Commander Keen: Aliens Ate My Babysitter!

aka: Commander Keen in "Aliens ate my Babysitter!"
Moby ID: 1581

Description official descriptions

Commander Keen 6: Aliens Ate My Baby Sitter! is a platform game, the sixth in the Commander Keen series as a whole.

Molly, the babysitter of Billy "Commander Keen" Blaze (an eight-year-old genius) has been kidnapped by the Bloogs from the planet Fribbulus Xax, for purely gastronomical purposes. Keen must set out to Fribbulus Xax to save her!

The game begins with a top-down map of the Fribbulus Xax. This is the level select screen, where Billy can walk around and the player can choose the next level they want to enter; however, some places on the map require the player to find specific items (such as a grappling hook) to get through. On each level, Billy has to make his way to the exit. Once a level is completed, Billy ends up back on the overhead map.

The levels are full of enemies, including the club-wielding Blooguards, the Flects which can reflect Billy's shots with their teeth, and Nospikes which charge at him in hopes of impaling him. There are also many deadly hazards. If Billy gets shot or touched by an enemy, or falls into a pit or touches something hazardous, he dies and loses one life.

Thankfully, Billy can stun most enemies with his raygun. He also carries a pogo stick which allows him to jump very high. Other items to find include: ammo, gems that are needed to open locked doors, bonus items which give score, bird-like "Vivas" (100 of them give an extra life) and the rare Queen Viva which gives an extra life.

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Credits (DOS version)

7 People

Programming
Graphics / Artwork
Music
Creative Director
Level Design
Sound
Cover Illustration

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 68% (based on 2 ratings)

Players

Average score: 3.9 out of 5 (based on 62 ratings with 5 reviews)

An excellent finale to the Keen series

The Good
Billy Blaze is a naughty boy. He took advantage of his recent trips around the universe when his parents were at work, making sure he got back home before dinner. But one day, Billy arrived too little, too late, and he was disciplined for it. To make sure this doesn’t happen again, he is introduced to Molly, his new babysitter who happens to share a connection with his arch-nemesis Mortimer McMire. While Billy is not watching, she is kidnapped and taken to Fibbulus Xax where the Bloogs are planning to make a meal out of her. So, once again, Billy is forced to transform into Commander Keen and fly to the planet to rescue her.

Aliens At My Babysitter! is the sixth and final Keen game (for MS-DOS, at least). Unlike its predecessors, it is a standalone game not part of any trilogy. Like the others, the player is presented with an overhead view of the planet, going from level to level. This is similar to the Mario series from game number three onwards, except that you are not allowed to re-enter levels. When it comes to world maps, Fibbulus Xax is superior than the Shadowlands and the Omegamatic combined. A rocket takes you to an area with a building where Molly is held, and if you grab onto the satellite, it will take you to a secret level. The levels are delivered in a side-on view, and the first of these is “Bloogwaters Crossing” where you are greeted with some feel-good music and a lovely view of pink canyons and a running waterfall.

I like how the front cover is designed, with a life-like Commander Keen as well as the two planets being the most prominent feature. The battle between Keen and the Bloog can be seen in the background, and the Bloog looks impressive. The CK logo at the top left bears a striking resemblance to one of the Doctor Who logos from the Seventies; this is the first and last time it was used. The back has a well-written description of the game and three screenshots showing the impressive graphics.

Most of the levels end when you go past a spinning exit sign, but some of them require you to retrieve three items so that you can reach your final destination. These are a rope and grappling hook, rocket pass, and the "Stupendous Sandwich of Chungella IV". These items are usually located near the uppermost areas of three of the levels, which can be reached by moving platforms. Upon getting the sandwich, what Keen says in the dialog box is a Monkey Island reference.

As usual, Keen is equipped with a pogo stick he got from the very start of the first episode, enabling him to reach platforms that he can't normally get to on foot. There are also puzzles to solve in some levels. In my opinion, most of them require figuring out which of the switches control which moving platform. (It is usually written on a sign nearby.)

The enemies look colorful, with green Bloogs just going around with their tongues hanging out. Their clones carry clubs that make Keen fall down when they slam it on the ground. My favorite creature is the little yellow men that fly their spaceship. When Keen manages to destroy it with his raygun, they fall to the ground and follow Keen whenever he goes. You have the option of letting him follow you or squash him with your pogo stick, which, by the way, makes a nice squishing sound. Some enemies can help out as well, such as the Blooglets, who spit out gems needed to unlock passages throughout the level. Also, Keen can ride on a Gik's back as it makes its way across acid pools and other hazards.

