Alien Trilogy captures the look, feel and sounds of the movies perfectly, but it's gameplay is somewhat weaker.
Obviously the best way to start this review is by explaining just what Alien Trilogy is. Well, it's an FPS based on 20th Century Fox's Alien universe – just keep in mind that the game was released in '96, before Alien Resurrection hit the cinema, hence the title, 'Alien Trilogy'. And yes, it is that same universe – think Xenomorphs. Think Face Huggers. Think Chest Bursters. Think Sigourney Weaver. Think Colonial Marines. Think Pulse Rifles. Think Ridley Scott, James Cameron and David Fincher. Think – oh alright, you get the picture.
Games based upon movies generally have a bad rep with most gamers, and that's because they're often just poor games that are there to milk the cash from your wallet. I will admit, there are several great movie-based titles that I love: The Chronicles of Riddick, Scarface: The World Is Yours, Die Hard Trilogy, The Godfather and a handful of James Bond 007 games (GoldenEye, Nightfire...) to name a few; heck, there's even other decent games within the Alien franchise (Aliens vs. Predator 2 on the PC for example), but in general, movies games suck.
Despite the title, Alien Trilogy does not follow the exact plot of the three movies, nor does it contain three separate games. Instead, it kind of follows it's own plot with you apparently playing as Ripley, and the levels are influenced by the three films in terms of level design, architecture, names etc. For example, the first 1/3 of the game is clearly influenced by the second film, Aliens, due to the fact that you are supposed to be on the Weyland-Yutani colonized planet LV-426, where you'll fight your way through the complex. The 2/3 of the game is set on a prison facility, which is based on the Fury 161 prison planet as seen in Alien 3. The final part of the game revolves around the derelict spaceship from the first movie.
Probe's greatest achievement with this game is the atmosphere, architecture and sound design they created within the levels, and that's what really makes the game shine. Put simply, they totally nailed it. The game looks and feels like the movies. The attention to detail is really quite impressive.
I won't lie when I say that the atmosphere overpowers the gameplay. It's not like the game plays badly, but clearly. It's not like the game plays badly as such; if anything, it was just fine back in the day, but when compared to other FPS' of the time – Doom II, Quake, Duke Nukem 3D etc. - something just isn't there. What I mean is, despite the awesome atmospheric design, the game isn't really as 'nice' to play as those aforementioned titles, if that makes any sense to you.
There's some issues regarding shooting and movement, and that's basically what I mean. They don't detract from the overall experience, as they're pretty minor actually, but, for example, when you strafe or walk backwards in the game, you do so at a snails pace. And it gets pretty annoying as actual basic movements, i.e. walking forwards, is fast in comparison. This can make avoiding enemy attacks quite difficult on occasion, and I don't really know what Probe were thinking when they did this. It's not a huge issue, just one that you have no choice other than to live with it.
Shooting specific weapons such as the pistol and pulse rifle can be pretty awkward since each bullet travels at a slower pace then you'd expect them too. It's not dramatically different than say, Doom, but it is noticeable. The pacing of the game can be inconsistent at times too, in that some levels can be plain easy, others incredibly challenging, and it doesn't happen in a linear fashion. The main reason for this is that ammo is plentiful at times, and scarce at others. If you were looking for a challenge though, well, you've certainly found one with Alien Trilogy.
On the plus side, there are plenty of pros that prevent Alien Trilogy from being at the bottom of the Saturn games pile. Obviously there's the sound and art design which creates the game's superb atmosphere, but there's also the fact that you've got so many references to the movies that are integral to the game. Nobody in their right mind can complain that the game doesn't do the films justice. You'll come across Eggs, Face Huggers, Chest Bursters, Warrior aliens, Dog aliens and three Alien Queens, which act as the game's bosses. Heck, Probe even threw in a little variety by adding infected humans, company synthetics and alien handlers. They aren't as common as the Xenomorphs, but they still appear from time to time. The only problem is that they seem to work together with the aliens rather than fighting each other. This is probably due to technology limitations, but we saw monsters fight each other in Doom, so I don't really see why it couldn't have been done here either. Oh well.
