Centipede: Infestation is a modern “reimagining” of a classic video game franchise, similar to Space Invaders Extreme or Pac-Man: Championship Edition DX. Players are forced into a post-apocalyptic wasteland experience in which plant and animal life has been largely eliminated by war and bugs have mutated to monstrous proportions.
Rather than playing directly like vintage Centipede games, Infestation plays more like a modern dual analog action title like Geometry Wars or the way classic Robotron was supposed to be played. Players move with the Nunchuck Control Stick or the 3DS Circle Pad, then aim and shoot with the Wii Remote or the 3DS touch-screen (the Wii Classic Controllers allow for straight dual-analog control). Gameplay takes place in a single staging area that is frequently not much larger than the area allowed by a television screen, and players simply face off against swarms of oncoming bugs and, eventually, the key centipedes themselves. The centipedes typically emerge as monster encounters for single stages, and their behavior–moving back and forth and having body segments that may be targeted individually–is a nod to the original games.
Unlike the original games from the early 1980s, Infestation provides players with a wide range of weapons. Players can use flame throwers, freeze throwers, laser guns, machine guns, lightning guns, and other weapons to maximize their bug-blasting capabilities. Each player can carry up to four weapons at once, and each weapon can be improved once by acquiring it again. Weapons are assigned to the A, B, X, and Y buttons or the D-Pad (Wii Remote) and, once activated, can only be utilized for a short time, requiring some strategic weapon hoarding and storing for more giant fights. Weapons, however, cannot be carried over to the next stage, and players must begin with their standard Pea Shooter.
Many sorts of bugs will arise throughout the stages, each with strengths, attacks, hit points, and behaviors. Ants, for example, do not strike directly but follow predetermined courses. Aphids will produce swarms of offspring if not eliminated quickly. Bomb Spiders detonate like bombs. Grubs appear in considerable quantities to cause problems, and so forth. There are also wasps, caterpillars, scorpions, other creatures, and boss monsters. Tiny spiders descending in from above drop new weaponry. Other bugs will drop seeds that grow into defensive plants like a Gun Turret or a Bomb Plant, which launch attacks on bugs, increasing the players’ overall firepower and offensive capabilities. These weapons stay where they land and immediately attack foes.
The plot centers mainly around a group of survivors on post-apocalyptic Earth; one of them, Maisy, may hold the key to restoring plant life to the world. The story goes through 40 stages, each of which has a unique set of challenges in addition to simply murdering everything onscreen. Certain switches must be pressed, and certain adversaries or weapons are highlighted. Character development and plot details are also revealed during cutscenes between stages, most of which are merely dialog between the main protagonist, Max, and Maisy. Max’s brother Rivet comes early to serve as a second player during co-op play. Several personalities and costumes are unlocked throughout the tale. Other unlockables besides characters and costumes include art galleries, movies, and music. There is also an in-game achievement list called Accomplishments. After each stage is finished, players will be notified with a numerical identification of which Accomplishment has been unlocked (if any).
