Alien Abduction


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"Defender Clone" Doesn't Do it Justice
Now Free!

Yes, the basics of the gameplay derive from Defender--it's a sidescrolling shmup in which you can 'flip' your ship to move and fire either right or left, and enemies approach from both sides of the screen. But Alien Abduction features trippy late-80s graphics, excellent sound and music, 30 levels, and 3 gameplay modes.

This is also not an easy game to play; a single hit can kill you, and it was obviously developed by serious shmup fans who like their gameplay challenging (if you want something less intense, try XNeo). But if you're a serious shmup fan, or having been playing the hell out of Geometry Wars and are interested in something of the same intensity with different gameplay (and better graphics), you must check Alien Abduction out.

The Developer Says:

This tribute to Eugene Jarvis's seminal arcade shooter Defender features all the ingredients that made that game a classic. Inspired by Mutant Storm and featuring elements of the finest twitch games coupled with new and exciting features, Alien Abduction is the game shoot 'em up fans have been waiting for.


  • 3 game modes: Points Battle, Time Attack, Sharp Shooter.
  • 30 levels spread over 3 missions.
  • 2 player action - battle your buddies on the high score table.
  • Awesome powerups to aid you in your mission.
  • Tactical depth - attack, defense and resource management.
  • Unlockable goodies - extra ships with different abilities.
  • Addictive gameplay that screams 'just one more go'.

Reviews:

"Alien Abduction truly plays like something from a 'better era' of gaming... 9 out of 10"
   -Gametunnel

"...an essential purchase... 93%"
   -Cornutopia

Awards:

Best Homage 2005, Gametunnel

Best Arcade Update, Bytten Ernies 2006

Gold Star Award, Cornutopia

Player Reviews

User Reviews
4
out of 10

I've only played the demo, so this review is based on that. As the developer says, it's a tribute to Defender; I personally never liked Defender, so I didn't get too into this game, but if you liked Defender I'd expect you'd like this game.

I like the effects, my favorite is when the level starts up and a cloud of bright particles converge on the player's position, it's pretty neat, I found myself just starting levels and dying to watch that effect repeatedly. I also like how the perspective twists as you move up and down. The graphics were very smooth, though I did get some slowdown during parts, but that's probably the fault of my measly 64MB PCI video card rather than the game; and it does give you the option to reduce the particle effects. The controls were tight. One thing I didn't like about the graphics was that the text wasn't outlined or colored, making it hard to distinguish. And the title screen was kind of boring. I liked the music a lot though.

It wasn't clear what I was supposed to be doing, and those strange things that the player was supposed to be protecting a) didn't look like you were supposed to protect them and b) the game didn't really tell you that either (at least not in-game). If you never played Defender you would assume that those things are enemies rather than what you're defending. That's the biggest part of my major problem with this game: there's not much story. I know, arcade games aren't supposed to have story, but even Defender had an implicit story that was clearer than this game's. In defender the things you were protecting looked human, here they look like abstract rotating spheres. In Defender the background looked like a futuristic city, here it looks like a strange hollow tube (just what is it? The game doesn't indicate). It all added up to very little context.

It may not be fair to judge a game too harshly from the demo, but what I criticized about isn't something that can be fixed by more missions and game modes.


by RinkuHero on Tue, 2007-01-23 16:25

Voice of the Masses

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