Space Invaders Frenzy By Raw Thrills Is Shipping Now

A few weeks ago we ran a post about the new Space Invaders Frenzy video game by Raw Thrills. You might have noticed that the post disappeared shortly after that as some information changed, then the holidays hit to get some confirmation on a few things. Because of that, I’m just doing a new post about the game with that new information for you to chew on.

Space Invaders Frenzy Is Shipping Now

At the time of the last post, the game was in production, slated to begin shipping in January. January is here and Raw Thrills has confirmed that shipments are being made to buyers this week. A few units did ship out in December but the game is considered to be officially released this week.

We have also received a larger cabinet image that was previously sent along. The display uses Raw Thrills’ “LED billboard” technology that was also used in the World’s Largest Pac-Man and their Pac-Man Clock. The screen measures 108″ diagonally and brightness of the LEDs can be adjusted by the operator:

For those curious about the dimensions, “Space Invaders Frenzy is 100” deep x 68” wide and an adjustable height from 80” to 100”. The depth can be effectively reduced by 18” if installed back-to-back with another Raw Thrills LED display.” That would mean another SIF or World’s Largest Pac-Man if the operation venue has one.

New Game Details

As we knew from the first unveil of this game last year, this is primarily focused on ticket play, making it a videmption title. Here is the official summary from Raw Thrills:

“Space Invaders Frenzy” is an updated take on the original iconic arcade classic “Space Invaders” by Taito. The gameplay pacing and controls have been updated for 2016 players. The Game cycle time ranges from 30 to 60 seconds. The objective of the game is to shoot as many invader ships as possible while protecting your “cannons” at the bottom of the screen. The player wins tickets by accumulating as many points as possible before their cannons are destroyed. Points are accrued by shooting enemy invaders and bonus UFO ships. If you reach the targeted score to beat, you’ll win the “Invader Bonus”. Players will also get to enter their name on a high score table if they place in the top 10.

That lines up with what we saw from playing the game at IAAPA 2016, which you can watch here in case you missed it:

As available on The World’s Largest Pac-Man, the game supports video advertisements that can be uploaded via USB. This allows operators to show promotions (drink specials, parties, upcoming events, sponsors, etc.) during the attract mode of the game. They do not appear during gameplay.

Like many arcade titles these days, it has built in support for different currencies that are mentioned on screen. That Support for SIF currently includes: US Dollars, GBP, Euro, BRL, Yen and Yuan. That gives us an idea of which regions that game is being targeted to as well.

Where the game uses a pair of light-guns to control the action, SIF is a blend of co-op/competitive play when 2 players go at it. You work together to defend your cannons but are competing on points. Player 1 is red, Player 2 is blue as you see from this direct screenshot as well (the game has a much different appearance in person thanks to the LED screen although that screen really works for classic game styles like this).

New “Bang-Up” Screen

The “Bang-Up Screen” is a new addition that we have received more detail about. This “summarizes the player’s accomplishments” after the game. SIF also has a high score table with several spots for players to enter in their name. Here’s a screencap showing the “Bang-Up” performance from the ticket mode:

E-Tickets Support

With card systems and Virtual Tickets/e-Tickets being all the rage these days, the game does have specific support for that. According to the release:

It allows for smooth operation of any location that has E-tickets and uses two card swipers. Each swiper gets treated as a separate player terminal and immediately starts the player on the ready screen after they swipe. This way, the swipers can keep track of the E tickets accordingly and avoid confusion during 2 player simulataneous play. E Ticket mode can be activated in the test menu.

Ticketless Mode

One change made since the last post was in referring to how the game plays for amusement. It is now called “Ticketless Mode”. Few details were provided about this in the new release that I received but assuming that much hasn’t changed in that regard, that mode plays like Galaga Assault’s Arcade mode. That is where players blast away wave of enemies instead of surviving a non-stop onslaught for a minute. That includes 50 waves of play, different invader types, special stages including a UFO stage every 5 waves (where players have to blast as many UFOs as possible within 30 seconds), unique voice-overs and the “bang-up” screen focuses on the head-to-head winner when there are two players.

Like we saw on Galaga Assault, this is something that has to be set by the operator so what you will come across will vary. However, I am aware that a few venues do use GA like that; same with World’s Largest Pac-Man (which also supports tickets). Next time I come across one of these, I will have to see about playing this mode to get a feel for it.

More Screenshots

Because why not 😛

With that information, what do you think about Space Invaders Frenzy?