ALIEN RESURRECTION (PS)
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Publisher: Fox Interactive.
Developer: Argonaut Games. Released: December 2000. Genre: FPS; Survival Horror. Posted 2nd April 2015. By Tom Clare © 2015 |
Three years overdue and having endured brief but ultimately abortive existences as a shoot ‘em up and a survival horror, Alien Resurrection would eventually blend the two into a tough-nut corridor-FPS, and few would have foreseen it turning out as well as it did. Originally touted to release alongside the Jean-Pierre Jeunet-directed film of the same name in 1997, Argonaut’s remarkably storied project eventually reached fruition in the form of a PlayStation exclusive in late 2000.
Such a prolonged period in “development hell” is bound to sound alarm bells in the ears of gamers who have, all too often, been met with broken or lacklustre titles at the end of a delayed project. But all-told, Alien Resurrection is a great effort and a heartening break from the usual script. Putting aside the potential baggage of the film’s narrative and improving on it through a concerted focus on gameplay and the successful utilisation of Alien properties, AR’s technical excellence and forward-thinking control scheme mean it has aged wondrously, even if it wasn’t met with universal appreciation at the time of release.
AR sits the divide between the pure, uncomplicated run ‘n’ gun sensibilities of Doom and the more technical, elaborate design ethos of Quake II. Drawing on the old and embracing the new, Alien Resurrection makes for an extremely satisfying survival horror romp, a gaming experience that’s tighter, scarier and more cleverly put together than the film upon which it is based.
There are so very many ways to come to harm in Alien Resurrection. Watch your back. Watch your front. Watch the vents and ceilings.
The dank research vessel Auriga is a superbly-realised setting, and positively drips with atmosphere. The opening level showcases not only the strikingly smooth 3D environments, but also a multitude of ways in which AR seeks to unsettle the player. You’ll be rocked by close proximity explosions, spattering electronics, lighting failures that plunge the player into darkness, and aliens darting across ceilings and through vents. It ramps up the tension masterfully, even before you’ve fired a weapon in anger.
The sensation of unease is superbly maintained through a less-is-more approach to audio design. There’s no music, a decision that comes to feel inspired as it brings to the fore the brilliant ambient sound. Every footfall clangs very deliberately; a jarring, echoing reminder of the player’s exposure in both tight and open locales, and a feeling of isolation that is affected upon the gamer throughout and with near-total success. You’ll strain to hear as marines are ambushed in the distance, and was that a blip on the motion sensor, or just your mind playing tricks on you? The eerie ship computer will make you jump on occasions too, acting as a would-be harbinger of doom, dispassionately informing you of compromises to ship integrity, technical failures and where you are likely to face resistance from security.
Designed to intimidate, levels are vast and cavernous in nature. You’ll meet a myriad of doors and need a clear head for the backtracking and card-collecting that’s required. Adjoining sections see the player activating pressure valves to move to do different sections of the deck, an unusual and clever means of slipping in some mid-game loading without breaking up the action. Standout sequences include the spooky but highly effective underwater sections in the Mess Hall Complex (complete with swimming aliens), and a breathless conclusion to the Engineering Deck level early on, where you’ve just a few minutes to locate a means of manually releasing a “lifeboat”, before the place blows. In and around all this, there’s ample vent-crawling (because it wouldn’t be Alien without vents), laser traps, lethal electricity charges and a veritable army of facehuggers to contend with. If one of the little blighters gets a hold on you, there’s only a small window of time with which to find an autodoc and irradiate the little bleeder.
The sensation of unease is superbly maintained through a less-is-more approach to audio design. There’s no music, a decision that comes to feel inspired as it brings to the fore the brilliant ambient sound. Every footfall clangs very deliberately; a jarring, echoing reminder of the player’s exposure in both tight and open locales, and a feeling of isolation that is affected upon the gamer throughout and with near-total success. You’ll strain to hear as marines are ambushed in the distance, and was that a blip on the motion sensor, or just your mind playing tricks on you? The eerie ship computer will make you jump on occasions too, acting as a would-be harbinger of doom, dispassionately informing you of compromises to ship integrity, technical failures and where you are likely to face resistance from security.
