Criminal Upper
Banned
Aliens: Infestation
System: Nintendo DS
Publisher: SEGA
Developer: WayForward Technologies
Release Dates: NA (October 11th) EU (September 30th)
Aliens Infestation is a 2D sidescrolling action adventure that takes place in the month after the events of James Cameron's Aliens, but before Alien 3. A team of Fox-Six marines led by one Lieutenant Colonel Patrick Steele is sent to investigate a distress beacon from the lost war ship, the Sulaco.
Over the course of the adventure you will control a total of 19 colonial marines as they attempt to get to the bottom of the distress signal, the manipulations by the mega-corporation Weyland-Yutani, the lethal lifeforms waiting in the shadows.
Gameplay is a mix of run and gun and stealth but also peppered with vehicle sections, all weaved together in the familiar "Metroidvania" style of play.
Now you know what you're in for marine, it's time to board that express elevator to hell, GOING DOWN!
As it's developed by WayForward Technologies, you can expect brilliantly detailed 2D sprites for all 19 invidiual marines. Each one has their own unique look and personality which is expressed in things like taunts, victory celebrations, and even some awesome idle animations. All the portait art for each grunt was designed by famed Marvel Comics artist, Chris Bachalo.
The Aliens themselves are nicely detailed; from eggs, facehuggers, chestbursters, drones, warriors, queens, and even a few new Alien designs to add to the fray.
Aliens: Infestation has 4 major environments:
1. The Corridors of the Sulaco
2. The Surface of LV-426
3.Inside the derelict space craft from the first movie
4. A research facility on the planet Phobos.
You progress through each area in a linear fashion, but each one has it's own large map that has blocked corridors, sealed-off vents, and locked blast doors that all need specific tools, skills and weapons to bypass.
You control 4 marines in your squad at a time and whenever one of them gets wasted, you can use a back-up marine to fill that spot. You can also collect weapons like the smart gun, pulse rifle, flamethrower, and even apply multiple upgrades to each one.
TRAILER
FEATURES TRAILER
Official Nintendo Magazine UK - 82/100
EUROGAMER - 80/100
NGAMER - 80/100
Reviews for Aliens Infestation have been pretty positive thus far. Critics have praised the amazing sprite work, tight gameplay, and tons of fan-service and well-written dialog that can be found during the campaign.
Some of the negatives have been it's relatively short playing time, (around 5 hours) and that the audio component is a little on the ho-hum side, but that's more of a flaw of the Nintendo DS's sound capabilities than the game itself. The speakers of the Nintendo DS can hardly be matched up to the bombastic and memorable sound effects and music found within the films.
