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I think it’s high time that I add a different variant to this year’s Octoberween Gaming Titles for this year. We’ve focused on horror of the earthly nature so why don’t we instead look up to the darkness that is outer space. We have not known many Halloween or horror based games that have settings in the cold, unforgiving darkness that is deep space. Though there have been some PC titles that have explored this, there haven’t been that many successful ones on consoles. But there have been attempts. Some simple, some elaborate. Most are moderately successful. The game that is my #06 this year kind of falls between the simplistic attempts at space based terror and the more modern games currently offered. In fact it’s actually considered the second era of titles under this series.  Before there was Alien: Isolation, before there was Aliens: Colonial Marines, even before there was the Dead Space series, there was *dramatic pause* Alien Breed.

 

Not to be confused with the “first era” of Alien Breed titles found on PC’s, this is the “revived” series brought to consoles (as well as PC’s) that continues the gameplay tradition found in the original titles. This new series has the same top down view (gauntlet like I’m told) but the similarities end there with this new revamped era. Whereas the originals before it were more 16-bit in nature, Alien Breed Impact, Assault and Decent get a graphical makeover to fit alongside other top down shooters found as of late. Thanks in part to the 3D nature of this build you not only can fire in any direction with the right analog stick, but also have the ability to rotate the overhead camera 45 degrees. But what makes this game an impressive piece of gaming is that despite some of the graphical and control upgrades, it still retrains the feel of the original titles in what they tried to convey. Based heavily on the Alien franchise, this trilogy does all it can to invoke the same fear and claustrophobia from the movies. Atmosphere is the key in what makes this game scary. It does all it can to recreate the feeling you’d expect in having to traverse an unlighted hallway or room as you hear warning alarms sounding in the distance. It may not be a third person perspective view of the unknown terrors that await you onboard the spaceship Leopold, which in a sense is a godsend given the creatures you have to fight as you progress thru the story.

In Impact you play the role of Engineer Theodore J. Conrad as he tries to get the situation under control on the Leopold after it collides with an unknown craft inhabited by alien creatures.  As the story unfolds in comic book style cut scenes, you learn that Conrad has an aversion to Mia the ship’s android as he is forced to work with her in trying to avert disaster. Along the way you are able to pick up different weapons to help protect yourself from the alien unknowns that have begun to infest the ship. And much like current space horror titles found now, you’re able to pick up datapads that give you more background information about yourself, the crew and the aliens you’re defending yourself against. You’re even able to upgrade your weapons and purchase items from various vending machines littered through the ship. (Doesn’t that sound familiar?) The creatures themselves look like they could be close relative’s to the xenomorphs we’ve all come to know and fear from the Alien’s franchise, with alien variants similar to facehuggers and drones to more elaborate types that look more akin to giant bugs.

Though I’ve only played the first title, the second and third titles continue the same type of gameplay but with better visual and gameplay options.

Control wise this game doesn’t handle any different than from any other top down shooter that you would find like Smash TV or Zombie Apocalypse: Never Die Alone. But unlike those titles that add a multiplayer element, you’re able to play this title by yourself as it was meant to be. Thankfully this game also stays true to its roots on letting a single player take on the terrors that invest the Leopold and the unknown vessel. And that’s where this title stands out among more recent games like Aliens: Colonial Marines and Dead Space 3 that faltered. Those games ruin the single player experience by trying to make their games co-op in nature. And there’s nothing less scary than facing off against slimy aliens than with a friend. I’m sure that would be fine with some people (in fact Impact actually has a co-op mode separate from the single player) but this game trilogy gets it right by having us go it alone.   Why I chose this game for this year’s Octoberween Gaming would seem to be obvious. This game trilogy does all it can to give you the same feeling you’d expect if your running down a corridor only for a swarm of aliens to jump you around the next corner. Sometimes they even break out of the walls, floors and glass windows in trying to take you out. You could go full bore with guns blazing if you wish, but you had better search every locker, nook and cranny and dead corpse you find if you hope to get enough money to buy more ammo.

Though for the most part this game is the basic “by the book” level progression design that you’d expect from games like these. Search the ship, look for keys, repair this, and find that till you’re able to progress to the next level. It can be monotonous at times but the alien encounters are able to keep you on your toes. There are even times where it’s best to take it slow and careful, using the environment to your advantage or else you’ll find yourself getting swarmed by various aliens without notice. From clearing rooms to standing your ground you’ll have various tools to do it with. Besides the general purpose grenades and flash bangs you’re able to equip extra armor and even deploy gun turrets in some areas. These games are able to deliver enough action to make any gun nut happy, but it’s also able to make you jump if you happen to hear a certain thud come from behind a bulkhead.

In the end Alien Breed Trilogy is able to deliver something that is hard to find when it comes to space horror: The ability to instill fear. If not from not knowing what you’ll face later on in the game, but in the very atmosphere it tries to create. This is definitely a title that is best played at night by yourself with the volume high and all the curtains lowered.

Though originally selling for $10 each I was able to buy the complete trilogy on PSN for $7.49. I even made sure to get the PSN version since the PSN version of Impact is actually an enhanced version of the XBLA release entitled Evolution. I’m sure whichever version you try will be able to invoke the same jump scare moments I was able to fear when I first tried this. I need to see about progressing into the other titles but I’m taking my time on this one. Not because I’m afraid but because I want to find every possible secret there is. Really I swear.

In space no one might not be able to hear you scream and the same holds true in my living room as I play this title. It’s one of the great things about playing alone; no one gets to hear you scream like a little girl. (Which for the record I didn’t do.)

My Top 11 Octoberween Game Titles for 2014

#11) Spirit Camera: The Cursed Memoir – 3DS: $9.99 new

#10) Resident Evil: Director’s Cut Dual Shock Version – PSOne (PSN): Free

#09) Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth – WiiWare: 1000 Wii points ($10)

#08) Dishonored – Xbox 360: (XBLA GwG): Free

#07) Ghostbusters: The Video Game – PS3: $15

#06) Alien Breed Trilogy: - PS3/PSN: $7.49

What are your thoughts about this game? Is it right on the money in giving us an “Alien-ish” experience? Or is just another action packed top down shooter that doesn’t do enough to make itself be scary? Let me know in the comments below!