Aliens: Infestation is a 2011 2D sidescroller game for the Nintendo DS handheld console. It was developed by WayForward Technologies and Gearbox Software. It is a tie-in to the Alien franchise. The cover art as well as the character designs and avatars were drawn by comic book artist Chris Bachalo.
The game received generally positive reviews, with many calling it a successful callback to the original Alien series and an improvement over the previous games, with particular praise towards the atmosphere, graphics and art design.
Gameplay of Aliens: Infestation is comparable to the Metroid video games, where players are encouraged to search and backtrack for weapons, upgrades, and keys. The player controls one of a party of four marines[1] and explores the U.S.S. Sulaco as well as LV-426 and Phobos in order to investigate the Union of Progressive Peoples (UPP) and Weyland-Yutani's involvement in Xenomorph development. The game incorporates a permadeath mechanic. If a marine falls in battle, another in the party will take their place.[1] The player loses if the entire party is wiped out. Fallen characters can be replaced with any of fifteen displaced marines found throughout the game, each with their own unique dialog.
Plotedit
The USS Sephora has discovered the USS Sulaco adrift in space after the events of Aliens and Alien 3. The Colonial Marines are sent aboard the Sulaco to investigate and recover the life form detected aboard the ship.
Developmentedit
Aliens: Infestation was developed simultaneously with Aliens: Colonial Marines, releasing ahead of Marines' completion. Because Gearbox Software was busy developing Colonial Marines for PC and home consoles, they chose to delegate the development of a Nintendo DS tie-in to another studio. Gearbox chose to contact WayForward because of the latter company's experience in developing the science-fiction action game Contra 4. Gearbox, Sega, and 20th Century Fox accepted WayForward's initial concept for the game.[1]
When doing their research, game director Adam Tierney focused heavily on Ridley Scott's Alien and James Cameron's Aliens as inspiration. WayForward hired comic book artist Chris Bachalo to design and illustrate the game's characters; some of Bachalo's temporary names for these characters remain in the final game.[1] To capture the films' slasher appeal, while still keeping the player emotionally invested, the development team created 20 unique characters, with the game's dialogue re-written 20 times, to make sure it offered the biggest 'gut-punch' when one dies. In conjunction with the game's 'party of four' mechanic, the developers wanted players to grow attached to their favorites, which, in-turn, increased the likelihood of getting one killed.[2] The game's difficulty was balanced so that the player would lose unique characters at roughly the same rate they are introduced.[1]
The gameplay of Aliens: Infestation was inspired by Metroidvania games such as Super Metroid and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, along with first-person shooters such as Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. This resulted in gameplay similar to a Metroidvania but with FPS elements such as manual reloading and taking cover. According to Tierney, the most difficult part of development was the creation of the titular xenomorphs, which were to behave like the creatures in the films but simultaneously function as video game enemies. The team chose to include various forms of Alien based on their appearances in different films.[1]
Digital Spy gave it four stars out of five, saying, "In many ways, it feels like the Aliens game we should have been given back in the 16-bit era when the movie series was still relatively new. Whether it has been worth the wait is debatable, but this is certainly a worthy addition to the DS library." However, The Digital Fix gave it seven out of ten, saying that "It can be uneven at times in terms of quality but it is highly enjoyable, especially if you are fan of either the franchise or even if you are just a fan of 'Metroidvania' games."[15]
Referencesedit
^ abcdefMcFerran, Damien (July 1, 2023). "Aliens: Infestation - The Nintendo DS Metroidvania Classic". Time Extension. Hookshot Media. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
^ ab"Aliens: Infestation for DS Reviews". Metacritic. Fandom. from the original on March 23, 2013. Retrieved March 8, 2013.
^Agnello, Anthony John (October 17, 2011). "Aliens: Infestation". The A.V. Club. G/O Media. from the original on October 19, 2011. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
^Sterling, Jim (October 12, 2011). "Review: Aliens: Infestation". Destructoid. Gamurs. from the original on December 22, 2022. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
^Schilling, Chris (September 30, 2011). "Aliens: Infestation". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. from the original on December 22, 2022. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
^Hilliard, Kyle (October 11, 2011). "Aliens: Infestation: The Metroid Formula Infests The Alien Franchise". Game Informer. GameStop. Retrieved May 26, 2016.