I enjoyed listening to the music in the game, especially the last track, where Keen is exploring. It is quite dark and it is a precursor to the type of music you can hear in Wolfenstein 3-D. If you listen to this track, you will hear some morse code, which is similar to Wolf3D's E3M1. When Keen enters or exits each level, you hear a metallic version of the same song in Keen 4. As far as sound effects go, they are great and also on par with the fourth game. The control system is the same as the last two games: Control to jump, Space to fire, and Alt to use your pogo stick.

Keen 6 underwent some revisions, mostly to fix bugs that were found in previous versions. The most common one I noticed - and something I complained about in a previous review of the game - was the background music for the Guard Posts suddenly cutting off. If you keep playing without any music, the sound will eventually become corrupted. The most famous bug is Molly doing a runner through four locked doors. Version 1.5 was the last revision and it fixed most of these bugs.

The Bad
One of the joys in the Keen series is reading the on-line help in episodes four and five. I enjoyed reading what you have to do and the things you expect in each of the level. They were completely laid out with pictures accompanying the text. Unfortunately, this episode lacks this.

The Bottom Line
In my opinion, Keen 6 is much better than the first five. You get to explore a planet, and even go off it. The number of stages is higher than any previous Keen game. There are some great music tracks and sound effects, and the graphics are good, especially when there are a few animations that are part of the background.

It is disappointing to see that this is the last game in the CK series. According to the ending to episode five, the episode, with the title of "The Universe is Toast!”, would have seen Keen and Mortimer McMire (the nemesis of episode three) battling for the universe. Fans were waiting throughout the Nineties for this episode to be released to the public. Unfortunately, having the player kill four Commander Keens in a secret level of DOOM II sent the message that id has shredded their kiddy image to make way for a world of pain.

DOS · by Katakis | ă‚«ă‚żă‚­ă‚ą (43092) · 2022

The latest and greatest of the series.

The Good
This was the first CK game sold purely as retail product, and after it's predecessors, I knew I was onto a good thing. I paid my ÂŁ20 with glee, and ripped off the shiny wrapping to reveal two 720k floppy disks. Wow! This was going to be huge....

Funny how times change. These days we're puzzled when a game fits onto a single CD.

As for CK6, well... it uses the same engine as CK4 and CK5, which means you get cute graphics, cute sounds and a slick control system. An excellent story-line keeps the game fresh and alive when jumping around becomes tired. By 1991, this game series was starting to look a little dated, but it is none-the-less the best platform game series the PC had seen.

The Bad
I'm not really a big platform games fan, but 9 years ago, any decent looking PC games was a must play. There's not really anything wrong with this game, and it still looks remarkably good to my eyes, but I need far more from my games these days.

The Bottom Line
The best platform game on the PC ever. Lots of fun from when CPU speeds were measured in double figures. I guess it won't appeal to the younger generation, but for us old-timers it's a glimpse back to simpler times.

DOS · by Steve Hall (329) · 2000

Best of ALL of the Commander Keen games

The Good
I loved the entire game. The story-line was great, because it was something you might find in a Saturday morning cartoon. The graphics were incredible for 16 colors. They looked like something out of a cartoon, which made the whole game more fun. I liked the controls because of their simplicity. Commander Keen uses his pogo stick to get to places he can't normally jump to (even though I've never seen anybody jump three times there own height). His gun isn't actually a gun, it freezes his enemies and they only unfreeze if it rains (which it never does on alien planets). This makes the game violent and blood free, which means kid-friendliness. The levels are not very hard, but not really easy.

The Bad
I can't really think of anything bad worth mentioning.

The Bottom Line
This game is , I think, the best Commander Keen game ever. It's the best example I know of a really good side-scrolling platform game. Unfortunately, it was released a long time ago, and can't be found anywhere, since FormGen no longer exists. But you might be able to find it on eBay. If you like Commander Keen, play episode 6 in the series. If your new to Commander Keen, this is a great introduction. All in all, a superb game by me.

DOS · by Mullet of Death (592) · 2004

[ View all 5 player reviews ]

Trivia

Development

Even though this is the last game in the series, this was not the last one to be created. Commander Keen 5: The Armageddon Machine was created after Commander Keen 6: Aliens Ate My Baby Sitter! because the latter had to go to retail and that required lead time.

Distribution

In contrast to the former entries in the series, this game is commercial instead of shareware. FormGen convinced id to put copy protection in the game.

Planned trilogy

This game was planned to be the start of another trilogy and the ending leaves a remarkably large gap for a sequel(s). It even makes a promise for 'the biggest adventure yet' in Christmas '92. The crew then tripped on the distraction that changed the path of PC gaming, Wolfenstein 3D.

Information also contributed by Brolin Empey and John Romero

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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Terok Nor.

Additional contributors: Yeah No, Xantheous, Steve Hall, Frenkel, formercontrib, Patrick Bregger.

Game added June 10, 2000. Last modified March 23, 2024.