Alien Shooter

Developer: Sigma team Inc.
Steam Release: May 2009
Hours Played: 2.2
Similar To: Hatred / Serious Sam's Bogus Detour / Zombie Shooter 2
Rating: 1/5 Parsnips

GAMEPLAY
This is an isometric shooter which resembles a hack and slash dungeon crawler. Set in some kind of huge science lab, you shoot a lot of aliens - and then you shoot more aliens. Then you shoot even more aliens. Using a mouse and keyboard you control a soldier using the WASD keys to move and the left mouse button to fire. At the start of a level all is usually quiet and calm but then as you explore the first of the aliens appear and then it's a case of mowing down gazillions of the little blighters with gunfire and missiles. The action is fairly relentless and unfortunately really quite dull. Save for a few health packs and ammo to pick up the fact is that it's all very repetitive and pedestrian. There is very little variety in your enemies with most moving and dying in the same old familiar pattern. 

BALANCE & PACE
Some may move a little quicker and have more hit-points but only a change in colour indicates this; the actual look is all very much the same. Graphics-wise, the game is incredibly ordinary and unremarkable. It has a grainy and pixelated look and the movement of your soldier and the aliens is clunky. Turning round to shoot at aliens behind you has your torso swivelling round but your legs staying fixed resulting in a comical effect. Finally, short-cuts have been made with the programming of the AI. This is most noticeable when you spot a bunch of aliens lolopping about in an adjoining room and then when you move left or right. Suddenly all aliens simply follow your movement and bunch up in a ridiculous manner against a wall. This limited pattern of enemy movement make Alien Shooter one of your going-through-the-motions type game.

PRESENTATION & DESIGN
There's really not much to write home about here either. For one, the game's highest resolution does not let you go beyond 1024x768 which immediately throws you back to the 1990s. For some, this aint such a bad thing but for most it will definitely feel dated. From the main title-page, which features an Options path of very few tweaks and a High-Scores chart which you probably won't use, you click Continue and are taken to the weapons and upgrades screen. From here, with money accumulated from the previous mission, you buy armour, weapons and ammo as well as upgrades to such things as your hit-points and accuracy. You can also buy an extra life. When you're done, you click Continue and begin your next mission. 

PROGRESS SYSTEM
There are 10 missions in total which get more crazy, lengthy and overblown as you go but you also only get one profile so a new game wipes the current one. There are two modes to play, namely Campaign and Survival. There is a score system and a high-score screen that stores your Top 10 efforts in both the Campaign and Survival modes (which I've yet to play) but Alien Shooter is really about crashing through as many levels as you can and aiming to finally beat the game. Curiously there are no difficulty sliders so you'll have to like it or lump it. 

CONCLUSION

There is really not too much to say by way of conclusion for this frankly tedious shoot 'em up and I cannot start to think who might actually enjoy playing this game for a lengthy period of time or for genuine thrills and excitement. Perhaps someone who has lived a sheltered life and is being introduced to a shoot 'em up for the first time? Personally, I have got as far as Mission 5 and to be honest that's as far as I think I really want to go in this game. But if you are up for more torture or what to try something similar, you'll be pleased to know that the series comes with 4 sequels or spin-off including two more Alien Shooter games and a couple of Zombie Shooter as well.