Area 51

The grainy illustrated graphics underuse the Saturn's abilities, but the chunky gore that accompanies every shot adds to the fun. Repetitive sounds will also disappoint gamers. Area 51's sizzling action easily overcomes it's sizable flaw. It's a must for die-hard shooters and a superb rental for everyone else.

Overall, this game is extremely fun to play and even better when played with another person. Plenty of secret rooms, pathways, and hidden power-ups add to the depth and replay value. Simply put, blowing away some alien scum is always enjoyable.

If you want a pure action title, where only the most reptilian, instinctive portions of your brain will be used, then Area 51 may be what you've been looking for. If you are looking to have a little more control over your movement and discovery of the environment, then maybe not. All in all, Area 51 is successful at what it sets out to be: an arcade shooting game presented on the PC platform. And although I believe that some concessions/modifications should have been made in order for this to become a strong PC title, Area 51 is still strong enough as a pure action vehicle to earn a score of 77 out of 100. With a little added value through multiplayer options or a greater depth/breadth of level building, that score could have easily gone higher.

Area 51 is fun for one player, but the two-player simultaneous action is even better. There's also a nice option that lets you start the game halfway though. Unfortunately, since Area 51 is an older game, it does not support Namco's Guncon controller. For similar shooting action, see Maximum Force.

Über Sinn und Unsinn von Spielen wie Virtua Cop mag man streiten, der Spaßfaktor ist jedenfalls enorm. So simpel das Eliminieren der Gegner auch ist, so motivierend ist es, da Geheimräume und neue Waffen vom Spieler gefunden werden wollen. Sind alle Levels geschafft, bleibt noch der Mehrspieler-Modus, der immer wieder für ein schnelles Match zwischendurch gut ist. Kritik muß dennoch sein: es ist zwar löblich, daß die atmospährischen Videos auch von DoubleSpeed-CD-ROMs laufen, aber die arg komprimierte und enorm blutrünstige VGA-Grafik ist, verglichen mit den Hi-Res-Animationen von Virtua Cop, etwas mager. Auch der Sound hätte etwas fetzige Musik und mehr Sprachausgabe vertragen können.

If the guided-movement shoot-em-up action of Virtua Cop was to mesh with the undead inhabitants of Corpse Killer (one of many in a long line of Sega CD tragedies from Digital Pictures), the result would be something akin to Area 51, the Midway coin-op smash now available on the Saturn. The storyline is simple enough: Area 51, the top secret military facility 90 miles north of Las Vegas that supposedly conducted biological testing and experiments on alien visitors, has been overrun with mutating alien creatures. The job is to infiltrate the base and wipe out anything that isn't human.

La Zone 51 fait saliver tous les ufologues amateurs ainsi que les abonnés à la revue "Mystères". L'occasion vous est donnée d'aller voir sur place que tout y est normal. A part quelques virus étranges et l'un ou l'autre mutant assoiffé de sang.

The Virtua Cop games have nothing to fear from Area 51. Despite the occasional ride in a jeep or a helicopter, the shooting action never got me all that excited. There's not enough variety in the enemies or weapons power-ups, either. If you were really into the arcade game, however, Area 51 won't disappoint you. Although the prerendered graphics - which are mostly FMV sequences - are a little grainy, they're still pretty good. And the levels pack all the secret rooms of the arcade version, too (but the game's still too short). I only wish those STAAR Team members would help me out instead of getting in the way all the time!

Vad är då sensmoralen av spelet? Nästa gång ET säger att han vill ha tillbaka sitt rymdskepp, ge tillbaka det med en gång så slipper vi fåniga spel av den här typen.

Auch die PC-Version hat anfangs ihren Reiz. Die Grafiken sind ganz brauchbar, und bei der Animation von Zombies kann man ohnehin fast nichts falsch machen. Der rasante Spielfluß hält den Spieler eine zeitlang in Atem, ist aber zu simpel gestrickt, um auf Dauer zu fesseln.

Every once in a while, a company releases a computer game that sets new standards for the industry - offering outstanding graphics, stunning sound, and truly addictive gameplay. Area 51 is not that game. A repetitive, derivative shooter that offers nothing in the way of original features, Area 51 is inferior to many of its predecessors. For fans of the genre, Duke Nukem 3D, Quake, and even Doom are far better choices.

This game brings absolutely nothing new to the genre and generally looks like crap. It is blessed by Revolution X's existence in that because of Aerosmith's shooter, Area 51 is no where near the worst shooter on the system. It is mediocre for a light gun shooter, but even worse when compared to everything else. Buy only if you demand more shooter in your life.