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'3 times the suspense.
‘3 times the danger.
3 times the terror...'
With the sci-fi-horror movie 'Alien' from 1979, director Ridley Scott completely redefined the term 'extraterrestrial'! The losing battle of the crew of the commercial towing spaceship 'Nostromo' against the eponymous Alien that only Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) survived, belongs without doubt to the most thrilling productions of its genre! Particularly, the frightening beast – actually the secret main protagonist of the motion picture - that was designed by the Swiss surrealist H.R. Giger, ('Alien³', 'Poltergeist II: The Other Side', 'Species', 'Dark Seed') has been imprinted in the memory of numerous moviegoers...
'Alien' was one of the most profitable films of the year – and certainly, such a big success resulted in a sequel. Albeit, it takes seven more years until the second part, which was called 'Aliens', premiered in cinemas. James Cameron's 'Academy Award' winning continuation of the subject matter was even much more successful than its precursor and became the third highest-grossing motion picture of 1986. Because 'Aliens' enjoys an extremely huge popularity among fans and critics alike, there wasn't only a further sequel of the franchise ('Alien³'), but two(!) home computer adaptations were released, too, as well as an arcade video game by Konami, which was based on the plot of the second movie. Okay, there were already a few games that were based on the background story of the original motion picture of 1979 – but these have been released much later after the premiere of the first part and were disregarded by most of the players...
The title screen...
'This Time it's War...'
However, in 1986/87 Activision and Electric Dreams released two different programs, which were based on the famous blockbuster. Whereas Activision's US version of 'Aliens' (aka 'Super Aliens') was separated into six sub-levels, which reflect several key scenes of the movie, the Electric Dreams product that was released in the following year, contains a general gameplay. Konami's coin-op again, released in 1990, represented a pure 2D shoot'em up including 3D sections...
Finally, 'Alien³' was released in American theatres on May 22, 1992 – and was a disappointment across the board! Director David Fincher's extremely grim vision of the 'Alien' subject matter has been panned both by the critics and the fans – but actually Fincher's version of the film was ruined by the producers of the motion picture...
Despite the failure of the movie at the box office, Acclaim Entertainment/Arena Entertainment released a same-named action game for Sega's Genesis/Mega Drive console at the end of 1992. Basically, the title made use of the same setting of the film – the former work prison on the planet Fiorina 'Fury' 161 – however, the plot has been slightly changed: In the original silver screen adventure, Ripley has to fight the Alien without any weapons. Her virtual counterpart again is in possession of a quite impressive arsenal of shooting irons – even the well-known 'motion tracker' of the second part is available! Moreover, she doesn't have to deal with just one Alien, but with hordes of them! As you can see, the movie tie-in game differs a little bit from the original script of the film – but that fact hasn't to be a disadvantage by all means...
Again, Ripley has to fight her nemesis. On the right, you can see one of the cocooned convicts...
'Fury 161 Class Prison Unit Iris – 12037154 report EEV Unit 2650 Crash...'
At the end of 1992/in early 1993 Virgin Games/Acclaim Entertainment released various adaptations of the Genesis/Mega Drive version – including the Amiga. Just as with the original version of the title, Probe Software ('Golden Axe', 'Mortal Kombat', 'Super Monaco GP') was responsible for the conversion, too... and I've to say, that this went off without a hitch – well, at least more or less! However, it's a great pity that Probe hasn't ported the far better SNES variant – it's not that 'Alien³' is a bad game on the Mega Drive... far from it! Tough, Acclaim's version for Nintendo's mouse-grey 16 bit console outclasses the others in every way! But I've to admit that this version was available not until half a year later...
Because the SNES version offers all in all only six levels, the game seems to be far more extensive on Mega Drive as well as on Amiga. But this turns out to be a wrong conclusion: Although, these two variants contain more than a dozen stages, 'Alien³' on the Nintendo console isn't just more complex, but also much more diversified, because of the here used mission structure – whereas on the Sega/Commodore machine the bald-headed Ripley is mainly busy with destroying Aliens, searching for the abducted (ex)-convicts of the former work prison on Fiorina 161 and saving them respectively and finally finding the exit, she has to fulfil additional tasks on the SNES – like e.g. repairing broken pipes or sealing doors...
Another (big) advantage of that version is the absence of a time limit – okay, also on the SNES Ripley doesn't have a cushy job; nevertheless here she has all time of the world. In stark contrast to its Amiga/Mega Drive counterpart: If Ripley isn't able to save the inmates of the work prison before the time runs out; a 'chestburster' bursts out of the bodies of the 'pregnant' victims and causes their death! After this, you lose a life and have to start again – this will happen very often; particularly in the beginning phase of 'Alien³', because of the very short time limit...
The slaughterhouse only appears in the original cut of the movie...
'Beep... beep... beep...'
