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ALIENS: NEOPLASMA (SPC)
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Publisher: SaNchez.
Developer: SaNchez. Released: February 2019. Genre: Run 'n' Gun. Posted 16th October 2022. By Tom Clare © 2022 |
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Aliens: Neoplasma came to notoriety as the winning entrant in a 2018 ZX-Dev competition, before receiving aftermarket releases in early 2019. With development headed by Aleksander Udotov, the creative talent behind the excellent ZX Spectrum remake Castlevania: Spectral Interlude, this unofficial take on the Alien universe is one of the best I’ve encountered. AN is a latter-day dream come true for fans of both the film series and the system: a run ‘n’ gun blessed with gorgeous visuals, an amazing soundtrack and buckets of atmosphere.
Medical Lieutenant Ashley Smith is awakened from cryo-sleep aboard the spaceship Achilles. During a superb, green-screen computer readout that acts as the game’s introduction, we’re informed that the Achilles’ mission is simply one of delivering ore. The ship’s computer informs the player: “All systems functioning normally. No failures detected.” As Lieutenant Ashley imminently discovers, however, this emphatically is not the case.
Aliens: Neoplasma lets you know what's in store. Finding a weapon is the player's sole priority early on
The crew are all dead, the computer is compromised and the corridors are full of marauding xenomorphs. Ashley’s goal, quite simply, is to escape the ship with her life. This breathless, wonderfully exciting run ‘n’ gun bears similarities with Alien 3, albeit with less of a focus on weaponry and a little more on platforming and exploration. Indeed, Neoplasma could be seen as the game Alien 3 might have been, had the Metroidvania ethos been prevalent during the early nineties. What we can be sure of is that Neoplasma is a sensational, immersive piece of action gaming and another shining testament to the skills of aftermarket programmers.
Things bode well, right from the off. Ashley is very receptive to control inputs and within the first few screens, you’ll have discovered she can not only run, but jump, crouch, climb ladders and crawl through vents. Indeed, the first buzz of excitement comes when she passes through a duct, only for the player to witness a xenomorph patrolling the corridor below. Huge, intimidating and brilliantly animated, you’re left in no doubt as to the dangers that lie in wait, should the heroine fail to find a weapon. Within seconds of leaving said vent, Ashley must run for her life, pursued by a facehugger, prompting a do-or-die leap to safety over a deadly fan blade.
Things bode well, right from the off. Ashley is very receptive to control inputs and within the first few screens, you’ll have discovered she can not only run, but jump, crouch, climb ladders and crawl through vents. Indeed, the first buzz of excitement comes when she passes through a duct, only for the player to witness a xenomorph patrolling the corridor below. Huge, intimidating and brilliantly animated, you’re left in no doubt as to the dangers that lie in wait, should the heroine fail to find a weapon. Within seconds of leaving said vent, Ashley must run for her life, pursued by a facehugger, prompting a do-or-die leap to safety over a deadly fan blade.
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You’ll soon acquire the game’s chief weapon, a machine gun (possibly a plasma rifle, given the source), and it’s time to fight back. Like more or less every aspect of the game, the shooting goes above and beyond what we’re used to from the functionality of ZX Spectrum protagonists. Ashley can fire from crouched and crawling positions, there’s diagonal directional fire that proves ideal for taking out facehuggers as they attempt ambushes from the vents. The grenades are equally cool, not only allowing the player to temporarily disable dangerous mechanisms but, with some cute timing, drop explosives from ladders to obliterate facehuggers or xenomorphs waiting below.
The platforming feels spotless. The hit detection is absolutely superlative for a ZX Spectrum game and this is ably backed by the tightness of the game’s broader design. Despite a variety of platforming scenarios, there’s no bugs, snags or blemishes to speak of. The Achilles also looks fabulous. Enormous and fantastically animated alien sprites steal the show, whilst the versatile protagonist is an excellent fit and each deck of the ship is distinguishable both visually and by how they play. Some areas are dominated with ladders and vents, others by corridors. Some are as cramped as others are exposed. There are so many immersive touches: the lighting of the reactor, the puffs from the vents and the explosions of the grenades (as well as the aliens caught in their blasts). There’s even a specific animation for when Ashley has been set upon by a facehugger, likewise when she’s vanquished by one in a vent.
