Aliens are infesting, are you ready?

Aliens Infestation DS Review

Developer: Wayforward

Console: 3DS

Other Platforms: None

Release Date: October 11, 2011

Aliens Infestation is a game developed by Wayforward who also developed great games such as BloodRayne: Betrayal. Will their success continue onto the Ds? Find out in my review.

Single Player:

In Aliens Infestation you play as a squad of marines that are dispatched to a local colony to find out what happened, as a previous team went in to reestablish contact with the main base. As you can imagine, something goes wrong and that’s why your squad of marines are called in to clean up the mess. Now the single player story isn’t bad, but that’s not to say its great either. It makes sense for the most part and the characters seem rather enjoyable.

You start off the game with a squad of marines named Cameron, Whistler, Johnston and Paulson. These guys are your typical characters and provide some pretty entertaining conversations throughout the game. You will want to be careful as you play though. If anyone of your characters dies, they cannot be revived and you lose them until you find another squad member to replace them.

There are some pretty interesting moments in the game. As you first start out in the game you will work your way toward your goal which is to find a missing corporal. Now this is an alien game and as soon as you play you will wonder, where are the aliens that you are supposed to be fighting? You will soon come to regret thinking this when you first encounter the aliens. You will notice that your weapons and people are not ready for the battle they have encountered.  The game has a pretty good difficulty curve and will take some time getting used to.

Gameplay:

The gamelay in Aliens Infestation is actual very basic with a couple of really unique features. The first feature is the game allows to you reach a safe room where you can restock on ammo, or change characters by simply touching that characters faces on the touch screen. It aides in keeping up the alien story-line as no character is safe from being killed. There is also a roll button and sprinting button in the game which actually works very well.

One feature that I found extremely beneficial was the subtle cover system that was implemented in the game. When there is a crate around you and an enemy is attacking, you will have the opportunity to roll into the box or crate and crouch against it. This allows you to peek out and shoot your enemy. There is a problem with this however. You tend to play a game of cat and mouse and have to time your shots perfectly to hit the enemy. If you don’t time it correctly, you will of course take damage from the enemy.

The game runs very smoothly and you use the bottom screen as your map and weapon hub to check your ammo or change weapons which works very well. Throughout the game you will get items that will help you reach other locked areas unbeknownst to the player. One item for instance allows you to weld doors open and another is a lamp that allows access into dark areas. There are some very unique weapons in the game as well. The only issue I have is that it takes a lot to kill enemies in the game, especially the aliens.

Presentation:

Although, this is a DS game I can say that it presents the atmosphere of an interstellar sci-fi game fairly well. From beginning all the way to the end you will be afraid of the things around you and what you will face. The game has some similarities to metal gear solid in how you receive transmission from your guide in the game.

The characters are very well done and embody futuristic marines that are on a mission in the middle of nowhere. The enemies are probably the best part of the game and how they are designed look great. The aliens look really creepy and are equivalent to giant roaches with fangs. The level layout and design of the game look very well done and the backgrounds may at times leave more to be desired due to a lack of a full 3D environment but that doesn’t hinder the gaming experience.

Sound:

Almost immediately when you listen to the music in the game you can almost understand the tone that they are setting out with this game. The creepy music and also silent corridors really raise the suspense when you are playing. Even though you know there will be aliens, you almost infer that there will be something bigger and more terrifying that awaits you. This will be revealed to you when you fight your first boss and the tone is set into an extremely climatic mood.

The sounds of the game will get your heart racing. You will be scared at the dire situations that you will find yourself in at certain times in the game. I have to say that personally I really felt genuinely scared at certain times, due solely to the musical score of when an alien was chasing me. It made me react more and I became appreciative of the character that I controlled at the time. When it is all said and done Alien infestation’s sound does a few things right in setting the mood and suspense of the game which is its goal from the start.

Controls:

Controlling the game is very simple and basic. If you’re thinking that is a bad attribute for a game of this caliber than you are surely mistake. Simplicity works very well in this game. At times It’s can be very direct and to the point, as to what you must do and where you must go. Combat in the game works very when you need it to. The only gripe I had with the controls was encountered when I wanted to aim in a different direction in the game. Aliens Infestation only allows you to aim in one direction in two different positions. You can aim standing up and you can also aim horizontally crouching down. There are no other directions that you can aim in, if you don’t want to get into a direct fire fight with an enemy.

Cons:

• There is a lack of checkpoints in certain areas of the game. If you make it far and turn your 3DS/DS off, be prepared to restart the whole section over again.
• You start off the game with four characters in your squad; however you are not told that if one of your characters dies, you will lose that character forever.
• There isn’t much replay value after you complete the game aside from a couple of extras in the main menu.

Pros:

• This is a Wayforward developed game and as I’ve noticed in other games created by them there is a decent amount of difficulty attributed to them.
• Gameplay is very solid and it’s enjoyable to use a combat shotgun on an unsuspecting alien.
• You can change characters and reload ammo at certain stations throughout the game. This also allows you to refill your health and change characters if you have any available.

Final Thoughts:

Aliens Infestation does a lot of things right. It’s a very solid game with the difficultly that many games are lacking. The level design and story might not be as breath taking as many people would have hope it would be, but it fits this game well. You won’t see any high res textures in this game but it is nice on the eyes for a side scrolling DS game. If you’re a fan of the Alien series than I suggest you pick this one up, you won’t be disappointed. If you’re like me and you don’t know a lot about the series you may end up enjoying this game like I have. In the end the choice is yours, so choose wisely.

Final Score:  I give Alien Infestation a 8 out of 10.

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