Скачать или смотреть THSC S8 - Aliens (Arcade, 1990) - Review & Play

OI MUTANTS! It is I, your master of mayhem, MANSHOVEL, and I am back with another submission for the biweekly TUBERS HIGH SCORE CHALLENGE. This fortnight, the Tubers are taking on ALIENS, released by KONAMI in 1990. It’s technically a run and gun, but it feels more like a beat em up. This game was chosen by ‪@electricadventures‬ on the eve of the pending Aliens movie which initially piqued my interest.

Upon first playing the game, I noticed a passing resemblance to SEGA’s Alien Storm, which is a game I enjoy a lot and it sub-consciously made me want to play the game like Alien Storm. Unfortunately, in Aliens you can’t dash and vault at enemies like you can in the latter game. If that were possible, this game would be a lot cooler.

Now before I get ahead of myself, let me say that the game is well-presented with a bold and striking attract mode with driving ominous music and there are plenty of cool story interludes between the action. The graphics in the game are detailed with an impressive use of colors. The music in the game is top notch and provides a brilliant atmosphere for playing. The sound chip sounds like a Yamaha YM2612 with FM synthesis and it really sounds awesome.

Now that being said, the game suffers in the gameplay department with plenty of cheap deaths, like the elevator drop in Level 2. The default weapon is pretty weak. When having to fire at enemies multiple times with enemies coming at you from every direction, death is certain. The problem is this game was designed to be a coin muncher played with your mates until you lose your scratch. After a while, playing it for a high score just felt more like a chore.

If this game interests you, don’t be discouraged from trying it out. Minus the concern for attempting this game at a high score, Aliens is definitely something a casual player could get into playing if they’re browsing MAME or come across it in an arcade, but it just didn’t click with me. Anyway, I’ll catch you all next time. MANSHOVEL OUT!