The platforming feels spotless. The hit detection is absolutely superlative for a ZX Spectrum game and this is ably backed by the tightness of the game’s broader design. Despite a variety of platforming scenarios, there’s no bugs, snags or blemishes to speak of. The Achilles also looks fabulous. Enormous and fantastically animated alien sprites steal the show, whilst the versatile protagonist is an excellent fit and each deck of the ship is distinguishable both visually and by how they play. Some areas are dominated with ladders and vents, others by corridors. Some are as cramped as others are exposed. There are so many immersive touches: the lighting of the reactor, the puffs from the vents and the explosions of the grenades (as well as the aliens caught in their blasts). There’s even a specific animation for when Ashley has been set upon by a facehugger, likewise when she’s vanquished by one in a vent.
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Aliens: Neoplasma’s crowning glory is its awesome soundtrack. A multi-layered, multi-faceted masterpiece, Neoplasma eschews the low-hanging fruit of barbed, droning synths so often associated with both the Alien film series and the games inspired by it. Instead, it crafts an incredibly rousing score dominated by sci-fi blips and a euphoric, driving tempo. The atmosphere it generates cannot be understated: it’s like being beamed straight back to the eighties with an incredibly powerful dose of nostalgia. Except for once, it’s better than you remember. The supersonic symphony is ably backed by crisp gunfire effects and explosions. AN sounds sublime.
Progression through the game is achieved through activating computers which, in turn, open a new door and present a brief dialogue between Ashley and the ship’s computer, as we see it starting to go off the rails. The coolest instance results in the errant AI actively trying to sabotage your escape, causing doors to malfunction and resulting in another deadly hazard for Ashley to overcome. Impressively, the game even has two endings, depending on whether the player chooses to rig the ship to explode, or simply to flee. It’s challenging without being arduous as deaths see Ashley returned to the last activated computer. Neoplasma had me hooked from start to finish.
Progression through the game is achieved through activating computers which, in turn, open a new door and present a brief dialogue between Ashley and the ship’s computer, as we see it starting to go off the rails. The coolest instance results in the errant AI actively trying to sabotage your escape, causing doors to malfunction and resulting in another deadly hazard for Ashley to overcome. Impressively, the game even has two endings, depending on whether the player chooses to rig the ship to explode, or simply to flee. It’s challenging without being arduous as deaths see Ashley returned to the last activated computer. Neoplasma had me hooked from start to finish.
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The lower decks hold more platforming challenges and some lurking dangers...
There are only a couple of small blemishes. The first is minor and relates to the English translation, which would have benefited from tidying in time for the game’s aftermarket releases. There are several spelling mistakes and grammatical aberrations which, given the relatively small pool of text, could have been rectified. The sheer number of functions available to the player means that whilst a pad or joystick is the preferred way to tackle such a title, the Kempston interface doesn’t cover the jump and grenade options. You may need to enlist the help of an outside program to map a control method that works, though this is obviously somewhat problematic on original hardware.
In a strictly unofficial capacity then, Aliens: Neoplasma is one of the finest games to be assosiated with the revered horror lineage. It’s a superlative shooter that’s compulsive fun to play, immersive to explore and fares extremely well across all aspects of its design and presentation. Oh, and the best part? It’s free.
In a strictly unofficial capacity then, Aliens: Neoplasma is one of the finest games to be assosiated with the revered horror lineage. It’s a superlative shooter that’s compulsive fun to play, immersive to explore and fares extremely well across all aspects of its design and presentation. Oh, and the best part? It’s free.
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VERDICT
"Officially the best unofficial Aliens game there's even been. Neoplasma is tremendous in every aspect of its gameplay and presentation, with a stunning soundtrack the icing on the cake. A must-play for fans of run 'n' guns." OVERALL: 9/10 |