This game is another honorable mention in personal favorite games but one of my favorite run and gun and survival horror games of all time. I was a kid from the 80's and this game was another one of the classic arcade hits from Sega. Though I'll admit when I was a kid about six, I was a little scared of this game, believe it or not I was sensitive at the time to the horror genre and everything that was related in any way, as I said I was a kid. There was that title sequence with that waging letter tail and that alien roar that I'll admit made me hide behind my mom as a kid, in a kid's perspective that would be scary you almost think that arcade cabinet or game is alive.
I remember that cool looking arcade cabinet with the art on top and the sides, but I remember one of the cabinets they really gave it that alien dressing where on the top there was this hot pink colored top head of an alien with the two eyes looking out and it's mouth with teeth covering the top of the arcade cabinet as if it wanted to eat the cabinet whole, I know sounds crazy but you have to see this cabinet to believe it.
This isn't a game that necessarily reinvents the wheel but is once again a wheel greaser, because basically the game is "Gauntlet" but in space. Personally, I think that's a cool idea and why not as the sci-fi genre has plenty to offer. Obviously, this game was inspired by both films "Alien" and "Aliens" which makes sense as the film "Aliens" came out in 1986, this game of course came out one year. From that good timing it's easy to see why this game was a hit.
Plot is simple as this couple is on this mission to rescue the crew from the crew from each of the ships infected with alien activity but also to go straight to the home planet of the aliens and neutralize the alien threat for good. That's really it in a nutshell and all you need to know as you're here to do your business.
Gameplay is good it's what you'd expect from an overhead run and gun game as the controls are basic but that's fine by me as that's all you really need. You have a good variety of weapons that you get to collect each with strengths and weaknesses, two of them which consist of the kind that are always the essential ones in the sci-fi genre from a laser which has a long range and has fast discharge but little stopping power. Another is the flame thrower that doesn't have a long range, but due to firing at close range makes it a good defensive weapon. Music is also good despite not much but really adds to the tension as it has it just induces this calming feeling of doom. Though for more music you can listen to the "Game Gear" version which has more tracks and are good.
Really like the background designs as they convey the interiors of the ships with detail along with the alien world and areas which were obvious inspired by H. G. Giger paintings. Character designs of the aliens are good and have just that creepy but cool vibe to them. The designs of the aliens that are memorable as each are all unique and beautifully ugly and deadly. I even like the splatter and multicolored blood effects every time you hit them which is cool. From some of these giant nasty worm creatures that remind me of the worm creatures from the 80's creature feature film "The Deadly Spawn", or these Xenomorph like aliens obviously we know where they were inspired from. Down to the bosses that are all creepy, nasty, just all weird and messed up looking which makes them a little cool, their bosses you must see to believe. From one big "Deadly Spawn" like alien that has surrounding it what look like giant gross pulsating Jelly Beans of death. Another which is this giant head with a creepy bald head on top that has a snake neck.
The game is really tense as you have this ongoing timer constantly ticking away to destruction, so you better not doddle or dink as there is literally no time for you to waste. Like with the game "Zombies ate my Neighbors" (another game I reviewed) you have a quota to fill as you can't exit the level until you find each of the crew members which is problematic as their scattered, though the good news is there are display maps in almost every hallway to check up on where you're at, where anymore of the crew members are, and the exit when you have to in a hurry.
This was a unique feature at the time way before it was commonplace in the "Metroidvania" games. I really like the map feature because it not just helps you check your status but also to plan better like where you should go first and last to make your progress smoother to save yourself time. Though the only quibble that that you must constantly go to that map and memorize everything as the map is gone once you stop looking, which can be a tad tedious. I kind of wish they keep a small display on the map on the top screen, that way it would be easier to monitor your progress instead of always physically moving to the map. But this might have been intentional to not make the game too easy and also makes sense realistically, though with the sophisticated tech I can't quite understand why the two leads don't have a digital map to carry with them; well this game was made in the 1980's so oh well.
The only problem with the game is the difficulty is a little uneven, mainly because of that damn timer which I feel doesn't have the correct amount of time on it. Not to say it doesn't have enough time but there needed to be more because it felt like on a level or two it made you have to go at a crazy almost impossible amount of speed just to get to the boss and finish him off with enough time to spare. Though I can kind of let this slide if you played the game enough times where you know where all the crew is and where to go making beating the level possible; but still I felt this was a difficulty that could have been trimmed down or handled better, like having the timer set after you find all the crew which would've made more sense.
Overall, this is a vintage classic if you're looking for any other arcade classics in the run and gun and survival horror genres, if you have the fever for both then this game is the prescription.
Rating: 3 and a half stars.
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