Alien Syndrome

The Good
Generally, unlicensed titles on the NES were nothing to write home about. But Alien Syndrome is a shining exception. I had a great time blasting serious alien butt with a friend in 2-player cooperative mode. Then there was the competition for the bizarre weapons. Sure, there was the standard flamethrower. Perhaps my favorite was the gun that shot rings-- I always called it the Froot Loops gun, in honor of the popular breakfast cereal.

I liked the innovation that came at each level in this game. Every level had a different design and distinctly different enemies. Though this does make you wonder how it is that all of these disparate alien species decided to gang up on mankind all at once.

The Bad
The aliens in level 4 seemed awfully familiar-- a lot like the aliens from the Alien movie franchise. Honestly, is it that hard to develop some new shapes that aliens can possibly take? The designers came up a some novel alien design in level 3, for example-- amorphous green blobs.

The Bottom Line
You get to play no-nonsense space toughies with an impressive arsenal, annihilating alien species for the sheer fun of it while trying to rescue your captured comrades.