Alien au gratis

by ERIK LEIJON

Teamwork is all the rage right now. Blasting endless hordes of zombies in Left 4 Dead has given online gamers a taste for co-op, so now seems as good a time as any to revisit Alien Swarm (Steam/Valve)—formerly a mod for Unreal Tournament 2004 and now a free download on the Steam download service.

A third-person action shooter delivered from a top-down camera perspective, four marines must work together to resist an alien bug invasion in the not too distant future. As with Left 4 Dead, the bugs can pop out of any unassuming crevice, attacking in unpredictable and overwhelming waves. Each marine class has their own unique ability: the officer and special weapons classes handle the brunt of the alien-splattering offence, medics continually heal their partners and techs hack into computers.

There’s only one practice stage available for solo players, so going online either with friends or joining a public game is the only way to access all of Alien Swarm’s not-so-diverse missions. Joining or creating a public game takes longer than one might expect, but once four marines are navigating the game’s narrow tunnels—frantically welding doors shut or waiting for them to open—Alien Swarm quickly recalls some of the manic charm of Left 4 Dead (minus the never-ending challenges).

The final package does not reflect the nonexistent price tag, as the game’s dark military base run amok looks fantastic, especially the lighting and gunfire effects. Players need to track alien movement on their radars, since often the intruders will be emerging from pitch-black corners and numerous other vents or openings.

In an intentionally contradictory move, there’s a limited supply of ammunition available, meaning despite the abundance of tentacled targets, bullet conservation is an annoying must. There’s also friendly fire—somewhat of a no-no for this type of hectic co-op shooter—but, other than the odd awkward moment among teammates, isn’t too much of a bother.

Alien Swarm is no Left 4 Dead, but as a free download, it’s well worth the price.

Delay the Kraken!

Movie-to-game adaptations can never win. Release it in tandem with the movie and everyone automatically assumes it’s yet another inferior tie-in rushed to market, or delay it a few months and suffer the anonymity of being late to the party. The fate of the Clash of the Titans (X360, PS3/Warner Bros., Game Republic) video game was most likely sealed long before missing that crucial March deadline, but even Odysseus would have given up waiting until late July for this title’s release.

Visually, the sword slashing action game is about as appealing as watching Hephaestus gumming on wine leaves, while Perseus’s special weapon and soul-sucking abilities come with needlessly ill-suited names. It’s not a total dog, as the enemy lock-on ability works well and there is quite a selection of weapons to customize, but the ugly backgrounds and very poorly detailed minions of Hades don’t jibe with what presumably was a pretty decent looking movie. The biggest issue concerning the Clash of the Titans video game is that it already faces an insurmountable challenge in competing against vastly superior Greek brawler God of War III. And unlike David, this plucky upstart doesn’t stand a chance.

Two quick notes: iPhone users can now download gravitational puzzler Osmos for their pricey gizmo, and should do so. Also, a special congrats to former Ubisoft Montreal creative director Clint Hocking (of Splinter Cell, Far Cry 2 fame) on accepting a new post at LucasArts in San Francisco. The first gaming guy I ever interviewed for the Mirror way back when, Press Start Inc. is looking forward to his future projects.