.. ■■■ ■ ■ ■■■■ ! ■ ■ ■ A ■■ lrtr.. ■■■ lit. ■ ■ ■ •• ■ ••••••• •■ ••••• •• THE ll1AG 'IS '._.f .,l. .~ ' ""&; ✓· ~• ' .. .. Croc 2 (8/1 O) How much? £29.99 Who publishes it? Fox Interactive How many players? One What kit wort<s? - ' Dual Shock, Memory Card , ..... What's the webstte? . 11' space no www.foxinteraclive.com ohe can ·hear ....... ................ ................................ .. ................. .. ..,,... ......... ... ..,, ..,,... ............... ..................... .. ... ... ... ...... .......... ..,, ..... ..,, .... ...... ..... ...... .......... .........,, . ........ ,, . GORE Being based on a horTOr-stroke-sci-fi film, Alien Resunection is packed with corpses in various stages of mutilation. Some have had their chest's explored by larval aliens while others have been cut In half by doors. verybody and their mother has seen, or knows of, the Alien films. If by some chance you've spent the last 15 years lockedE in an airtight capsule which had been jettisoned into space, we'll let you off but otherwise you'll be pretty familiar with the whole concept. Such was the first film's pcpularity that The first film (/1/ien 1979) introduced us to those suits in Hollywood decideo that a secuel probably two of the most lasting icons of would be in order. To say that Aliens (1989) recent history; the heroine Ripley and the was made on a small budget is a bit of an epcnymous alien itself. This wasn't your understatement. The loose change down the common or garden variety of big-headeo, back of Tom Cruise's sofa would probably X-Rles grey dwarf with no hair. No, the alien have paid for the film twice over. However, we're talking about is an eight-foot monstrosity none other than James Cameron (he of which dripped 'Mth slime continuously and had Tltantic fame) was brought in to direct and he a taste for dismembering hapless spacemen was so successful that many film-goers at the drop of a spacesuit helmet. everywhere are of the opinion that GREATMOMENT If you're impregnated by a facehugger you have to search for an Autodoc to remove it. You are then treated to a great­ looking sequence as the Autodoc does its work. If you can't find an autodoc, the baby alien will burst out of your chest! .......... ........ ...• ••,.. ........... • ••• • •• . ......• ....... ... ....,.,.. A,,•• .......... • •,...,.. • Argonaut and Fox Interactive has decided you are traipsing around the gargantuan that the fourth film is ripe for the picl<ng, spaceship Auriga in your efforts to escape rt CRATE OF artistically speall<ng, and that is where we now and its murderous invasion. find this reviewer, trembling at his desk despite While we're on the subject of lighting, we'd rt oong the middle of day and surrounded by better mention one of the most important the rest of the POAm team. You see, the features of the game. No one likes the darik, success of the Alien ideology comes down to not really (unless you happen to be a pasty one thing; trouser-filling, excruciating tension. goth). As a result, AR keeps to rts scary brief These aliens are fast, devious buggers that and contains more badly-lit or pitch-black hide in the shadows and, in the best traditions areas than your average seedy nightclub. of scary movies, jump out at you at the most Meandering down these dark corridors isn't unexpected times mall<ng you shout a creative entirely fair so, once you find it, a flash light mix of expletives and simultaneously lose goes some way towards helping you nervously control of your bodily functions. examine every nook and cranny. To your dismay you'll discover two things ABOUT TIME about the flashlight very quickly. Rather than a Argonaut first toyed wrth mall<ng Alien penetrating beam to poke around in the Resurrection (or AR, as its friends like to call rt) shadows wrth, rt only illuminates the area a third-person shoot 'em up. Indeed, many of immediately around you. Worse still, rt has a POAm's more established readers will time limrt as to how long you can use rt before remember AR first mall<ng an appearance it needs to be recharged which can be fun almost two years ago. A lot has changed since when you're crawling down an air vent only to then. Argonaut has dumped the third-person have your one source of comfort snufled out, perspective in favour of a far more leaving you in inky dankness. atmospheric first-person viewpoint. .AJso, the level of shooting action has been tuned down ALONE IN THE DARK and there is now a heavy emphasis on Of course, sight is only one of the senses that the second film was better than the first. exploration. It makes sense because non-stop can be twisted and tormented for effect. To carry on tradition, two other fi lms have gunplay is hardly in-keeping with the tension Sound and the effective use of the many since been made. The third, Alien 3 (1993), building suspense of the films. With this in sound effects in AR is paramount to increasing was a rancid affair marred by a mind, Argonaut has gone on to create what your heart rate. There's no music whatsoever poor plot and the fourth film, we firmly believe is the scariest game you will in AR once you've made it past the menu Alien Resurrection (1998), was ever play on your PlayStation. screen. Instead you'll be treated to a only slightly better. The Those clever bods have engineered the meticulously-worked soundtrack of creaks and responsibility for rescuing very last ounce of the PlayStation's resources groans as you navigate your way around the what remains of the Alien to achieve this mighty accolade. The graphics franchise's pride has fallen are phenomenal. Every square inch of every on the gaming world. level has been meticulously designed with jaw­ We've alreacly seen dropping precision. The first room you find one Alien game on yourse~ in shows off their hard work and as the PlayStation you become accustomed to the controls you 1/',/ien Trilogy) and can't help but survey your environment with while widely total admiration. liked The attention to detail spills over and above originally, it the call of duty. Jets of realistic looking steam now looks pour forth from fractured pipes, electricity particularly leaps from surface to surface with uncanny dated. elegance and spot-lighting effects really reinforce the idea that 48 POWER THE Pl.A'~STATIDN !TlfiG ...........• ••,.. • .•••....... • •• . ........... ........... .... ....... ......... ,.. ,.............. ..,...,.. dingy levels. Every now and then the screams actions neec to be performed in order to of a crew member can be heard echoing along progress further into the ganne. the long corridors as they meet a grisly end. Adding further authenticity to the More unsettling still is the hiss and breathing of proceedings are the many incidental sound aliens at sporadic moments making you panic effects. Argonaut has had full access to the and spin around trying to locate the source. Fox Studios sound effects department and rt's Sometimes you are lucky and the sound is just made full use of rt. If you've watched the films for effect. Sometimes you 're not so lucky. half as much us in the PONER office, then every Just like the film, the ever present voice of bleep and buzz is very fanniliar. The sound of Father, the ship's computer, booms out reports the Pulse rifle firing is like hearing an old of various failing systems on the ailing Auriga. friend's voice, while you greet the eerie bleep Father also helps you solve some of the of the motion tracker as you would your pet physical puzzles by alerting you to what pitbull terrier: with uneasy affection. ENLIGHTENING Your flashlight isn't really a flashlight. It's more of a flare which has a limited lifespan and has to recharge. This means you have to suffer periods of darkness as you feverishly wait for it to recharge. 50 POWER THE PLA'JSTATION ff!r!•~ ■■■ lo.. ■■■■ A ■■ lo.. ■ ■ ■■■ lo.. ■■■ lo.. ■■■■ A■■ lo.. ■■■ ■ A ■■ lo.. ■ ■ .A ■■ ..lo.. ■ ..■■■■■■ . .. .■ . ..,, . .. ..,, ..,, . ........ ..... .... .. ... ... ~--... .... ~ ... ... .. .. -~ ~ ~ ~ ~ -~ . ..-~········· .. ~- . .~... ..... .. ..,, .. ..,, . ..... ~........ ... ,, . ... .. ..,, . ~-. 'loading times' while you wait for the next area to cram into the PlayStation's overworked brain. MARKED DEATH The human marines are out to get you too because you'll spend your time playing as either Ripley {who's half-Alien) or one of the crew of the Betty (who all As we mentioned before, AR is not happen to be outlaws}. strictly a shoot-'em-up. The onus is most definitely on exploration in a kind of Resident Evil Survivor kind Keeping you of mould. Keycards have to be on edge even found to unlock doors, equipment more, is the fact has to be located in hiding places that you really don't and new and more powerful weapons know which direction have to be grabbed as you wend your way the nasties are going to through the Auriga spacecraft. come from. The The slower pace suits the rather clumsy facehuggers can control method because in the heat of scamper from any battle, trying to level your weapon small crevice while at an onrushing Alien is almost aliens run along impossible. Argonaut has designed the ceiling and the controls so that your left walls dropping on analogue stick is for movement you before you know while the right stick is for it. looking around. R1 seNes as However, it's when your fire button and other facing the aliens in these buttons all have a situations that one of the different function . You flaws in the game is will learn how to use highlighted. Try as you might, even with a the control method huge weapon, you are completely unable to (or you can kill any alien not on the floor.