Alien Storm

Morale de l'histoire, s'il faut bien empêcher les envahisseurs de conquérir la Terre, leur laisser y poser les pieds peut valoir le coup.

And, as I said, it all looks jolly scrumptious. The sprites are crisp and fluid and the fast scrolling zips along like lightning. The crosshairs bit comes a cropper - everything's so detailed you can't see what's coming at you, but you get used to it in time. Which means it's a real pity the gameplay's so flat. Despite what I said, killing aliens can be fun (especially when they look like alien omelettes and spooky snails like they do here). But when all you've got to do is dodge them on a pavement and then pound away absent-mindedly at the fire button it can get a bit trying. Alien Storm isn't easy - but who wants to play a game that's difficult when there's no skill involved? It's a shame. You kind of wish they'd given the spanky graphics to MERCS instead (which was a good game, but with pretty crap design).

Sprotz, Wumm, Splitter, Knall: Gar deftig geht's zu beim munteren Alien-Zerhackstücken. Die mit gekonnter Gruselgrafik aufgemotzten Bildschirmkämpfe sind nicht gerade ein Fall für übersensible Naturen; an Action herrscht bei der gut spielbaren Automatenumsetzung aber wahrlich kein Mangel. Die Freude hällt nicht allzu lange vor, denn wer sich zum Schwierigkeitsgrad "Easy" verführen läßt, hat das Modul schnell durchgespielt. Schade ob dieses Schnitzers, denn bei Alien Storm geht vor allem zu zweit ganz schön die Post ab. Wer Spiele im Stil von Golden Axe schätzt und sich am Horrorambiente erfreuen kann, bekommt zünftigen Actionstoff geboten.

Alien Storm is a fantastic blast that's virtually arcade perfect! The graphics are spot-on with a whole host of brilliant aliens and decent backdrops. The action is mega-fast, very smooth and highly addictive. You'll be at this until you've completed it...which, erm, isn't very long i'm afraid. Yes, it's sad but oh-so-true; completing Alien Storm is about as difficult as putting on a pair of trousers! Virtually everyone in the office completed the game within half an hour of its arrival - it's that simple. It's a real shame that the extra difficulty levels don't really add that much of a challenge to the game. For £35.00, you should get a lot more value for money, and in this respect Alien Storm just doesn't deliver. Fans of the coin-op will doubtlessly enjoy this (although they'll probably complete it even quicker than Storm novices), but otherwise I find it hard to recommend this game.

It's good to see that Sega is beginning to make more two player games. This one is fun with two players but unfortunately it is too easy that way. It's about right playing alone. Good graphics and control. Animations are well done and humorous at times.

Overall, Alien Storm was a strong game, allowing a player to play a variety of game types all in one sitting. It was a fun, alien-ridden session of blasting everything that moved that wasn't humanoid (and even that rule was stretched sometimes), making it a very worthwhile purchase for its versatility and how fun it was for a quick session. While it could have been improved with more bosses, slightly tuned up graphics, and more work on the additional playing modes; it is still very much worthy of your attention. Copies of it are all over the place and so you have little excuse not to purchase one. There is really no reason to not become an Alien Buster yourself.

Graphically, Alien Storm is as close the original arcade machine as is humanly possible and the sound is the usual gunfire and explosions that have become a standard feature with games of this type. The playability has been set at such a level that allows you slow but enjoyable progression but this can become slightly too easy once you have mastered the rather awkward controls. Nevertheless, a good conversion of an average arcade game.

In the end, Alien Storm ends up being a little less forgettable than you might have guessed. It's Golden Axe with robots, yes, but it also mixes things up a bit with its inclusion of the occasional first-person shooting stage and the run-and-gun, forced-scrolling levels. If you're a fan of that old-school SEGA style, featured so prominently in more readily remembered titles like Altered Beast, Golden Axe and Streets of Rage, Alien Storm could serve you well. But if you're only a casual fan of those comparison titles just listed, you're certainly safe to save your Wii Points and pass on a download of this one.

Spielidee und Ausführung von Alien Storm haben mich sowohl in der Mega-Drive-Version als auch auf dem Amiga nie sonderlich begeistert. Allerdings ist die Amiga-Umsetzung in vielen Punkten um einiges schlechter geworden. Es fehlen beispielsweise die ganzen Duell-Modi. Prinzipiell läuft man die Levels nacheinander ab und nietet hektisch alles fremdaussehende um. Abwechslung besteht nur in der Hintergrundgrafik (die zudem auf dem Amiga nicht sehr schön ist) und den verschiedenen Alienrassen. Soundtechnisch beschränkt sich das Amiga-Gemetzel auf ein paar lumpige Effekte und einige grauenhafte Zwischenmelodien.

Ja, die Helden sind von derart robuster Natur, daß man sich das Aufsammeln von Zusatzenergie (Batterien) und weiteren Smartbombs fast sparen kann - dank der fünf Continues hat auch der schwachbrüstigste Alienjäger schon bald das ganze Spiel gesehen! Und allzuviel gibt es da nicht zu sehen: Die Grafik macht zwar zunächst einen hübschen Eindruck, jedoch ruckelt das Scrolling, es fehlen die lustigen Gags des Automaten, und die Animationen köcheln auf Sparflamme. Von der krächzenden Musik und den biederen FX ganz zu schweigen. Daß man im Gegensatz zum Mega Drive die abschließende Leistungsbeurteilung vor einer Alien-Jury nicht vergessen hat, ist zwar so originalgetreu wie lustig, kann aber aus Alienstorm auch kein gutes Game mehr machen - wer hier knapp hundert Steine investiert hat, hat sein Geld wortwörtlich in den Wind geschossen.

Unfortunately, the bonus rounds are constantly interrupted by the game. It is not worth enduring such agonizing tedium for a mere two minutes of gun-blazing mayhem. Alien Storm is a fresh opportunity, thoughtlessly cast into the wide Sargasso sea of generic Genesis games.

Det här spelet är mycket dålig kopia av Double Dragon, spelet där du går omkring i en storstad och pucklar på värstingar av alla de slag. Det finns bara tre skillnader. För det första pucklar du nu på utomjordingar istället, det andra är att det finns affärer man går in i och skjuter vilt omkring sig eftersom det finns utomjordingar där med, för det tredje slåss man inte med nävarna utan använder skjutvapen.

Alien Storm is a weak side-scrolling fighter. One or two players can choose between a man, woman, or robot fighter. The robot looks a little like Ultraman. You battle all sorts of weird alien creatures that have invaded Earth. Unfortunately, your weapons are all short range (besides the "special" attack, which clears the screen). There are some running and jumping moves, but these are purely evasive. Frying aliens gets old in a hurry. The only saving grace is the occasional bonus stages where you shoot aliens crawling around a convenience store. This stage gives you an excuse to blow up every item on every shelf. Alien Storm's graphics are nothing special and the sound is lousy. With its repetitive, mind-numbing action, this game can't be recommended.