PC CD-Rom
Minimum system requirements: 486DX2/66mhz, 8MB RAM; 2MB hard disk space; DOS 6.0 or Windows 95; Double-speed CD-Rom drive; SVGA
£39.99
MAN has successfully colonised space. The one organisation to which all humans belong is called The Company. All material needs are created by it, all human activity is subordinated to it, even the armed forces are privatised and sworn to uphold its interests.
So far, humanity has survived intact in this era of inter-planetary conquest - but a host of parasitic alien seeds threaten to destroy this harmony. The Company, however, wishes to keep this alien spawn alive for use as a secret weapon.
You are lieutenant Ripley, a staff alien-stomper, and your fellow marines have just been wiped out. You are a million miles from home on planet colony LV426 which is being threatened by these vicious species, which are spawning new generations at an alarming rate. The only way to stop this outbreak is to get to the mother of them all - the Queen - and destroy it.
This storyline is the backdrop for what is basically another Doom clone and if it wasn't for its connections with the brilliant film it probably wouldn't generate as much interest as it does. Doom-meets-Alien certainly sounds promising.
Initially Alien Trilogy sends out the wrong signals, with its below par graphics. For example the image of your hand holding the gun looks not unlike that in Wolf 3D which, as everybody knows, was released not long after the PC was invented.
But after your first encounter with some of the less-than-friendly extraterrestrials which are the staple diet in this game (you also have to destroy some of The Company's soldiers), you can begin to ignore its limitations and be subtly drawn into its nightmarish world.
Alien Trilogy, as the name suggests, is broken in to three parts. There are over 30 levels to complete, interspersed with some bonus-like areas. Just as in Doom there are several weapons to defend yourself with (you start off with the standard 9mm pistol) and as you explore the colony you can pick up a host of power-ups - armour, acid protection, medikits, night vision goggles, automapper etc.
One novel feature is your on-screen radar. This alerts you of upcoming dangers by indicating the whereabouts of nearby aliens. While you will still be the victim of an ambush now and again, it does nonetheless help.
Alien Trilogy is no Doom but it is entertaining, and excellent background music gives the game a taste of the atmosphere created in the film. Despite any good references given here it doesn't change the fact that there is very little to get excited about and it certainly won't win any awards for originality. On the plus side is the fact that Alien Trilogy doesn't need one of today's high-spec machines to run on.
Graphics: 60%
Sound: 90%
Gameplay: 75%