Retro Arcade Review: The Alien
The fangs of the metamorphosed alien still dripped with the blood of Commander Clark as Chief dropped the cage into the stern airlock. Quickly, Chief leaped from the compartment like a frightened child. "Jettison it!" he shouted, "What are you waiting for, man?" The corpse-white mask of fear on the engineer's face gave way to the purple visage of rage, as the passionate slay heard the reply. "Regulations strictly forbid the killing of alien life forms that can be handled by alternate means," responded the science officer.
"Sometimes, I think you're more a computer than a human," accused the chief. Just then, the sound of metal being torn apart was heard behind them and Chief never saw the scowl cross the android science officer's face at this uncomfortably accurate insult.
Sound familiar? Yes, Avalon Hill has recreated a nightmare similar to the one experienced in the SF/horror film, right down to the android crew member. The game, however, offers a more complex challenge, since it involves more than one kind of alien life (some benign), more personnel to deal with the problem and more than one of the hostile aliens (possibly 5 or 6) with which to cope. Each game turn consists of an interrupt phase (summary of basic game status); a non-crew movement phase (strategic movement by the computer); two action phases (tactical movement within a room, passage, or vent for both player and computer); and a movement phase (strategic movement by the player). The movement phase is accompanied by a map of the ship to aid in plotting the crew members' movement (+) and tracking the aliens' movement (-) over the ship's thirty rooms, passages and vents. The map is accompanied by two bookkeeping displays to aid in keeping track of action points expended and the location/status of crew and equipment.
The player's force consists of three character types: 1) officers, 2) scientists, and 3) engineers (each of which has particular value). The officers are in charge of the armoury and are the only ones who can engage the self-destruct mechanism. The scientists have the best chance of breaking the protection code on the computer's classified data file concerning alien life. If one of the scientists is the android, however, you will have the frustration of seeing "DATA PROTECTED" displayed on the screen ad nauseam. They are also the only ones who can lock aliens or animals in laboratory cages or who can take inventory.
The engineers are important because they are the only ones who can construct makeshift electric prods and flamethrowers. The game can be as unsettling as the plot for the movie. Just as the account which begins this article suggests, you can think things are under control and then have disaster strike. The first time I played the game, I had the alien encaged, anesthetized and flanked by two armed crew members. The alien broke out of the cage and escaped without as much as a chance for defensive fire. It is frustrating to have prepared for just such a contingency and have the advantage taken away from you. In some locations you can soften this blow by placing an armed party in the room or passageway adjacent to the compartment with the encaged and/or anesthetized alien. This is not always practical, since some locations offer several escape routes (such as the bridge or any passageway). Although this feature of the game could be defended as being like a "reaction phase" (similar to some rules for miniatures), it demands the use of strategies which do not actually make much sense.
A minor difficulty is encountered in the action phase displays. These are only text displays and sometimes have a tendency to give confusing information. If a character is located in a room with more than one object, it is often difficult to interpret what the character is actually carrying and what is simply present in the room. The matter is always cleared up during the crew movement phase, however, and rarely offers a problem in the flow of the game. "The Alien" is an interesting strategy game which will take many hours of gaming to master. Variables in number and locations of aliens, rate of metamorphosis, and identity (or existence) of the android crew member offer the possibility of an above-average shelf life.
Questions and Answers
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