Monday, 25 July 2011

Alien Breed II

Amiga 1200, Alien Breed II (1993) game

I played this game years ago, back in the 90s when the Amiga was my only non-portable gaming machine, and in recent months, even the last year or two, I've gone back to some of old Amiga games to try and complete them. Last time round I was much younger and less experienced, but this time I still found the game fairly difficult, and I was playing on the 'Easy' setting since there is no middle value which is what I often prefer to start on. In the 'old days' I got to the second tunnel area where you have to dash through a narrow corridor which is a little bit maze-like as you have to choose the right way to go so as not to use up too many keys. The panic of the red security lights blaring, the countdown, and the pressure meant I never got past this before, mainly because there are only two points you can restart from where you're given a code to type in upon reaching the end of four or five levels. This tunnel was just before the second and final restart position and I didn't have the patience to keep playing the same levels over and over back then.

For some reason, perhaps because I was using a CD32 game pad this time rather than a bulky and cumbersome joystick (those were the days!), I found the game somewhat easier, and soon got through the levels and further than I had ever been before. The last few levels were tricky, the aliens a bit tougher, as you'd expect, but once I realised there was no need to hoard my credits, I bought the best weaponry, used up keys with abandon, and bought a first aid kit whenever my health got low - it was simply a case of learning the layout and where to go. Level 17, the last, was a bit disappointing, but that's often the way, even with newer games - it was a far less inspiring one way corridor with swarms of aliens coming for you. The trick was to move slowly and fire off homing missiles constantly and on my third attempt I reached the end-of-game nasty. I beat it on my first meeting without trouble and a short animated sequence of a rescue ship flying off into the clouds played, with a message from the creators of the game.

In terms of weaponry there were several options, my favourite when I first played, and now, being the 'Rebounder' which fired crescent-shaped ammo which would bounce off any walls and create a useful extension of the area you were firing in. The trouble with the game was that you couldn't turn without moving forward, so if an alien was approaching from behind you had to run into it to turn and fire. With the 'Rebounder' you could run away and allow the ricochets to do the damage. The challenge was in spending enough time collecting first aid kits, keys, credits (100 for the dull-coloured ones, 1000 for gold ones), and ammo, but not exploring too much so that these supplies were depleted by the constantly re-spawning alien scum. Aliens didn't vary that much, some were tougher and could take more hits, other, spidery ones were weak, but scuttled around very fast, and the best tactic, I found, was simply firing off rebounders all over the place. That only worked in the closed off corridors of the internal facility. In the few levels with wide open spaces homing missiles were more effective.

The game was a bit pointless in some ways. You go deeper and deeper into this facility until you come out the other side and have another, short level on the Ground, a message telling you you've been through the facility and there was nothing there. While it's nice to find your high-powered weapons make you more than a match for the large helicopters, it makes you wonder why you couldn't have found this other tunnel in the first place and saved a lot of bother to hunt down the alien's hideout. Plot and character weren't as important in those days, especially in a shoot-'em-up, plus there would have been no game if you didn't go round all those levels! Most weren't very varied, but I liked the ones set in the living area, with swimming pools and offices, and the level towards the end where you find yourself without the protection of walls, and at a disadvantage with all these security cannons around and the floor is full of pits and troughs to impede progress. It gives some variety having to take on the big tech thing in the centre. They did half-heartedly try to add in some other tasks, like collecting four orbs or walking across four pads, but the 'puzzles' are very undemanding, and it's purely down to the fight to stay living that makes it a challenging game.

I never really explored the two-player option back in the day and I didn't bother this time. The score can be saved, but you have to copy it to disk which is too much trouble for a fast-paced shooting game. The artwork and music weren't bad for the time, and I do love pixellated design. As a nostalgic step back into a tougher time of games-playing, 'Alien Breed II' isn't bad. Will I go back and try and conquer it on 'Hard'? I don't know, possibly. I'm not in a big hurry to slot the 3.5 inch disks in again, so that probably says something about the game, but it was certainly not a waste of time. The difficulty curve is uneven. It gets quite difficult then in the last two or three levels it becomes easier again, or perhaps that was just me improving! Worth experiencing, especially if you remember it from playing in the 90s, but lacking depth and the satisfaction necessary to keep going back except for the hardcore feeling of being a top gamer.

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