Infinity Gene: Evolution Through Minimalism (Review)

When people talk about getting back to basics in gameplay, Space Invaders is one of those basics that immediately comes to mind. Infinity Gene, the latest title in the Space Invader series, succeeds in breaking things down to reach a new conclusion. Evolution through minimalism.

Taito’s music composer COSIO notes that “the sound ended up being considerably more minimalist than that of any other shooting game out there” as a result of taking a diverging path away from other shooters.  Graphic designer Reisuke Ishida also states that “the sound is an inseparable part of the whole Infinity Gene concept. Without COSIO’s music, the game’s world falls apart, incomplete.”

While the iPhone version of Infinity Gene received a soundtrack release (ZTTL-9020) in August 2009, Taito is now releasing an updated soundtrack called -Evolutionary Theory- to include the new songs made for the Xbox 360/PS3 versions of the game. This would be the most complete album to buy if you happened to skip the previous release.

Let’s take it for a spin, shall we?

On the previous Infinity Gene album, each song has three slightly differing segments: the Genetic, Adaptive, and Evolution phases of the music. On this Evolutionary Theory album, the first 9 tracks take those segment phases and merges them into one lengthier ‘Complete’ version.

“Selection” is a nice opener to set the tone and atmosphere, but the short repetitions on “Survival” are grating on the nerves. “Mutation” begins to add interesting changes and piques my interest to effectively lure me back in, then “Reproduce” slows down the intensity for some relaxation. “Manipulate” and “Strategy” both seem too percussion heavy without much personality. “Program” returns to more of a blank slate to start over with, and “Lifegame” seems to be the boss-styled tune.

Tracks 10-22 are the new additions for the home console ports of the game, and work quite well as standalone listening experiences. “Great Mother” has some funk in her trunk while “Child” has energy and motivation. “Shadow” is a little cinematic and “Anima” has a bit of hip hop attitude. “Hero” takes a straight path, where “Devil” starts out going one way and ends up in another. “Trickster” goes for a frontal blitz barrage, and “Wise Old Man” pulls some hella strong punches out of nowhere. “Persona” is about presentation rather than personality. “Animus” is the space alien and “Scarecrow” goes for mindless repetition. “Unconscious” is probably the game over screen, and “Stragetic Deletion” sounds like the name entry or end credits.

Included at the end are the trio of remixed songs from the Evolutionary DLC Package, the highlight of which is “Burn Alt Air,” an energetic uptempo drum & bass version of “Urban Trail” from Night Striker. “I Can Not Ape” is a quirky and choppy take on “Captain Neo” from Darius, while “Before Ten Orb” makes subtle background references to the melody line of “Born to be Free” from Metal Black.

Check out the official website for more details, or pickup the iTunes, Amazon MP3, or physical CD versions if you’re interested.