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

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

s and missile or

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 mos ...

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 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 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, 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 (ATEI) in London, 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'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''. 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 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-ops 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'' gave it a positive outlook. Both Martin Gaksch and Heinrich Lenhardt of German magazine '' Power Play'' also gave ''Aliens'' a positive outlook. '' Crash''s Mark Caswell praised the visuals. '' CU Amiga'' 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'' 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'' editor-in-chief Darran Jones praised it as a "superb" game. In a more reserved opinion, Stephen Kleckner of '' VentureBeat'' 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''s Ryan Lambie described it as "one of the best ''Alien'' games ever."

Notes

References

External links

''Aliens''
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