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-inspired shooter. So, if you've ever played 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 hoard hungry for our blood. It's time to tool up, sneak on board, and begin mercilessly killing anything that looks like it bites.
Their spaceship is split into 11 levels with each requiring a mission to be completed. The first starts off simple (kill everything!!) with later missions far more complex. If you happen to 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 within a complex that looks the same! There are locked doorways. Almost every corridor has some kind of door which can be opened, one way or another. Key cards are a good idea and these can usually be found hidden inside the blue cabinets - along with other bonuses like a 1UP and ammo. However, use these cards wisely because not every door needs to be immediately opened.
Okay, I think that 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 excellent and responsive so it's easy navigating this ship, even if I oddly 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 quickly 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. Each of your weapons has a varying level of effectiveness and the flamethrower is awesome so try searching the orange cabinets for yours. However, I'm not fresh on the laser which needs a recharge too frequently for my liking. It could have lasted a little longer!
So, we have great joystick controls and lots of aliens to kill. This game is fantastic fun and something you need to download and play right away. However, there are also a couple of other versions you might wanna try...
Supplementary... Alien Thing also 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 very 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
Actually, no don't do that!! Open your eyes wide to enjoy the nicely drawn graphics. Everything is well-designed and I liked the contrast of vivid colours used against the spaceship's metallic structure and the near-luminous green aliens really do stand out. This works so well, even if the aliens walk like squashed spiders! Sadly, the scrolling isn't too great and should have been smoother - it's disappointing that the Atari ST'e hardware wasn't used to full effect. WHYYYY??
The audio is fantastic with assorted sound effects for just about every action. Many of them are ripped, I like the Star Trek doors opening. Okay, some effects are quite crude but that doesn't mean they're not superb because these are genuinely entertaining. The weirdest of all is when an alien dies. That is almost as strange as our own pitiful death cry.
On an STFM the quality is good but quite fuzzy whereas the STE makes full use of its DMA hardware brilliantly.
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? Anyhow, what did I think about Alien Thing? Well, nothing is perfect and it provided a few things to whine about - 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. Wooo, hang on a moment?? Let's end the moaning, please!
Alien Thing is a decent take on the "Alien Breed" 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 tactical/strategic thinking. The missions are challenging but enjoyable and I never felt overwhelmed by its distinguishable maze-like design.
You've guessed it, I absolutely love Alien Thing because it's a blast and you will love it too. So stop your grinnin' and drop your linen because this is a seriously addictive shooter!! (and yes, 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
