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Level five
The movie, is still one of the best sci-fi films. This is the conversion of the second film sequel!
Guide Ripley through the penal colony. Rescue the prisoners from the Aliens.
The relative tranquility of planet FIORINA 161 is thrown into a ruck when the sole survivor of the space craft, Sulaco, is rescued from deep space. Her name is Ripley. Not that any of the problems now facing FIORINA are entirely her fault. How was she to know that the terror from which she thought she'd escaped had hitched a lift — namely an Alien. However, only she has the knowledge to bring things back to normal! Ironically the biggest problem the colonists face at first is their disbelief of Ripley's horrifying stories; her tales of stomach-bursting, man-eating, acid-bleeding Aliens sound like the ramblings of a mad woman.
After a little gentle persuasion — the Alien crashing through the common room ceiling and dutifully slaughtering the prison warden — the colonists agree that there is a problem, but not before many of them are kidnapped and cocooned by the industrious invader. It is now Ripley's responsibility to save those inmates from certain death, if not a gut wrenching stomach ache at the very least..
As if there isn't enough on Ripley's back already, there is also a time limit that dictates the speed with which she rescues all the captives in each level. Collect them all to stop the Aliens breeding!
Though there is a distinct lack of destructive hardware in evidence in the film, Alien 3 the game gives Ripley the chance to let rip with a selection of four weapons. Mind you, there is just the one Alien creature in the film whereas the game is swarming with the scum!
n order to succeed in her brave rescue bid and rid the planet of Aliens, Ripley must become adept at some tunnel testing-type activities. The penal colony is linked by a network of air vents and other such ducts. Ripley never knows what to expect when she ventures in. Unfortunately, especially in the later levels, these perilous pipes are often the only means to the successful rescue of all the colonists.
When confronted by the sprawling labyrinth of corridors and passageways awash with suspect drops and not-so-lucky ladders any rescue attempt seems close to the impossible. This is why the resourceful Ripley carries with her a portable radar screen. The locations of all the prisoners show up on this screen but this doesn't make the tosk any easier. Ripley is still required to find the quickest, safest route to their freedom.
This Game Gear version has just about every feature of the 16-bit original. The scrolling is mega-smooth and the sprites and backdrops are very atmospheric. There are a few faults that did annoy me — sometimes those Aliens move just too fast, but otherwise I was very impressed with. The ultimate platform/shoot 'em up for the Game Gear,
It's astonishing how close this version of the Megadrive hit is to the original. The gameplay is almost identical, the differences are so slight they are hardly worth mentioning, and the action remains exactly the same. Its success lies in the way that a player often falls just short of the mark but never feels cheated. Realising mistakes is far more rewarding than the usual pattern, following antics of lesser shootem-ups. Ripley doesn't move as well as in the 16-bit version but this minor niggle. Each of the Aliens are portrayed magnificently. Another feature in its favour is the necessity to work Ripley's strategy out in advance because it's impossible for her to succeed without due care and attention. If you're looking for a long-lasting, high class challenge with lots of adrenalin-pumping action reach for this.
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