Space Invaders

Obviously Taito's Space Invaders marks a pretty significant milestone in the development of the arcade market and video games as a form; on top of that, it's just pretty great in its own right. There's a unique rhythm of play that seems to have mostly died out in more modern shmups. Whereas the danmaku looms tall over the genre as it stands today, all high fire rates, wide cones of attack and quick movement so you can focus in entirely on dodging, Space Invaders' tiny little bullets which you can fire one (1) of at a time, combined with the large distance between you and the enemies, slots this game decisively into the role of precision shmup. You're not firing wildly, you're taking carefully considered, well-lead shots and occasionally dodging returning fire. One might expect this to feel laid-back in comparison, and it kind of is at the start of a round, but the more time goes on the more fast and frantic you're forced to be as the enemies speed up. This speed can't come at the expense of that earlier precision, though, you must be fast and accurate. It's simply a lot of fun, every round offering a nice gradual progression in difficulty and pressure until you finally get that last alien bastard and get to start all over again (or just die, as the case may be.) Definitely give this one a play if you haven't, and remember: the shields are obstacles, not assets.