is a 1990 run and gun video game developed and published for arcades by

Konami , is a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Chūō, Tokyo, it also produces and distributes trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, pachinko machines, slot machines, and arcade cabinets. Konami has casi ...

. It is based on the 1986 film of the same title. Two players can play the game cooperatively in addition to single-player.

Gameplay

''Aliens'' is primarily a side-scrolling shooter in which the player must defend against various

Aliens 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 extrat ...

, with certain parts of the game switching to a third-person rail shooter perspective. Players can play as either

Ellen Ripley Ellen Louise Ripley, often referred to simply as Ripley, is a fictional character and protagonist of the ''Alien'' film series, played by American actress Sigourney Weaver. The character earned Weaver worldwide recognition, and the role remains h ...

or Corporal Hicks, who both begin the game with a

smart gun A smart gun, also called a smart-gun, or smartgun, is a firearm that can detect its authorized user(s) or something that is normally only possessed by its authorized user(s). The term is also used in science fiction to refer to various types of ...

and can upgrade to other weapons such as

flamethrower A flamethrower is a ranged incendiary device designed to project a controllable jet of fire. First deployed by the Byzantine Empire in the 7th century AD, flamethrowers saw use in modern times during World War I, and more widely in World Wa ...

s and

missile In military terminology, a missile is a missile guidance, guided airborne ranged weapon capable of self-propelled flight usually by a jet engine or rocket motor. Missiles are thus also called guided missiles or guided rockets (when a previously ...

grenade launcher A grenade launcher is a weapon that fires a specially-designed large-caliber projectile, often with an explosive, smoke or gas warhead. Today, the term generally refers to a class of dedicated firearms firing unitary grenade cartridges. The m ...

s. The player is given several health points, one of which is lost if the player is attacked by an Alien. The player loses a life if all the health points are lost, and the game ends if all the player's lives are depleted.

Boss Boss may refer to: Occupations * Supervisor, often referred to as boss * Air boss, more formally, air officer, the person in charge of aircraft operations on an aircraft carrier * Crime boss, the head of a criminal organization * Fire boss, a p ...

enemies are encountered at the end of each level, with the final boss being the Alien Queen, which the player fights with a power

exoskeleton An exoskeleton (from Greek ''éxō'' "outer" and ''skeletós'' "skeleton") is an external skeleton that supports and protects an animal's body, in contrast to an internal skeleton ( endoskeleton) in for example, a human. In usage, some of the ...

loader. A two-player mode is also available. The enemies range from standard ones seen in the films to specialized ones created exclusively for this game. When fighting the Alien Queen, two victorious outcomes are possible. In the first, the player simply opens the

airlock An airlock, air-lock or air lock, often abbreviated to just lock, is a compartment with doors which can be sealed against pressure which permits the passage of people and objects between environments of differing pressure or atmospheric compo ...

, as in the 1986 film. If the player chooses, they can fight the Queen further, wearing her down until she bursts apart.

Release

The arcade game made its worldwide debut at the

Amusement Trades Exhibition International The Amusement Trades Exhibition International (ATEI) is the major UK trade show A trade fair, also known as trade show, trade exhibition, or trade exposition, is an exhibition organized so that companies in a specific industry can showcase an ...

(ATEI) in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, United Kingdom. In Japan, it was exhibited at AOU in February 1990, and then received a wide release in March 1990. It made its North American debut at

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

's American Coin Machine Exposition (ACME) the same month.

Reception

In North America, ''Alien'' was declared the best new conversion kit at the ACME show by ''RePlay'' magazine and several distributors. It went on to win a Silver award from the American Amusement Machine Association (AAMA) for sales achievement in 1990, making it Konami's second best-selling arcade game that year after ''

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' is an American media franchise created by the comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Leonardo, Michelangelo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Miche ...

''. In Japan, ''Game Machine'' listed ''Aliens'' on their April 15, 1990 issue as being the second most-successful table arcade unit of the month. Upon release in arcades, ''Aliens'' was met with mostly positive reception from reviewers. Upon release,

Julian Rignall Julian "Jaz" Rignall (born 6 March 1965, London, England) is a writer and editor. He has also produced content for corporate websites such as GamePro Media, publisher of ''GamePro'' magazine and ''GamePro.com'', marketing collateral and adverti ...

of ''

Computer and 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 ...

