Space Invaders Infinity Gene is a Space Invaders game that focuses on the concepts of evolution, released on Microsoft's Xbox Live Arcade for the Xbox 360, Sony's PlayStation Network for the PlayStation 3 and the Android and iOS devices. The graphics are vector-based, and largely match the look and feel of the original game.
The game opens with the following quote, hinting at the evolutionary themes of the game:
"It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change." - Charles Darwin
The game is dedicated to "everyone who loves games, and Charles Darwin."
Gameplay
Players control a ship on the screen by dragging their finger around the screen. The player must avoid fire from the alien ships while destroying them with their own weapons. The well-known UFO now drops neurons that allow the player to upgrade their current weapon, until they are destroyed. Some levels scroll from top-to-bottom, adding walls that the player must avoid to the obstacles. Many levels feature one or more boss ships, labeled as "unexpected enemies" or "formidable enemies" ("huge enemies" in the iOS versions).
A chain system rewards rapid destruction of enemy ships. Players earn an additional 0.1 multiplier for each chain achieved.
Immediately after an enemy fires, their shots are briefly transparent and can be passed through. Moving through a transparent shot earns the user 3000 points. This maneuver is called a "Nagoya Attack."
Each stage records the high score, best chain, and Nagoya Attack achieved. After a stage is completed, points are accumulated into a "Gene" gauge that, when filled, triggers an "Evolution", which gives the player new selectable weapons (such as homing lasers or wave beams), new abilities (most notably, the ability to move vertically), bonus stages, and extra content in the main menu. Evolutions that are earned in later stages can be used when replaying earlier stages. Most stages have multiple features to be unlocked by a second, third, or even fourth completion. These unlockables range from new weapons and secret stages to extra lives and art galleries, each one an extension of the player's evolutionary tree.
Other Features
In addition to the 38 primary levels, players can utilize "Music Mode" to generate a random level on the fly matching the length of the music. Due to limitations of the iOS API preventing access to the raw music data, it is not clear whether the levels are truly synchronized with the music.
A sound test and graphics gallery mode are unlockable via gameplay.
Levels
Normal
Stage 0
Stage 1
- Adaptive Radiation
- Genetic Diversity
- Subspecies
- Silent Mutation
- Founder Effect
- Apoptosis
Stage 2
- Frameshift Mutation
- Radioisotope
- Preadaptation
- Homologous Recombination
- Introgression
- Necrosis
Stage 3
- Gene Duplication
- Horizontal Gene Transfer
- Self-Organization
- Nonsense Mutation
- Struggle For Existence
- Descent With Modification
Stage 4
- Suppressor Mutation
- Conformation
- AT-Rich
- Genotype
- Loss of Function
- Autolysis
Stage 5
- Organizer
- Codon
- Canonical Genetic Code
- Phenotype
- Perikaryon
- Cleavage
Bonus
The bonus mode levels (known as extra levels in the iOS versions) are unlocked as evolution rewards.
