Off the Shelf: Alien Syndrome

Sega's Alien Syndrome has arrived on the Wii in this remake for the new generation console. Take control of Aileen Harding, exterminate some alien vermin and save the colony! 

The adventure starts off inside a large cargo bay with plenty of things to shoot at and a wide area to explore in. This part of the game is a good start to get to know your character and a feel for the controls. As expected, the adventure unfolds as you progress. Your character will also develop in rank and weapon skills marking for new attributes and extra heavy duty hardware for your alien ker-splatting needs.

This RPG version of Alien Syndrome has a lot to offer on the menu including 110 monsters, 20 bosses (15 sub and 5 main), and up to 80 different weapons to splat them all with. There are 15 different levels also featuring side quests to beef up the length of gameplay. Aside from going it alone Alien Syndrome does offer 4 player alien blasting action too presenting some multiplayer shooting fun. 

Despite having previously said the game having a lot on offer there are aspects of this game that make it all seem like hard work and not the best of gaming experiences. The thing that bugged me most about Alien Syndrome was the fast revolving 'dizzy' camera. I think sharing the nunchuck for moving around on screen with the control stick and tilting the chuck left of right to spin the camera was a novel idea but does not come off too well, perhaps a bit sensitive at times. Graphically the game isn't anything special and nothing to write home about. Coupled with the dull looking characters and bland level design this game looks depressing. The other depressing aspect of the game I found was the strange mini games that involved mixing alien and human DNA whilst swatting evil bacteria to benefit your character speed, strength, attributes. Playing the mini games are worth it for the sake of making the character better but it is much more fun blowing up crates and collecting the power ups.

I never played the original Alien Syndrome back in the day but from what I understand there are elements from the original in this (such as the giant worms and other recognisable nasties) that would spark the interest of anyone that liked it. Considering there isn't that many action games on the wii including multiplayer shooters it may be worth a look but don't expect anything special. Don't play this for too long in single player or you might fall into a coma!

 -Ken Flatt 2/5