'' gave ''Aliens'' an overall score of 91%, noting its "simply brilliant" graphics and describing it as "one of the goriest

coin-op A currency detector or currency validator is a device that determines whether notes or coins are genuine or counterfeit. These devices are used in a wide range of automated machines, such as retail kiosks, supermarket self checkout machines, a ...

s since ''

Splatterhouse is a beat 'em up arcade game developed and published by Namco. It was the first in a series of games released in home console and personal computer formats. This cult classic would later spawn the parody '' Splatterhouse: Wanpaku Graffiti'', the ...

''." Robin Hogg of ''

Zzap!64 ''Zzap!64'' was a computer games magazine covering games on the Commodore International series of computers, especially the Commodore 64 (C64). It was published in the UK by Newsfield Publications Ltd and later by Europress Impact. The magazi ...

'' gave it a positive outlook. Both Martin Gaksch and Heinrich Lenhardt of German magazine '' Power Play'' also gave ''Aliens'' a positive outlook. ''

Crash Crash or CRASH may refer to: Common meanings * Collision, an impact between two or more objects * Crash (computing), a condition where a program ceases to respond * Cardiac arrest, a medical condition in which the heart stops beating * Couch s ...

''s Mark Caswell praised the visuals. ''

CU Amiga ''Commodore User'', known to the readers as the abbreviated ''CU'', was one of the oldest British Commodore magazines. With a publishing history spanning over 15 years, it mixed content with technical and video game features. Incorporating ''V ...

'' gave ''Aliens'' a 44% rating and criticized its "uniformly bland and drab" graphics, its "irritatingly unresponsive" controls, and its "dull" action. Brett Alan Weiss of ''

AllGame RhythmOne , previously known as Blinkx, and also known as RhythmOne Group, is an American digital advertising technology company that owns and operates the web properties AllMusic, AllMovie, and SideReel. Blinkx was founded in 2004, went publ ...

'' gave ''Aliens'' three and a half stars, calling it an "enjoyably fast-paced" and "graphically creepy, smoothly animated game". More than a decade and a half later, ''

Retro Gamer ''Retro Gamer'' is a British magazine, published worldwide, covering retro video games. It was the first commercial magazine to be devoted entirely to the subject. Launched in January 2004 as a quarterly publication, ''Retro Gamer'' soon became ...

'' editor-in-chief Darran Jones praised it as a "superb" game. In a more reserved opinion, Stephen Kleckner of ''

VentureBeat ''VentureBeat'' is an American technology website headquartered in San Francisco, California. It publishes news, analysis, long-form features, interviews, and videos. History The ''VentureBeat'' company was founded in 2006 by Matt Marshall, ...

'' included ''Aliens'' in his list of "must-play" ''Alien'' franchise games, but wrote it "is competent and entertaining for a quarter sucker, but it lacks the creative push in gameplay found in other entries on this list." ''

Den of Geek ''Den of Geek'' is a US and UK-based website covering entertainment with a focus on pop culture. The website also issues a bi-annual magazine. History ''Den of Geek'' was founded in 2007 by Simon Brew in London. In 2012, DoG Tech LLC licensed ...

''s Ryan Lambie described it as "one of the best ''Alien'' games ever."

Notes

References

External links

''Aliens''
at

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''Aliens''
at

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''Aliens''
at

Killer List of Videogames Killer List of Videogames (KLOV) is a website featuring an online encyclopedia devoted to cataloging arcade games past and present. It is the video game department of the International Arcade Museum, and has been referred to as "the IMDb for pl ...

''Aliens''
at

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Aliens (1990 video game) 1990 video games 1990s horror video games Alien (franchise) games Arcade video games Arcade-only video games Konami arcade games Konami games Multiplayer and single-player video games Run and gun games Side-scrolling video games Video games based on films Video games based on works by James Cameron Video games featuring female protagonists Video games developed in Japan fr:Aliens (jeu vidéo, 1990) it:Aliens (videogioco 1990)

Gameplay

Release

Reception

See also

Notes

References

External links