Aliens (ARC, 1990)
Graphics-8 Sound-8 Control-7 Challenge-7.5* Story-5
Level Design-7 Frustration-7.5* Fun-7* Originality-6
Overall Score-7.5
*1-player
+
2-player co-op
Sometimes intense action
Decent gameplay- and good visual variation
Mixes in rail shooter and pure 2D segments (in the latter there's a radar showing enemy locations)
Good art direction and overall animation
A few good bosses
Good number of sprites on screen at once
Large and detailed sprites
Move while shooting
Crouch while moving and shooting (it's slower though) - unusual for a slanted view beat 'em up style game
Get to control the mech from the movie
Good use of QTE during the final boss (pushing the queen out of the space ship)
Difficulty options (not much of a difference in patterns or no. of enemies though)
Health bar (you can usually only take about 3 hits despite its length though)
Some cool weapons (flamethrower, homing rockets)
Satisfying sfx
Slightly diverging paths in some stages
Mini-bosses
Bombs (rare, small area of effect)
+/-
Pretty colourful for a game based on Aliens
Instant respawn and unlimited continues via credit feed
Flamethrower is overpowered in nearly all situations (no need to crouch to shoot smaller enemies, high rate of fire and good damage)
No time limit
Non-default weapons don't carry over to the next stage (not sure about the bombs)
Time limit on items in item containers, repeats some enemy types a lot (considering the source material they were still pretty creative with enemy types)
Takes place 50 years after the movie so there's no Ripley
-
Inconsistent targeting and auto-fire controls (no auto-fire in rail shooter segments or when using non-default weapons, can't shoot upwards when not in the elevator, etc.)
Trial & error (boss patterns, quick attacks from two-three sides, see previous inconsistencies, controls sometimes feel inadequate for the situation)
No jumping/strafing/keeping one fire direction (simplifies gameplay and worsens flow a bit)
No separate button for bombs in the main game (same button as crouching shot)
Can't step out of the mech once you've entered it without losing a life
Some simple and somewhat overly resilient bosses (considering their AI)
Cheap hits at the start of the first encounter with the queen and when first using the mech
Somewhat uneven difficulty due to instant respawns with just the default weapon
Notes:
Beat it using two credits
Level Design-7 Frustration-7.5* Fun-7* Originality-6
Overall Score-7.5
*1-player
+
2-player co-op
Sometimes intense action
Decent gameplay- and good visual variation
Mixes in rail shooter and pure 2D segments (in the latter there's a radar showing enemy locations)
Good art direction and overall animation
A few good bosses
Good number of sprites on screen at once
Large and detailed sprites
Move while shooting
Crouch while moving and shooting (it's slower though) - unusual for a slanted view beat 'em up style game
Get to control the mech from the movie
Good use of QTE during the final boss (pushing the queen out of the space ship)
Difficulty options (not much of a difference in patterns or no. of enemies though)
Health bar (you can usually only take about 3 hits despite its length though)
Some cool weapons (flamethrower, homing rockets)
Satisfying sfx
Slightly diverging paths in some stages
Mini-bosses
Bombs (rare, small area of effect)
+/-
Pretty colourful for a game based on Aliens
Instant respawn and unlimited continues via credit feed
Flamethrower is overpowered in nearly all situations (no need to crouch to shoot smaller enemies, high rate of fire and good damage)
No time limit
Non-default weapons don't carry over to the next stage (not sure about the bombs)
Time limit on items in item containers, repeats some enemy types a lot (considering the source material they were still pretty creative with enemy types)
Takes place 50 years after the movie so there's no Ripley
-
Inconsistent targeting and auto-fire controls (no auto-fire in rail shooter segments or when using non-default weapons, can't shoot upwards when not in the elevator, etc.)
Trial & error (boss patterns, quick attacks from two-three sides, see previous inconsistencies, controls sometimes feel inadequate for the situation)
No jumping/strafing/keeping one fire direction (simplifies gameplay and worsens flow a bit)
No separate button for bombs in the main game (same button as crouching shot)
Can't step out of the mech once you've entered it without losing a life
Some simple and somewhat overly resilient bosses (considering their AI)
Cheap hits at the start of the first encounter with the queen and when first using the mech
Somewhat uneven difficulty due to instant respawns with just the default weapon
Notes:
Beat it using two credits