Designed to intimidate, levels are vast and cavernous in nature. You’ll meet a myriad of doors and need a clear head for the backtracking and card-collecting that’s required. Adjoining sections see the player activating pressure valves to move to do different sections of the deck, an unusual and clever means of slipping in some mid-game loading without breaking up the action. Standout sequences include the spooky but highly effective underwater sections in the Mess Hall Complex (complete with swimming aliens), and a breathless conclusion to the Engineering Deck level early on, where you’ve just a few minutes to locate a means of manually releasing a “lifeboat”, before the place blows. In and around all this, there’s ample vent-crawling (because it wouldn’t be Alien without vents), laser traps, lethal electricity charges and a veritable army of facehuggers to contend with. If one of the little blighters gets a hold on you, there’s only a small window of time with which to find an autodoc and irradiate the little bleeder.
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Criticised in some quarters for its dual analogue control scheme upon release, in hindsight Alien Resurrection now feels lightyears ahead of its console contemporaries. Its configuration has since been embraced by more or less every major modern FPS, and was grossly underappreciated in its own time. The 3D aiming is about as good as any PlayStation FPS, with a neat selection of weapons including a beefy flamethrower and clunky but beastly grenade launcher. The collision physics are good enough to reward headshots, though uber-fast, super aggressive enemies render such accurate aiming very difficult.
What denies AR an otherwise deserved place among the pantheon of great film tie-ins is its ultimately overwhelming difficulty. To begin with at least, its unrelenting toughness seems like a good thing. The first four or five levels see aliens and gun-toting humans alike exacting punishing damage, and coupled with sparse save points, it necessitates a level of coolness under pressure so as not to incur unnecessary health losses. The problem is, rather than keeping the challenge on this knife-edge, things get significantly tougher again, with the game often pushing its ambitions beyond what the PlayStation – and by extension, the gamer – can realistically meet. Whilst early on, enemies are powerful but sparsely dispersed and there’s enough of a balance between tense anticipation and exploration, this starts to tip as hordes of xenomorphs queue up to take a swipe at you. When you start getting assaulted by groups of three or more aliens, things start to break down; the speedy foes are a handful to track anyway, but when they move to surround you, whilst skipping animations and moving choppily, it makes things particularly frustrating.
What denies AR an otherwise deserved place among the pantheon of great film tie-ins is its ultimately overwhelming difficulty. To begin with at least, its unrelenting toughness seems like a good thing. The first four or five levels see aliens and gun-toting humans alike exacting punishing damage, and coupled with sparse save points, it necessitates a level of coolness under pressure so as not to incur unnecessary health losses. The problem is, rather than keeping the challenge on this knife-edge, things get significantly tougher again, with the game often pushing its ambitions beyond what the PlayStation – and by extension, the gamer – can realistically meet. Whilst early on, enemies are powerful but sparsely dispersed and there’s enough of a balance between tense anticipation and exploration, this starts to tip as hordes of xenomorphs queue up to take a swipe at you. When you start getting assaulted by groups of three or more aliens, things start to break down; the speedy foes are a handful to track anyway, but when they move to surround you, whilst skipping animations and moving choppily, it makes things particularly frustrating.
By the mid stage of the game, even careful planning will likely see you dry on ammo for all but the uber-underpowered pistol, which is absolutely no use against multiple aliens, and matters are exacerbated by the lack of health packs. There’s ten huge levels (some run as long as two hours), but only the elite of gaming will be able to push past the middle ones without ammo cheats, and three difficulty settings might seem of little consolation in lieu of how crushing Easy is.
It puts a bit of dampener on an otherwise remarkably well turned-out shoot ‘em up. Far from feeling hurried, it’s a lean, tough and tightly designed battle of attrition – a true survival horror. If anything, Argonaut’s ambitions perhaps got a little too much for the original PlayStation and many will be turned away by its “no mistakes” approach to the mid and latter levels, which become more like a desperate, frantic shooter and a wee bit less enjoyable. If you like your games to hurt though, there are few shooters that pack a bigger punch.
It puts a bit of dampener on an otherwise remarkably well turned-out shoot ‘em up. Far from feeling hurried, it’s a lean, tough and tightly designed battle of attrition – a true survival horror. If anything, Argonaut’s ambitions perhaps got a little too much for the original PlayStation and many will be turned away by its “no mistakes” approach to the mid and latter levels, which become more like a desperate, frantic shooter and a wee bit less enjoyable. If you like your games to hurt though, there are few shooters that pack a bigger punch.
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VERDICT
Visual: 9/10
Audio: 8/10 Gameplay: 7/10 Longevity: 6/10 OVERALL: 7/10 |