^Meunier, Nathan (October 17, 2011). . GamePro. GamePro Media. Archived from the original on October 19, 2011. Retrieved May 26, 2016.
^Schaller, Kevin (October 20, 2011). "Aliens: Infestation Review". GameRevolution. CraveOnline. from the original on April 16, 2012. Retrieved May 26, 2016.
^Walton, Mark (November 17, 2011). "Aliens: Infestation Review". GameSpot. Fandom. from the original on May 3, 2016. Retrieved May 26, 2016.
^. GameTrailers. Viacom. October 27, 2011. Archived from the original on December 29, 2011. Retrieved May 26, 2016.
^George, Richard (October 11, 2011). "Aliens: Infestation Review". IGN. Ziff Davis. from the original on May 13, 2016. Retrieved May 26, 2016.
^Fletcher, JC (October 11, 2011). "Aliens Infestation review: Bursting with flavor". Engadget (Joystiq). Yahoo. from the original on December 22, 2022. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
^ abGallagher, Gareth (October 25, 2011). . The Digital Fix. Poisonous Monkey. Archived from the original on April 28, 2016. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
^Langshaw, Mark (October 13, 2011). "'Aliens: Infestation' (DS)". Digital Spy. Hearst Communications. from the original on December 22, 2022. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
aliens, infestation, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, septem. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Aliens Infestation news newspapers books scholar JSTOR September 2014 Learn how and when to remove this template message Aliens Infestation is a 2011 2D sidescroller game for the Nintendo DS handheld console It was developed by WayForward Technologies and Gearbox Software It is a tie in to the Alien franchise The cover art as well as the character designs and avatars were drawn by comic book artist Chris Bachalo Aliens InfestationDeveloper s WayForward TechnologiesGearbox SoftwarePublisher s SegaDirector s Adam TierneyProducer s Brian BurlesonDesigner s Adam TierneyCole PhillipsProgrammer s David WrightArtist s Marc GomezWriter s Adam TierneyCole PhillipsJeff PomegranateSeriesAlienPlatform s Nintendo DSReleaseAU September 29 2011EU September 30 2011NA October 11 2011Genre s MetroidvaniaMode s Single playerThe game received generally positive reviews with many calling it a successful callback to the original Alien series and an improvement over the previous games with particular praise towards the atmosphere graphics and art design Contents 1 Gameplay 2 Plot 3 Development 4 Reception 5 References 6 External linksGameplay editGameplay of Aliens Infestation is comparable to the Metroid video games where players are encouraged to search and backtrack for weapons upgrades and keys The player controls one of a party of four marines 1 and explores the U S S Sulaco as well as LV 426 and Phobos in order to investigate the Union of Progressive Peoples UPP and Weyland Yutani s involvement in Xenomorph development The game incorporates a permadeath mechanic If a marine falls in battle another in the party will take their place 1 The player loses if the entire party is wiped out Fallen characters can be replaced with any of fifteen displaced marines found throughout the game each with their own unique dialog Plot editThe USS Sephora has discovered the USS Sulaco adrift in space after the events of Aliens and Alien 3 The Colonial Marines are sent aboard the Sulacoto investigate and recover the life form detected aboard the ship Development editAliens Infestation was developed simultaneously with Aliens Colonial Marines releasing ahead of Marines completion Because Gearbox Software was busy developing Colonial Marines for PC and home consoles they chose to delegate the development of a Nintendo DS tie in to another studio Gearbox chose to contact WayForward because of the latter company s experience in developing the science fiction action game Contra 4 Gearbox Sega and 20th Century Fox accepted WayForward s initial concept for the game 1 When doing their research game director Adam Tierney focused heavily on Ridley Scott s Alien and James Cameron s Aliens as inspiration WayForward hired comic book artist Chris Bachalo to design and illustrate the game s characters some of Bachalo s temporary names for these characters remain in the final game 1 To capture the films slasher appeal while still keeping the player emotionally invested the development team created 20 unique characters with the game s dialogue re written 20 times to make sure it offered the biggest gut punch when one dies In conjunction