iOS/Android
- Neutral Mutation
- Discontinuous Replication
- Antimorph
- Amorph
- Leading Strand
- Base Excision Repair
- Missense Mutation
- Tumor
- Replication Fork
- Point Mutation
- Neomorph
- Allele
- Proof-Reading Repair
- Mismatch Repair
- Gene Cluster
- Hypomorph
- Orc
- Genetic Drift
- Nonstop Mediated Decay
- Order for Free
- Gain of Function
- Teleomorph
- Point Deletion
- Interstitial Deletion
- Terminal Deletion
- Nucleotide Deletion
- Gene Deletion
- Chromosomal Deletion
- Programmed Cell Death
- Locus
- Ganglion
- Oligodendroglia
- Missense Deletion
- Neutral Deletion
- Silent Deletion
- Frameshift Deletion
- Nonsense Deletion
- Suppressor Deletion
- Knockout Moss
- Indel
- Nucleus
- Diastereomer
- Polar Deletion
- Dynamic Deletion
- Homologous Deletion
- Quantitative Deletion
- Translational Deletion
- Reciprocal Deletion
- Pomato
- Snagger
360/PS3
There are five blocks of six levels each for a total of thirty levels in the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions. The levels are:
Block 1
- Neutral Mutation
- Discontinuous Replication
- Antimorph
- Leading Strand
- Point Deletion
- Allele
Block 2
- Tumor
- Missense Mutation
- Point Mutation
- Replication Fork
- Neomorph
- Order for Free
Block 3
- Amorph
- Proof-Reading Repair
- Interstitial Deletion
- Base Excision Repair
- Orc
- Nonstop Mediated Decay
Block 4
- Gain of Function
- Mismatch Repair
- Gene Cluster
- Hypomorph
- Nucleotide Deletion
- Ganglion
Block 5
- Oligodendroglia
- Teleomorph
- Genetic Drift
- Gene Deletion
- Diastereomer
- Nucleus
Music
Music mode is unlocked as an evolution reward. However, in the iOS versions, it is a default mode. It allows a player to import music into the game which will play during a level. It also uses that music to create a visualization that renders underneath the vector graphics for the game. In order to use this mode an audiofile, such as an MP3, must be on the storage device or hard drive of the console.
Challenge
The normal mode has several different minibosses. Most of them make appearances at scripted moments in the normal mode, but many of them show up randomly in later levels. The only exception is Nameless which appears in level 5-6 only. However, it can appear at the end of a level randomly in Challenge mode.
Traps
Traps, known in the iOS versions as Chimeras, must be unlocked as an evolution reward.
Each stage has been split into two acts. The three stages are Darius, Night Striker, and Metal Black.
Darius
- I Can Not Ape
- Captain Neo
Night Striker
- Burn Alt Air
- Urban Trail
Metal Black
- Before Ten Orb
- Born To Be Free
Bosses and Minibosses
- Sol
- Diffuser
- Jolyne
- Satoru-UFO
- Diffuser2
- Spider
- Teleporter
- Vanity
- The Moon
- The Sun
- Gigantic UFO
- Ladybug
- Mandala
- Unknown
- Diffuser-Z
- Centipede
- Hornet
- Progressive UFO
- Mosquito
- Octopus
- Butterfly
- Axon
- Water Strider
- Crab
- Ultimate UFO
- Dragonfly
- Squid
- Vertebrate
- Nameless
- King Fossil
- Great Destroyer
- Apartheid
Weapons
Not all of the weapons are available initially. By default the only weapon available is Rapid. The rest have to be unlocked through evolutions.
- Rapid - rapidly fires beams.
- Search - fires curving lasers toward the enemy.
- Wave - fires a shockwave that spreads horizontally.
- Lock-On - locks on to enemies at the front and back and fires a homing laser.
- Gravity - fires a black hole that increases in power as it sucks in enemy shots.
- Round - fires an energy blast that destroys enemy shots located opposite to the ship's direction of travel.
- Field - Automatically attacks enemies within an expanded field. The power of the attacks will increase if the field's size is cut in half.
- Option - Probes known as 'options' accompany the ship, eliminating enemy fire and attacking at your command.
- Variable - Fires an angularly adjustable laser cutter.
- Boomerang
- Silver Hawk
- Inter Gray
- Black Fly
- R-Gray2
- Classic - fires a power beam that stops the time around enemies.
- F117 - fires a muitoptions of the ship
Collection
The collection includes the game's soundtrack which was produced by Taito Corporation's in-house band, Zuntata (also known as Cosio). Some of the songs have multiple remixes. The sound effects are in a file labeled 'SE'
Tracks
- Selection
- Survival
- Mutation
- Reproduce
- Manipulate
- Strategy
- Program
- Lifegame
- Great Mother
- Child
- Shadow
- Anima
- Hero
- Devil
- Trickster
- Wise Old Man
- Persona
- Animus
- Scarecrow
- Unconcious
- I Can Not Ape
- Captain Neo
- Burn Alt Air
- Urban Trail
- Before Ten Orb
- Born To Be Free
These tracks are unlocked as BGMs which are given as evolution rewards during game play.