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By Al Giovetti
Price:$40
Genre:hybrid real-time rpg adventure
Release:
Developer: Beam Software
Lead Artist:
Programmer:
Producer:
Publisher: Playmates Interactive Entertainment
Phone: 714-428-2000
Website: www.playmatestoys.com
Requirements:90 MHz Pentium, 16MB RAM, 80MB free HD space, 4x CD-ROM
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Alien Earth
History
Company Line
Game Play
The action in the action scenes could have provided more variety such as run, jump and roll, that you can see in the Origin Crusader games.
The scenes have many hidden items imbedded in the environment. You must search carefully and completely to locate the items. Once found the items must often be combined with other items. In one situation a bomb can be constructed from seemingly useless inventory items. Computer games should follow the movie maxim: "Do not introduce an item unless you are going to use it."
Conversations require you to talk exhaustively to many people to get all hints and items. Many times you are required to give the non-player characters (npcs) items from your inventory to win their confidence and to get other items. A full out trade window would have been better than this nebulous offering of items from your character to the npcs. There are often not enough clues to make it obvious what items the npcs have to offer or what gifts they will need to get the items.
One thing I really hate in games is devisive tricks. Alien Earth uses the game transitions, where scenery is loading, to ambush the player entering the new area. This requires a quick retreat in many situations. And these kinds of underhanded tricks go a long way to angering the game player rather than exciting him.
Other situations use the darkness of the scenes to hide monsters that jump out and surprise you right out of your seat. There is a praying mantis and an alien insect that hide in the jungle sequences and jump out to cause you tojump right out of your skin.
Plot
In the 21st century, the earth (our earth) is taken over by, guess who?, aliens. How can the aliens take over the earth? Well the earth was weakened by a nuclear holocaust.
The aliens, called Raksha, become the human slave masters. And like the Martians in H. G. Wells' War of the Worlds, humans are hunted for sport. Just your luck, you are one of the lucky hunted humans. Are there enough cliche' plot lines here?
Graphics
Wonderfully detailed and rendered with artistic care and skill. Beautiful backgrounds and depictions of alien infested earth. The graphics are a little dark, which may require some to crank up the brightness to see everything clearly.
Animation
Animation seems stilted.Voice Actors
Very well done voice acting which matches with the equally well scripted branching conversations.Music Score
Sound Effects
Utilities
Multi-player Features
Single player role playing action adventure.Cheats, Hints, Walkthrough
Journalists
Why do these magazines and game sites only have multiplayer gamers on their payroll. There are many people out there who still enjoy a single player game. To pan a game simply because it is not a multiplayer game or has no multiplayer features is like criticizing a boat because it cannot fly. Hey if I wanted to fly, I would have bought a plane not a boat. Bob Lindstrom should only review multiplayer products. His multiplayer bias ruins his ability to be objective.Put your review right here by emailing us the text.
References
- Bob Lindstrom, PC Games, volume 5, number 5, May, 1998, pg 81, B-, 82%.