with the game s party of four mechanic the developers wanted players to grow attached to their favorites which in turn increased the likelihood of getting one killed 2 The game s difficulty was balanced so that the player would lose unique characters at roughly the same rate they are introduced 1 The gameplay of Aliens Infestation was inspired by Metroidvania games such as Super Metroid and Castlevania Symphony of the Night along with first person shooters such as Tom Clancy s Rainbow Six Vegas and Call of Duty 4 Modern Warfare This resulted in gameplay similar to a Metroidvania but with FPS elements such as manual reloading and taking cover According to Tierney the most difficult part of development was the creation of the titular xenomorphs which were to behave like the creatures in the films but simultaneously function as video game enemies The team chose to include various forms of Alien based on their appearances in different films 1 Reception editReceptionAggregate scoreAggregatorScoreMetacritic76 100 3 Review scoresPublicationScoreThe A V ClubB 4 Destructoid8 5 10 5 Eurogamer8 10 6 Game Informer8 25 10 7 GamePro nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp 8 GameRevolutionB 9 GameSpot8 10 10 GameTrailers7 7 10 11 IGN8 10 12 Joystiq nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp 13 Nintendo Power8 10 14 The Digital Fix7 10 15 Digital Spy nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp 16 Aliens Infestation received generally favorable reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic 3 Digital Spy gave it four stars out of five saying In many ways it feels like the Aliens game we should have been given back in the 16 bit era when the movie series was still relatively new Whether it has been worth the wait is debatable but this is certainly a worthy addition to the DS library However The Digital Fix gave it seven out of ten saying that It can be uneven at times in terms of quality but it is highly enjoyable especially if you are fan of either the franchise or even if you are just a fan of Metroidvania games 15 References edit a b c d e f McFerran Damien July 1 2023 Aliens Infestation The Nintendo DS Metroidvania Classic Time Extension Hookshot Media Retrieved July 2 2023 Tierney Adam 2018 Aliens Infestation A Profound Waste of Time p 19 a b Aliens Infestation for DS Reviews Metacritic Fandom Archived from the original on March 23 2013 Retrieved March 8 2013 Agnello Anthony John October 17 2011 Aliens Infestation The A V Club G O Media Archived from the original on October 19 2011 Retrieved December 22 2022 Sterling Jim October 12 2011 Review Aliens Infestation Destructoid Gamurs Archived from the original on December 22 2022 Retrieved December 22 2022 Schilling Chris September 30 2011 Aliens Infestation Eurogamer Gamer Network Archived from the original on December 22 2022 Retrieved December 22 2022 Hilliard Kyle October 11 2011 Aliens Infestation The Metroid Formula Infests The Alien Franchise Game Informer GameStop Retrieved May 26 2016 Meunier Nathan October 17 2011 Review Aliens Indestation DS GamePro GamePro Media Archived from the original on October 19 2011 Retrieved May 26 2016 Schaller Kevin October 20 2011 Aliens Infestation Review GameRevolution CraveOnline Archived from the original on April 16 2012 Retrieved May 26 2016 Walton Mark November 17 2011 Aliens Infestation Review GameSpot Fandom Archived from the original on May 3 2016 Retrieved May 26 2016 Aliens Infestation Review GameTrailers Viacom October 27 2011 Archived from the original on December 29 2011 Retrieved May 26 2016 George Richard October 11 2011 Aliens Infestation Review IGN Ziff Davis Archived from the original on May 13 2016 Retrieved May 26 2016 Fletcher JC October 11 2011 Aliens Infestation review Bursting with flavor Engadget Joystiq Yahoo Archived from the original on December 22 2022 Retrieved December 22 2022 Aliens Infestation Nintendo Power Vol 272 Future US October 2011 p 85 a b Gallagher Gareth October 25 2011 Aliens Infestation The Digital Fix Poisonous Monkey Archived from the original on April 28 2016 Retrieved December 22 2022 Langshaw Mark October 13 2011 Aliens Infestation DS Digital Spy Hearst Communications Archived from the original on December 22 2022 Retrieved December 22 2022 External links editAliens Infestation at MobyGames Aliens Infestation at IMDb nbsp Portal nbsp Video games Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Aliens Infestation amp oldid 1208723937, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