To find the hostages, Ripley makes use of her 'motion tracker' – this shows both the abducted convicts (red spots) and the hostile Aliens (white spots). Despite this useful device, the player should draw a map, because each section is constructed like a maze – a further difference to the SNES version; after all, there you've the opportunity to study several blueprints of the many rooms and halls within the huge prison complex! In terms of the weapons, there are barely differences between the several systems: It doesn't matter whether on Amiga/Mega Drive or on the Nintendo console – Ripley's able to switch between pulse rifle, flame thrower or grenade launcher at anytime... moreover, she can throw hand grenades – these aren't contained on the SNES. Unlike to games like e.g. 'Turrican' or 'Midnight Resistance', you have no unlimited amount of ammo – so you should always look out for fresh supply. But also the 'motion tracker' needs energy! If Ripley isn't able to find the required batteries in time, the device gives up the ghost and disappears from the screen...
Of course, the sections themselves represent a problem, too – Ripley must jump over deep abysses, climb up ladders, open closed sliding gates and crawl through narrow air shafts, in which Aliens are located as well...
Another setting, which wasn't included in the movie - the Alien cave...
'Weyland-Yutani Work Prison Fury 161 closed and sealed – Custodial Presence Terminated...'
Having all elements of the gameplay mentioned, I conclude that 'Alien³' is a typical 'seek and destroy' platformer in the tradition of games like 'The Persian Gulf Inferno' (aka 'The North Sea Inferno') or 'Shinobi'... nothing new at all. But what's with the quality of this license game? Like I said before: Actually it's a good title – but it could have been better...
It already begins with the short, but nevertheless nicely animated intro sequence of the Mega Drive version – that one is missing on the Amiga! Also, the quality of the background graphics isn't as good as in the Sega variant: On the one hand, these are drawn very detailed; on the other hand, the quite impressive parallax scrolling of the original, which produced a certain illusion of depth, has been cancelled – in my opinion, not an unimportant element, because it increases the program's already grim atmosphere in a very substantial manner! Somehow you can't avoid the impression that Probe Software has released 'Alien³' way too early – although it's a quite good movie license title, it's missing the final touches...
Nevertheless, 'Alien³' on the Commodore machine has a certain right to exist – after all, it's the best, because only Amiga production of this successful franchise...
The prison canteen - today's main dish: human flesh...
'...Cargo and ship destroyed. I should reach the frontier in about six weeks. With a bit of luck, the network will pick me up.
This is Ripley, last survivor of the Nostromo, signing off...'
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Like I said before, in the main the graphics of 'Alien³' are okay – but it beats me why the complete second background layer doesn't exist anymore! I think it shouldn't have been a big problem to implement such an effect on the Amiga, too. The animations of the Ripley sprite are nice to watch, although they appear a little awkward here and there (e.g. while climbing up ladders or jumping over deep abysses). Actually, the motions of the hostile Aliens are well done, too; however, these are so fast that the player is barely able to notice them! Moreover, you can spot only one Alien type during the whole game – apart from the slimy, pulsating eggs and its disgusting contents respectively: the dangerous 'facehuggers'. At last, there are the gigantic bosses, which appear at the end of each scenario (although their appearance and tactic don't vary). As you can see, the game hasn't much to offer... in stark contrast to its counterpart on the SNES! By the way, kudos to the designers of the game, because apparently their level architecture closely follows David Fincher's original version of 'Alien³' – so the slaughterhouse, which only appears in that cut of the movie, is involved, too! Furthermore, the title has been enhanced by integrating an H.R. Giger-like Alien cave that wasn't contained in the motion picture. The fact that any background animations of the Sega Mega Drive variant (rotating fans in the shafts, flashing warning lights at the balustrades) have been cancelled on the Amiga is a complete joke! Well, at least the scrolling is smooth...
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Regarding the sound, you've to scale down your expectations, too – but not in terms of its quality! In fact, the player has to decide between background tunes and sfx. Of course, the Amiga has only four sound channels – nevertheless, titles like e.g. the 'Turrican' series or 'The Chaos Engine' prove that it's definitely possible to hear both – music and effects! Speaking of music: Matt Furniss was very successful in his effort to port the soundtrack of the Mega Drive original to the Commodore machine. Also the several effects are identical to the ones of the Genesis/Mega Drive variant. However, the death screams of the destroyed Aliens has nothing in common with the silver screen adventures – and also Ripley's cry of pain after she collides with one of these nasty beasts doesn't sound like Sigourney Weaver's voive...
Personally I find that the soundtrack doesn't quite fit to the grim ambience of the game – in this case, the SNES version was better, too... not to mention Elliot Goldenthal's original score...
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Kindly, Probe Software has integrated an options menu in the program – here, you're able to alter the degree of difficulty ('easy', 'normal' or 'hard') as well as the number of lives (1 – 9). Moreover, the player can choose between one-button or two-button joystick. Like mentioned before, you've to decide between background music and sfx, too. Just by the look of this quite complex menu, the game's console heritage can be clearly seen. But despite all these possibilities of settings, the title is just too hard – the reason for that lies in the extremely short time limit, which ticks inexorably in each level. Furthermore, the Aliens are very speedy: Far too often it happens that the player doesn't notice such an exemplar of this aggressive species in time - before he can say knife, he lies on the ground and loses precious energy... albeit the control of the Ripley sprite is very accurate. Loading times are alright, too...
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| If the gameplay would be a little more diversified and if the degree of difficulty wouldn’t be so high, 'Alien³' on the Amiga/Genesis would have become an almost equally great license title as the SNES version, which was released half a year later. So, what should I say? 'Alien³' - another extremely average movie tie-in... |
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