There's also some nice touches to the alien foe. For instance, Face Huggers tend to be found behind crates, or pop out from holes in the walls, and if they fail to get you the first time, they'll often scuttle away somewhere within the level, before popping back to hunt you down again a minute or so later. This adds some depth to the game, and is at least interesting for an FPS of the time. Dog and Warrior aliens follow an almost random, zig-zag pattern to avoid your shots, and this is also a nice characteristic of your foe since these kinds of alien can only attack you by getting right up to you.
Every weapon within the game is taken from the second movie, so you've got the utterly useless pistol, shotgun (presumably based on Corporal Hicks'), Pulse Rifle, Flame Thrower and Smart Gun. In general, these weapons are all fairly satisfying to use, bar the pistol of course, which is so weak it's actually hilarious. The Pulse Rifle has the secondary grenade launcher that it had in the film, which is a nice touch. When used against Xenomorphs, the weapons do have a certain flair to them, and my only complaint is the lack of a melee weapon. But, seeing as each of your Xenomorph foe bleed acid for blood when taking damage, this was probably left out to make the game more believable. Maybe.
The levels are a somewhat mixed bag. Probe tried to give each of the thirty levels a specific objective, which is listed during the briefing before each one. Unlike the average FPS of the mid '90's, Alien Trilogy is much more than just find the key and exit the level. In fact, Probe really wanted to outline just how important each level is by punishing you if you don't complete at least 50% of the mission objective (at least I think it's fifty...) - yep, you get thrown back into the level if you didn't achieve at least half the objective. This sounds pretty lame at first, but I suppose Probe were really trying to make the game differ from the norm. Most of the objectives vary from collecting all ID tags to destroying certain amounts of crates etc. Unfortunately, seeing as this was 1996, it was a somewhat ambitious idea, as developers in those days clearly couldn't implement more complex missions within an FPS. Still, at least they tried, and were innovative in a kind of ambitious way.
Graphically, the game's decent. I've mentioned the atmosphere about a trillion times, but it really is that good. The textures are nicely detailed, and you'll see plenty of film references throughout the game: textures bearing resemblance to the Nostromo ship in the first film, cryochambers, colony-inspired structures, marine APC's etc, and this just adds to the authenticity of the game. So you can't deny that the levels aren't nicely detailed, and the fact that they're almost entirely influenced by the movies is perfect really. The enemy sprites aren't bad either – they're nicely detailed, it's just a shame they look a little flat.
The Saturn does have a couple of issues here and there on the visual front, at least compared to the PlayStation version. The excellent lighting and fog that the PSX had has just kind of gone with the Saturn version, and I'm pretty sure the draw-distance has been reduced too. The game doesn't look bad by any means, in fact, these sacrifices were probably made to keep the framerate smooth and consistent, which is most definitely is. With the framerate being better than most other FPS' on the console, I guess I can't complain really, but I can't help but think that the Saturn port could've been identical to the PSX. Not a huge complaint though, as I've already explained.
The sound on the other hand, is phenomenal. Virtually all the sound effects are taken directly from the movies, from the ambiance of the levels, the weapon blasts and to the aliens themselves. Believe me, the fact that the sound effects are based almost entirely on the movies is essential to the game's overall feel. The soundtrack is also outstanding – the music is moody but not in a kind of horror way, if you get me, and as it progresses, it gets a bit more surreal if you will. No faults whatsoever regarding the sound department.
In the end Alien Trilogy is a game you'll love depending on whether or not you love the movie franchise, but it goes without saying that the PSX version is the superior of the two. The Saturn version plays just fine for the most part, and the only real sacrifice is the atmospheric lighting of the PSX and a slightly lower draw-distance. I loved Alien Trilogy on the PlayStation, and being a fan of the film series obviously reinforces why I liked the game. The actual gameplay itself isn't anything notable - or even that good when it comes down to it - but the aforementioned atmosphere and sounds of the game certainly will put a smile on your face. I recommend Alien Trilogy on the Saturn as far as FPS' on the console go, but if you have a PlayStation, then I think it's safe to say you should go with that version instead.
Wrap-up:
+ Captures the atmosphere and look of the movies very well considering the hardware
+ You can clearly tell that the developer's designed this game with Alien fans in mind
+ Amazing sound and music to go with the atmosphere
+ All weapons and items as well as enemies taken straight from the movies
+ If you wanted a challenge, you've got one
- Inconsistent level-design
- The actual combat was nothing to get excited about, even back in the day
- Kinda makes me want to fire up Doom after playing for a while
- The Saturn port isn't the best version out there