of aliens, and boss is encountered at city's last level.

urvival mode

In survival mode, you face endless hordes and waves of aliens. The scoring system is the same as Invasion mode, but there are a few differences:
*Top row aliens regenerate if destroyed, this stops whole wave from moving for small time
*When a bottom row is completely vanqished, a new row adds on top if there's enough space
*Each time new row is added to top, Level number is increased by 1, up to 40
*When level number is 40, City Level number is increased by 1 and Level number is set back to 1 (each next City level requires more completed rows of aliens (Wave levels))

Boss mode

This mode lets you encounter each boss again but here, they are more guarded. There are only 8 missions to complete, each with its boss. This mode needs to be unlocked by completing Invasion mode.

Classic mode

If you was waiting another Space Invaders themed game but found out that its an arkanoid, heres the classic mode that lets you play by original Space Invaders rules. No power-ups or balls, you have only yourself, your gun and a wave of enemies with sometimes coming UFO. No bosses. Background is randomly selected.

coring

In Invadazoid you get points by doing actions like killing aliens, destroying UFO or surviving whole level without losing a life. Here's a full list of score adding actions:
*kill an invader; each invader costs different score, ranging from 50 (Fly) to 500 (UFO)
*destroy UFO; 500 for 1st, 1000 for 2nd, and 1500 for 3rd.
*end level bonuses;
*-Level time = how much you took to complete the level
*-Longest combo = how much invaders you killed by a ball without touching paddle
*-Lives lost = the less lives you lost the more points you get, 5000 points for 0 lives lost
*-UFO destroyed = number of UFOs you destroyed, if all - 5000, if none or none encountered - 0
*destroy a bomb with a ball; each bomb varies in scoring and destroying bomb with gun gives less points as its easier to aim

In Classic mode combo bonus is replaced by Accuracy bonus, as it's more actual than combo bonus if you don't have a ball or a kind of a weapon killing many at once. It gives 5000 for 100% accuracy and decreases bonus while missing. You always get this bonus even if accuracy is 1%, because you couldn't end a round without hitting at least once.Each mode has its own scoretable, but scoring is similar.

Enemies

There are 7 types of enemies you encounter in Invadazoid.

*Fly - This enemy is the most weak alien in Invadazoid. It simply drops dummy bombs with medium speed.

*Blue jumper - This enemy is almost the same as Fly.

*Toothy Toad - This enemy drops dummy bomb but with high speed.

*Medusa - This enemy drops dummy HE bomb with slow speed.

*Drone - This enemy drops directed bomb that aims a your ship but does not rotate in flight; kind of dangerous aliens in big groups.

*Eye drone - This enemy drops directed HE bomb with slow speed.

*Acid toad - This enemy drops homing bombs that continuously track your ship but have rotating limitations so player can avoid it; also a dangerous enemy in groups.

*Armor drone - This is the only 2-hit alien in Invadazoid. It is a kind of an elite class, because it has golden armor. But if it is hit, hull of alien will become silver as a damage indicator. It uses variety of bomb weapons such as dummy fast bomb or dummy HE bomb. This invader type is mostly used by bosses as living shield.

Power-ups

There is a variety of different power-ups in Invadazoid.

*Plasma cannon ('gun' as written before) - Lets you shoot small yellow plasma balls that destroy enemies. Power-up lasts for 20 seconds if not powered by another power-up.

*Magnet ball - Lets your ball stick to middle of paddle. Multiple balls may stick to paddle simultaneously. Very good power-up to destroy UFOs. As an indicator, the ball particles become purple. Power-up lasts long for 20 seconds.

*Invinci-ball - a portmanteau of Invincible and Ball - this power-up lets your ball throw through alien rows, eliminating lots of aliens in a single combo. Very deadly when combined with Explosive ball. Particle color light-blue. Power-up lasts for 10 seconds due to powerfulness.

*Explosive ball - no, this does not mean your ball will explode and you lose it. Instead, it means that your ball gains extra destructive power and can destroy any single alien and those nearby in action radius. Particle color red. Power-up lasts for 10 seconds.

*Multi-ball - gives you additional 2 ball clones. Great with Magnet Ball.

*Missile deflector - the most useful power-up against boss' guards. This power-up lets your ship deflect missiles and send them back to aliens, killing them if hit. This is also useful against UFO. Power-up lasts long for 20 seconds. Can be combined with plasma gun. As an indicator power-up makes players ship glow pink.

*Slow ball - slows down all of your balls.

*Fast ball - speeds up all of your balls.

*Row buster - this power-up appears mostly in Survival mode. It destroys whole lowest row of aliens.

*Extra life - adds up 1 extra life to your spare life counter. Appears very often when your spare life counter is zero.

Boss weapons

Bosses also can shoot and they spam bombs as a wave of invaders.

First bosses shoot dummy bombs, then get to fast bombs, then to HE bombs and so on. The last bomb in bomb tech tree is a Homing HE bomb that is exclusive only to last Invasion and Boss mode Boss and its face is shown on games icon.

Bosses also use different types of invaders for cover while themselves are bombing player. Bosses themselves are very advanced forms of grunt invaders and have fast-shooting bomb launcher. Some of early bosses use covering grunt invaders of type they are themselves. For example, Toothy Toad boss uses dozens of grunt toothy toads.

Bomb types

*Dummy bomb - a standard dummy bomb for low-ranked grunts to use. Medium speed. Used by Flies, Blue jumpers and some bosses.

*Fast dummy bomb - an upgraded dummy bomb that has an extra boost compared to standard. High speed. Used by Toothy toads and sometimes by Armor Drones.

*Dummy HE bomb - this dummy bomb uses HE filler and has a much larger blast radius than a standard bomb. Slow speed. Used by Medusa, Armor Drones and bosses.

*Directed bomb - these are bombs launched from special aiming bomb droppers. Medium speed. Used by Drones and bosses.

*Directed HE bomb - some veteran alien ships use aiming bomb droppers with HE bombs and they succeed very much. Slow speed. Used by Eye drones, Armor Drones and bosses.

*Homing bomb - this bomb has a modchip in the battlehead that allows it to rotate itself while tracking your ships' movements. However, this bomb has rotate limitations so player can evade the bomb easily. Used by Acid Toads, Armor Drones and bosses

*Homing HE bomb - this is the most dangerous bomb in Invadazoid and is used by final boss. They are hibryd of HE bomb and Homing bomb and are not that easy to evade than its counterparts. Traditional HE bomb is easily destructible by ball or gun, when Homing bomb is avoided by using its weak point. Homing HE bomb avoids both of these weak points of predecessors and becomes the ultimate anti-player bomb. High speed combined with lethal effectiveness range is a superior weapon.

References and notes