''Xenomorph'' is a 1990 video game developed and published by

Pandora In Greek mythology, Pandora (Greek: , derived from , ''pān'', i.e. "all" and , ''dōron'', i.e. "gift", thus "the all-endowed", "all-gifted" or "all-giving") was the first human woman created by Hephaestus on the instructions of Zeus. As Hes ...

for the

Amiga Amiga is a family of personal computers introduced by Commodore International, Commodore in 1985. The original model is one of a number of mid-1980s computers with 16- or 32-bit processors, 256 KB or more of RAM, mouse-based GUIs, and sign ...

and the Atari ST, and later ported for the Commodore 64 and

DOS DOS is shorthand for the MS-DOS and IBM PC DOS family of operating systems. DOS may also refer to: Computing * Data over signalling (DoS), multiplexing data onto a signalling channel * Denial-of-service attack (DoS), an attack on a communicat ...

Plot and gameplay

''Xenomorph'' is a

science-fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel univer ...

role-playing video game A role-playing video game (commonly referred to as simply a role-playing game or RPG, as well as a computer role-playing game or CRPG) is a video game genre where the player controls the actions of a character (or several party members) immers ...

, viewed from a first-person perspective with an icon-driven interface that drew comparisons with '' Dungeon Master''. The storyline is influenced by the early ''

Alien Alien primarily refers to: * Alien (law), a person in a country who is not a national of that country ** Enemy alien, the above in times of war * Extraterrestrial life, life which does not originate from Earth ** Specifically, intelligent extrate ...

'' franchise. The player controls a janitor on a two-year supply run to Sirius who wakes from cryosleep after traversing hyperspace (the big empty) to find his ship, the ''Mombassa Oak'', has been crippled on arrival at its destination (part of it remaining in hyperspace) leaving the ship's computer system failing. The janitor manually pilots the failing ship to the mining platform, Astargatis, to find that the human population has vanished. The player must search the platform for microchips and fuel rods that can be used to repair the ''Mombassa Oak''. In addition, the player character must defend himself against the aliens that are responsible for the attack on Astargatis. The player needs to manage weapons, medical supplies, keycard access, food, energy, and radiation levels in order to survive. The Atari ST version, if not all versions, was released incomplete. No enemies re-spawned so that after reaching the objective the player was left to wander through a largely empty base to escape. In addition the food and radiation damage did not work and it was impossible to die from these effects. The game included a communicator system but never implemented any communications using it.

Reception

''Xenomorph'' was critically well received. ''

Computer & Video Games ''Computer and Video Games'' (also known as ''CVG'', ''Computer & Video Games'', ''C&VG'', ''Computer + Video Games'', or ''C+VG'') was a UK-based video game magazine, published in its original form between 1981 and 2004. Its offshoot website ...

'' highlighted the well-drawn aliens and scenery, addictiveness, and atmosphere of solitude. Some jerky animation was criticised, but overall the Amiga and Atari versions were awarded 90%. ''

Amiga Format ''Amiga Format'' was a British computer magazine for Amiga computers, published by Future plc. The magazine lasted 136 issues from 1989 to 2000. The magazine was formed when, in the wake of selling '' ACE'' to EMAP, Future split the dual-format ...

'' awarded 83%, finding the 3D view to be well implemented, and the weapons and equipment to be varied, well-designed and graphically impressive. The lack of a wide variety of sound effects was criticized, as was the lack of an "outer-space" atmosphere. Critics pointed out that drawing a map is important in progressing in ''Xenomorph'', as it is easy to get lost or miss an important location.

Legacy

A sequel to ''Xenomorph'' titled ''Xenomorph II'' was announced in a February 1991 issue of ''

The One The ONE is a shopping centre in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong. It is built on the site of the former Tung Ying Building at 100 Nathan Road. It was developed by Chinese Estates Holdings and opened in 2010. Owner Joseph Lau Luen-hung ...

'', and was to be developed by the development team behind ''

Into the Eagle's Nest ''Into the Eagle's Nest'' is a video game developed by Pandora and published for Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Apple II, Atari 8-bit family, Atari ST, Commodore 64, IBM PC, and ZX Spectrum starting in 1987. Plot The player character is an Allied soldie ...

'', however, the game was never released and is in dispute. According to rumour, ''Xenomorph II'' was to use ''Into the Eagle's Nest'' as a framework, but upgraded with "the ''Xenomorph'' 3D system", and was announced for a February 1992 release. However one of the original authors of ''Xenomorph'' denies this was ever proposed and had other plans for a sequel.

References

External links

* * *
''Xenomorph''
at Lemon64

{{DEFAULTSORT:Xenomorph (Video Game) 1990 video games Amiga games Atari ST games Commodore 64 games DOS games Dungeon crawler video games Role-playing video games Video games developed in the United Kingdom