Alien Thing

In Space, No One Can Hear You Scream

Alien Thing was released late in the ST's life by 999 Software for Top Byte and is an Alien Breed shooter. So, if you've ever played that or others like Alien Syndrome, Gauntlet or Storm, then you'll know exactly what to expect from this overhead shoot 'em up. It's the same old story: heading for Earth is a distant spaceship filled to the brim with a vicious alien horde hungry for our blood. It's time to tool up, sneak on board, and begin mercilessly killing anything that looks like it bites. Oh, and they all bite, so beware!

The spaceship is split into 11 levels, with each requiring a mission to be completed. The first starts off simple (kill everything!!), with later missions more complex. If you fail, then you are immediately sent straight back to the beginning. This is a bit of a bummer, especially when coming into deadly contact with alien blood.

This ship is huge, yet with a clear definition in design, so you won't lose your bearings! There are locked doorways, but almost every corridor has some kind of door that can be opened, one way or another. Key cards are a good idea, and can usually be found hidden inside the blue cabinets - along with other bonuses like a 1UP and ammo. Use these cards wisely because not every door needs to be immediately opened.

We need to stop reading and view a couple of scary Alien screenshots...

Argh, those green pools of acid! Let's get rid of 'em right away!

I love those splatter effects - they are quite messy but in a good way!

They mostly come out at night, mostly

Joystick controls are responsive, so it's fun exploring the ship, even if I move quicker than the aliens! These beasts are everywhere - so stay frosty - because they can withstand several hits before turning into a splattered mess. Their eggs must be blown up before a new alien is born and pops out to eat you!

Dead aliens leave behind pools of poisonous slime that need to be destroyed before you can pass (how I wish that was possible in the Jag's AvP). Each of your weapons has varying levels of effectiveness, and the flamethrower is awesome, so try searching the orange cabinets for it. However, I'm not too happy with the laser, which needs to be recharged too frequently for my liking. It could have lasted a bit longer!

So, we have great joystick controls and lots of aliens to kill. This game is fantastic and something you need to download and play. However, there are also a couple of other versions you might wanna try...

• Alien Thing has two "sequels" which you might wanna check out? There is an Exper Edition which was designed to be more challenging. However, I found many of the changes actually made the gameplay ridiculously difficult, thus frustrating. 
• There is also a Director's Cut that never got released. Thankfully, there is a demo and this game looked incredibly promising!! It features a change of visual perspective, new enemies/missions, and lots of DMA sound effects.

Alien Thing (above) and the updated Expert Edition (lower)

This is a simple example of the differences, ie: map changes, items, pools of gunk, etc.

Close your eyes, baby

No, open your eyes wide to enjoy the sci-fi graphics, as everything is well-designed, and I liked the contrast of vivid colours against the spaceship's metallic structure. Plus, the near-luminous green aliens really do stand out, even if they walk like squashed spiders! Sadly, the scrolling isn't too great and should have been smoother - it's disappointing that the Atari STe's hardware scrolling wasn't used to full effect. WHYYYY??

The audio is fantastic with effects for just about every action (the older STfm does as well as it can, but this game is best run on the Atari STe). Many of them are ripped. I like the Star Trek doors opening, but a few are crude. That doesn't mean they're not superb, because they are genuinely entertaining. The weirdest of all is when an alien dies, which is almost as strange as our own pitiful death cry.

Alien Thing looks and sounds great, so that can only mean one thing! Yes, it's screenshot time...

Explore everywhere and leave lots of dead bodies in your wake!



Tooled up and patrolling the corridors... Surely, this is a gamer's perfect dream?

I guess we’re not leaving soon?

Okay, we're done with the Alien quotes - did you get them all? This is a belting game, but nothing is perfect, and I have a few things to whine about. For example, when a corridor is blocked by a pool of slime that's impossible to destroy because it's too close to a wall. Also, one touch of slime means instant death! Plus, it's silly having just one sound effect for a shot - regardless of the weapon. Whoa, let's end the moaning, please!

Alien Thing is a decent take on the Alien theme. To think this came from a small company late in the ST's life is marvellous. It's superb, with a nifty balance of arcade-style action, exploration, and strategic thinking. The missions are challenging and enjoyable, but I never felt overwhelmed by the maze-like design.

Yup, I absolutely love Alien Thing. It's a blast, and you will love it too, so stop your grinnin' and drop your linen - this is a seriously addictive shooter!! (I just had to get one last quote in there, didn't I?)

Several different downloads are available, and some are bad. So I've bundled together the best versions, which you can freely download from my Dropbox.

For those struggling, there is a genius password system!
Press the "/?" key on the menu to use these codes:
PARTY,  WORK,  LARD,  WHEEE,  HELLO,
HARD,  GOSH,  NIGHT,  PEN,  RULER