Earth vs. Moon reminded me of the 90's movie "Mars Attacks!" in the sense that the game is almost a retro example of old classic games like "Breakout", "Missile Command" and "Space Invaders." These titles may seem like strange titles to younger readers, but to those of us in our 30's, these were the first sets of games on the Atari 2600 ... not to mention the arcades. It's time to learn some history. 

Now the game is clearly winking at you, the player, as there are all sorts of subtle and not so subtle jabs and jokes in the newspaper articles featured between levels. Factor that in with the hidden items, and clearly humorous developers, and you are looking at a fun little title. The game really has you playing the game with a grin on your face.

OK, so how it all unfolds is read through the newspaper articles that appear throughout the game, the aliens of the Moon have decided that the Earth must be conquered and their war machine is at full strength, the first line of defense is the three heavily armed satellites in the Earth's upper atmosphere. Much like the game "Missile Command" you must fire your finite amount of missiles at the incoming rockets and stop them from eradicating the Earth below. Additionally, there are bonus alien craft that if you can shoot them down will regenerate damaged parts of the Earth.

From there, the game continues to cycle through the levels, with information stating how many enemy rockets are coming and how many you have, by protecting your satelites, you can protect your rockets and that section of the screen more effectively. It goes without saying (but I'll say it anyway) that the difficulty increases with more enemy rockets and kamikaze alien ships trying to destroy the Earth. Eventually though, the game will begin to segue' into a "Space Invaders" type level and even boss battles with you battling giant alien vehicles in a game of pong/breakout or even a trip down a "Tempest" style level. Its a surprisingly difficult game to get through due to the difficulty.

The game is controlled by pressing the part of the screen you want to have your rocket hit. This involves a keen sense of timing and some very, fast, fingers. I am not fooling when I say this game has a difficulty rarely found in a mobile device game, seriously, as the game progresses, you will be lucky to continue with 20% of the world still intact.

In addition to effective, fast gameplay, the visuals match the charm found in this title. Its nothing to get up in arms about, but since this is clearly an homage title, the developers (Low five games) do a commendable job of spicing up the rather mundane graphics of games from 20+ years ago. The audio does a fun job as well, with minimal yet effective sound effects the game really pulls you back to the 80's and a youth misspent in arcades during the Summer.  

Gameplay: 8.0
Fast and furious is the order of the day. I enjoyed the throwback homage of all the other arcade games that are featured and they can be fun when trying to do it all by launching missiles at literally everything.

Graphics: 7.0
Sharp, clean and a modern take on some very old games. 

Sound: 7.0
Simple but effective.

Difficulty: Medium/Hard
The game is pretty tough and it only gets tougher.

Concept: 8.0
I thought the idea of taking several nostalgic games, wrapping them into a fun "B" movie plot and then sprinkling liberal amounts of humor all over it. A great idea, that actually works.

Overall: 7.5
This is a fun game that really makes me smile; in the end, that's what counts.