Alien Breed begins with you stuck on a non-functional space heap named the Leopold. With nasty aliens around every corner, it’s a rather sticky situation.
What pulled me into the world of Alien Breed was its similarities to one of my all-time favorite movies of the 80’s, “Aliens” — which they captured beautifully. Like in the Alien movie universe, you have a radar (located in the upper right-hand corner) and aliens appear as red blimps. This may not mean much to some people, but to me it added to the charm and tied everything together.
Alien breed is a well-rounded title. It is packed with just about every scenario possible, from escorting to trying to fix broken terminals. Some may think that running from one end of the ship to the other is a tedious task, and it is easy to feel like you’re falling into an endless cycle, but they felt more like quests / missions to help you push forward. You will find yourself going from one scenario to the next, and the levels seem to last so long you will be lost for hours fumbling around in the dark. It made you feel like you were doing more than just cleaning house on the Leopold.
There is an entire arsenal of weapons waiting for you in AB. There are assault rifles, shottys, and even fancy lasers. There is no shortage of weapons to mow down your enemies and there’s something here for everyone.
Powered by the Unreal engine,the graphics are a blend of 3D with some comic style cut-scenes thrown in for good measure. These cinemas are a brief, yet refreshing break that take you out of space (even if it’s just for a few minutes).
Once you have given Alien Breed the once-over, it’s highly recommended you go for a second play-through. Even though you might have completed the game on rookie or veteran, that doesn’t mean you have what it takes to make it in Elite Mode. Elite mode isn’t for the faint of heart. Some might say that a lot of insane action is in store for the selected few that decide not to tread on the side of caution. Be sure to check it out. There is so much going on it feels like a completely different game.
There were a few issues that disappointed me, but I will state now before going on any further that Team17 is already addressing the issue and a patch is in the works to correct them. This might not even affect some people, but there are a few achievement glitches that prevent a couple from registering even though you complete them properly.
I remember the original Alien Breed from way back on the Amiga. It was great then and even better now as a re-mastered title. I feel what Team17 did for the first episode of Alien Breed did the series justice, and I am eagerly awaiting the next episode in what I hope will become a long-running series.
Score: 8 out of 10
James ‘DaRipp3r’ Pittaro
Developer: Team 17
Xbox 360
