A Week of Non-ALIEN Games

The cynic might look at Alien Storm for the Sega Genesis and dismiss it as nothing more than a Golden Axe clone. Both games feature three playable characters, both have identical control schemes and both feature characters beating the stuffing out of fictional bad guys. But despite its similarities, Alien Storm is more than a re-skinned version of Golden Axe. Although short, this 1991 Genesis ends up being a blast both with a friend and by yourself.

Set in the near future, Alien Storm is your typical story of humans versus aliens. You play one of three characters (a man, a woman and a robot), each tasked with saving innocent humans from an extraterrestrial attack. This takes you through small towns, super markets, office buildings and eventually into the heart of the alien ship. Along the way you punch, kick and shoot whatever bad guy gets close. [READ MORE]

There was a moment in the eighth season of 24 where I started to question Jack Bauer's luck. Here's a guy who, in the course of only a few years, survived several nuclear strikes, becomes a drug addict, has to rescue his daughter multiple times, gets shot on multiple occasions and thwarts several assassinations on a rogues gallery of politicians. He's lost friends, marriages, colleagues and more, all while fighting for what he thought was right. After all this strife, I started to wonder if Jack Bauer was the unluckiest man on Earth.

Alien Syndrome is a lot like 24. You play a Jack Bauer-like figure (or, if you prefer, a Jane Bauer-like figure) who is having the worst day of his life. His space stations has been invaded by aliens and it's up to our heroes to rescue all of the hostages and escape, all before the timer counts down to zero. And then, just like in the famous Fox TV show, we are forced to do it all over again. [READ MORE]

This year NBC spent more than a billion dollars securing the rights to the 2012 London Summer Games. Although that's a new record for money spent on licensing the Olympics, ratings show that fewer people are engaged with the bi-annual competition. That makes me wonder how expensive the Olympics will be in the summer of 2044. Will there still be anybody around to watch the Olympics?

Alien Olympics 2044 AD doesn't care about NBC's licensing fees, it just wants to deliver a fun mini-game collection featuring a bunch of cartoon aliens. It mostly succeeds, offering fifteen inspired events and a number of multiplayer options. Even though the game is derivative of a dozen other Olympics-based games (both official and not), the sense of humor and silly games are charming enough to make up for some questionable design decisions. [READ MORE]

Chest bursting, face hugging and acid blood. Too bad this Alien game has nothing to do with Ridley Scott's 1979 masterpiece of the same name. Instead of playing a tough female character fighting the baddest aliens in the solar system, you pilot a spaceship in what can only be described as a slightly broken R-Type rip-off. In space nobody can see me roll my eyes.

Have you played a video game in the last thirty years, then chances are good that you know what to expect from Alien. This is a generic 2D shoot-em-up, in which the player takes control of a spaceship and shoots down formations of alien crafts. Along the way you pick up power-ups and fight bosses. This is a middling product that doesn't aspire to be more than a simple Gradius clone. [READ MORE]

There was a moment in the tenth level when I had to put my Genesis controller down and take a break. It's not because I wasn't having a good time, but rather the fact that Alien Soldier is simply too damn exciting. Between the non-stop enemies and bosses, the game is tiring. It felt like I played through a dozen average 16-bit shoot-em-ups in the time it took me to go through these ten stages. And then I realized, I still have another fifteen levels of this madness to overcome.

Released in Europe and Japan in 1995, Alien Soldier was Treasures final game for the Sega Mega Drive (our Genesis). It's as if the makers of Gunstar Heroes decided to put all of their leftover ideas into one of the most explosive games you'll ever play. This isn't your typical shooter; it's a series of boss battles strung together by the thinnest of level design. This is Treasure testing your ability to withstand 25 of the biggest, baddest bosses ever to hit Sega's 16 bitter. [READ MORE]