Overall 8.1 Graphics 5 Sound 8 Addictive 3.5 Story 2.5 Depth 9 Difficulty 7.5
7.5
Alien 3 ksb1082
I know a game published by LJN may cause a reflex cringe. But here they posted a pretty decent entry with the Super Nintendo version of Alien 3. While the game was launched as a predictable tie in to the release of the movie. It actually has little to do with the movie. This it turns out is a good thing as the movie itself was not well received. Ripley is place on the planet fury and she has to roam the prison halls. However, It seems that the development team was more concerned with couching the game in the Aliens universe. As Ripley is given all of the Marine weapons. The pulse rifle, grenade launcher and the flame thrower are all present. This was a great decision on their part. Ultimately the game is a mixed bag of good and poor game decisions, producing an above average game experience.
Graphics: The graphics are actually one of the highlights of this title. While the color palette is nothing special, Ripley's animation is particularly good. There are some nice touches, for example as she moves hand over hand on overhead bars her pulse rifle sways. She has a full scope of animations seems to interact with the environment in a realistic and plausible way. It is pretty cool that they even went to the trouble of animating the repair of the junction box use the iconic plasma cutters. The aliens themselves are appropriate you see everything from the face hugger to the chest burster and their larger cousins . Variation is based on color.
Sound: The sound in this game is awesome, it is a compilation of the best music from the universe. While they may not be note by note recreations. They are certainly inspired by the James Cameron film. They add a certain atmosphere and can create a sense of excitement. All of the sound effects are appropriate 16-bit recreations of their movie counterparts. The pulse rifle to the death scream of an exploding alien all sound spot on.
Addictiveness: The game itself was a very competent entry at a time where other attempts at Aliens games were middling at best. Ripley the mission structure was quite uncommon for the time and is handled pretty well. The game suffers from middle to late, as tasks become repetitive. However, the joy of destroying aliens in this iteration is undeniable. You get around 8 or so missions for each map, each map is constructed differently, there is a bit of a maze element when search for objectives. While the same backgrounds are used in each level, the structure is different. I would like to note that there is a great recreation of Bill Paxton's iconic line "Game Over, Man! Game Over!" Obviously on the game over screen.
Story: Story is not a big factor in this game. As was mentioned earlier, the game is only loosely based on the movie. Ripley is on the prison planet of Fury. You see your ship crash and Ripley is impregnated with an Alien. However, the similarities stop there. There is no overall narrative beyond a brief explanation of your current mission objectives.
Depth: The game in itself is pretty deep for it's kind. It came with a unique, for the time, mission structure. Your goal varies from time to time depending on your objective. One mission may have you moving into a mine area to repair a junction box. You may need to seal a door, or even wipe out a nest of face hugger eggs. Other missions are not so exciting as they follow a find a series of prisoner's or retrieve this object. Missions are fun and varied as you try to navigate the levels. Also there is a pretty innovative map structure where, from map terminals, Ripley identifies each objective and the maps provide a general location.
Difficulty: The game in itself is a pretty challenging affair. However, it has little to do with the control. It's worth mentioning that they actually allow you allow you to fire in basically every direction. Which apparently is a monumental task, as the only other game to do this effectively goes as far back as Contra. This is a great decision as the game suffers from the overused trope that some enemies are to short for your standing shot. Although it makes sense as your enemies are much smaller according the aliens lore. This however becomes a bit of a chore as chest bursters and face huggers make up a bulk of the enemies. Meaning you are often forced to use the somewhat awkward crouch walk. It's slow and a little annoying. There are however some cheaper moments where you can't hit a lot of enemies in the vents before they hit you. This game is stingy with the health packs and it is easy to die before you become accustomed to the control scheme.
Overall the game is an enjoyable entry, it is the best console experience you will find in the Aliens universe. At least anything tied directly to the movies. It is overall a very solid entry and likable considering publisher LJN's track record for horrible games. It was worth a couple weekend rentals back in the day. That value still holds today.
Graphics 8 Sound 10 Addictive 6 Story 3 Depth 8 Difficulty 7
Review Rating: 3/5
Submitted: 11-08-14
Review Replies: 0
3.5
Alien 30 minutes wasted Whetsit Tuya
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Graphics 2 Sound 6 Addictive 1 Story 2 Depth 10 Difficulty 8
Review Rating: 2/5
Submitted: 07-24-14
Updated: 07-24-14
Review Replies: 11
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