Alien Shooter

Can a Gory, Third-Person Shooter Be Called 'Elegant'?

Imagine a game with something of the aesthetic of Doom III, the combat intensity of Diablo, and the care and attention to detail of a Blizzard title--in an isometric third-person shooter at an amazingly low price given the days of continuous gameplay it offers.

Released in 2003, Alien Shooter quickly garnered amazing reviews from the few places that cover independent games, as well as many fans. It's not an innovative game--the scenario, a deep underground lab taken over by alien invaders, is hardly novel; the gameplay, frenetic combat with fire weapons is a staple; and while isometric "2 1/2D" graphics are a rarity in the conventional industry today, they were prevalent prior to the spread of 3D graphics cards. And well, the AI sucks--but then, perhaps the alien hordes you're supposed to kill are just plain dumb.

What Alien Shooter is, however, is extremely well done. Elegant, if you will. The levels are well designed, with a high level of variation; the combat has an edge-of-the-seat intensity; and you have to be quite careful about what equipment and upgrades you buy if you hope to complete the game. It is, in other words, polished and finely balanced.

Russell Caroll of Game Tunnel says "Go now! Buy this game!". Which are certainly words we like to hear.

And... you might also consider the developer's more recent game, Theseus: Return of the Hero.

The Developer Says:

The endless darkness and the somber, long passages of a military complex have become the abode of evil, as thousands of blood-thirsty creatures fill its offices, storehouses and mysterious laboratories.

Your mission is simple: clear the base at all costs. You will be provided with explosives to help you gain access to the teleports from where thousands of pitiless creatures pour. A stationary gun will aid in the defense of the area. You have been granted access to the most advanced weapons technology money can buy. As you earn your pay, you can equip yourself with additional weapons in the arming area and biomechanical implants that will make your fighting abilities super human.

The alien invasion has begun, we have one chance, and that is to stop them cold in their staging area. Do not allow them escape this facility, you are our last hope. The fate of humanity now depends on you!

Reviews:

"If the purpose of a review is to help you figure out which games you should buy, then we can end this review right away. GO NOW! BUY THIS GAME!" 10/10, Game Tunnel

Awards:

Editor's Choice, Topshareware.com

5/5 Award, TomDownload.com

5 Diskettes, Globalshareware.com

Editor's Pick, Daolnwod.com

5 Stars, GameXtazy

Note:

You can purchase the game from within the demo.