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| Looks like we’re gonna need a bigger gun | Boom |
The title of this game could not be more accurate. Alien Shooter: Vengeance is an update of the old Alien Shooter, better graphics, better game engine, better story, more guts. ASV puts us in the familiar third-person, top down view of Diablo. In fact, let’s get the game comparisons out of the way. When playing ASV, I couldn’t help but be reminded of an arcade game called Total Carnage that ate tons of my quarters back in the day. The playstyle is very similar. All that is missing is General Ahkboob taunting me. “You suck at this game!” Also, ASV touts an RPG element not unlike Fallout. And if an “RPG element” is where you get to make decisions on what attributes to upgrade and when, then yeah, ASV has them. Beyond that, you get to outfit your character with a number of gadgets and powerful weapons through a money system. Implants, drones and dynamite are all useful things to have. Buy the radar early on to get that true sci-fi, aliens-are-coming-to-get-me feel. Starship Troopers, Aliens, the attack on Zion from The Matrix Revolutions… enough pop culture references for you?
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| Who needs intelligence? Just point and shoot | Look familiar? |
The campaign is lengthy and difficult at times. You will usually find yourself in the middle of a horde of aliens not knowing what to shoot first. There will be times when you think you have things under control... until your health takes a nose dive and you realize how helpless you really are. Allies are tricky to keep alive except at the easiest difficulty levels. One of the nicer elements of the game is the ability to choose abilities at the beginning of character creation. Things like Night Vision and Vampire. Most are straightforward and have some impact on the game. However, the true measure of a good alien-killing mercenary is his/her ability to lean on that left mouse button.
After the campaign is the survival mode, which is exactly as it sounds. Either in Career or Stand Firm mode, hordes of enemies come at you with no respite. It gets pretty old after the fourth or fifth run though but still is a good introduction to the game. Sigma Team also promises multiplayer support and an online ranking system for dedicated hackers n’ slashers.
The voice acting seems forced. For example, in the beginning of the campaign, you rescue a nerd, I mean a “technology expert” whose voice and dialogue reminds me of the acting found in children’s programming. I cringe every time he speaks. Everyone else talks like a tough guy or a tough girl and really the speech itself is nothing special. The music is generic as are the sound effects. Spent shells tinkle to the ground, which is nice. But the grenade launcher just doesn’t “boom” like a grenade launcher should. I want it to. But even when the grenade is buried among alien bodies, it just doesn’t sound right.
The sound isn’t what is important to this game. The graphics are. You just have to see the aliens get reduced to ground beef in front of your shotgun muzzle to truly appreciate the look of this game. Shine your flashlight at a chair and watch the shadow move as you do. Then again, even with the cool lighting, atmospheric and environment effects, the characters look blocky and pixilated.
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| Two ways to kill aliens here, the minigun or the accelerator pedal | This sure is a popular camera angle |
Alien Shooter: Vengeance doesn’t do anything new, however for a budget title it still is a fun, intense, if not mindless, game to play. And honestly there is little to complain about. There is a certain satisfaction that comes with mowing down legions of snarling, bloodthirsty aliens. And for that, we can excuse it for borrowing certain game play elements. The experience does get a little old, but if you like old school shoot ‘em ups you are certain to get your money’s worth.
Top Gaming Moment:
TOP GAME MOMENT
Losing traction as you drive your ATV through lakes of alien guts.
