Alien 3 (SNES, 1993)
Graphics-7.5 Sound-7 Control-7 Challenge-8? Story-6
Level Design-6 Frustration-8.5? Fun-6 Originality-5
Overall Score-6
+
Some fun weapons (flamethrower, grenade launcher)
Switch weapons with l/r
Good map system (can only be accessed via the terminals though)
Open ended mission-based structure with a hub area (rescue, repair, search and destroy)
Pretty good art direction
Radar feature
Good mid-air control when jumping
Jump onto ladders
8-way aiming (can't aim at all in mid-air though)
"game over man!" voice sample
Decent intro cutscene
Move while firing
Move and fire while crouching
+/-
Password save (see below however)
Sound confirmation after completing a mission (annoying that the beep keeps going though)
Limited ammo and health combined with frequently respawning enemies (items also respawn as you beat missions though)
Enemies in the hub area
No extra lives
-
Need to beat 8 missions before you can get a password
Can't display the radar while attacking (hard to see in front of you in some areas (torch/flashlight effect) which is where it would've helped a lot - you can turn the effect off in emulation though)
Control/interface issues (slow jumps, no mid-air control when falling, can't jump off of ladders (only fall), no reward or text confirmation for completing missions until you beat an entire area/stage, can't see your current health without getting hit (could've let you see it along with ammo supplies when pausing), Detailed but slow mission briefings (can't speed up or skip text on a paragraph basis, somewhat slow cursor movement))
Leaps of faith (can't look up/down)
Some tedious elements (some waiting for moving platforms, backtracking (some mission areas are located past others from the hub area and you can't do several missions in a row (?), backtracking for health in the hub area)
Somewhat muffled and lo-fi audio overall
Repetitive level design and background art
Grenades disappear as soon as they move off screen
Level Design-6 Frustration-8.5? Fun-6 Originality-5
Overall Score-6
+
Some fun weapons (flamethrower, grenade launcher)
Switch weapons with l/r
Good map system (can only be accessed via the terminals though)
Open ended mission-based structure with a hub area (rescue, repair, search and destroy)
Pretty good art direction
Radar feature
Good mid-air control when jumping
Jump onto ladders
8-way aiming (can't aim at all in mid-air though)
"game over man!" voice sample
Decent intro cutscene
Move while firing
Move and fire while crouching
+/-
Password save (see below however)
Sound confirmation after completing a mission (annoying that the beep keeps going though)
Limited ammo and health combined with frequently respawning enemies (items also respawn as you beat missions though)
Enemies in the hub area
No extra lives
-
Need to beat 8 missions before you can get a password
Can't display the radar while attacking (hard to see in front of you in some areas (torch/flashlight effect) which is where it would've helped a lot - you can turn the effect off in emulation though)
Control/interface issues (slow jumps, no mid-air control when falling, can't jump off of ladders (only fall), no reward or text confirmation for completing missions until you beat an entire area/stage, can't see your current health without getting hit (could've let you see it along with ammo supplies when pausing), Detailed but slow mission briefings (can't speed up or skip text on a paragraph basis, somewhat slow cursor movement))
Leaps of faith (can't look up/down)
Some tedious elements (some waiting for moving platforms, backtracking (some mission areas are located past others from the hub area and you can't do several missions in a row (?), backtracking for health in the hub area)
Somewhat muffled and lo-fi audio overall
Repetitive level design and background art
Grenades disappear as soon as they move off screen