Back in 1991, Team 17 released the original Alien Breed which was a top down shooter for the Amiga. Fast forward to 2009, and they remake the original in the form of Alien Breed: Evolution, the start of a trilogy that ends with Alien Breed: Descent. Fast forward to 2011, and the final installment in the series is finally released for PS3, X-BOX 360, and PC.
The story picks up where the second game left off. The ship is hurtling towards an icy planet and the ship has been taken over by a mad scientist who has now attained God status and Chief Engineer Conrad has to survive this suicide mission all while escaping a race of genetically engineered monsters. Definitely not a good day for him it seems. Here are the Hots and Nots of Alien Breed: Descent.
HOT
Controls are Solid
The dual stick move and aim in the top down setting works really well as it did for the past two games. The controls are easy to pick up and go with. First time comers to the series will have no problem getting it down and in no time you’ll be blasting monsters like no tomorrow.
The various sounds in this game, from the various background noises to the different gun sounds, all do a good job to immerse you in the experience. The various guns sound powerful, the various creaking and hissing noises give a creepy ambiance to a doomed ship, and the frantic sounds of battle when you encounter the creatures, all of these attempt to give you a sense that you are there on the ship experiencing what you hear.
Satisfying Conclusion
For fans of the originals that have been following the newer games since the start: you won’t be disappointed with the ending. It brings the series to a nicely wrapped close. It is also worth noting that collecting the various data pads provides insight into the fates of various different characters. If you don’t mind constantly holding down buttons and a good deal of backtracking, then bringing closure to the story shouldn’t be a problem.
NOT
Gets Repetitive
This is the biggest problem with that Descent has. Whether its the constant mindless shooting of creepy crawlies or the mind less back tracking and button mashing, you’ll find the game hard to bear unless you are a die hard fan of the series. There are multiple guns at your disposal but you will find that the assault rifle works well enough that you will find yourself just resorting to that.
You would think that they would have put in some new features or something since this is the third installment in the series. But instead, its just the same game with some new guns and a different plot. Even if they were to combine all three into a single flowing title, it would continue to keep the same repetitive pacing because there is nothing new and exciting thrown in there to break up the pacing.
There is nothing new added into the co-op either. Instead of allowing you to buddy up throughout the entire campaign, you can only choose a select few missions to play side by side with a friend. And even that offers no new gameplay options. It still boils down to mindless shooting…with a friend.
VERDICT
Alien Breed 3: Descent is a game that should only either be played by the hard core fans of the series, people who loved the original, or those who loved the story and want to see it through to the end. If you are looking for a new shooter to play and are considering this one, buy the first instead because the story would be too hard to follow if you just jumped into this one. Descent is a solid title but it suffers from repetition and not bringing anything new from the previous titles.
[Editor’s Note: Alien Breed 3: Descent was reviewed on the PlayStation 3 platform. The game was provided to us by the publisher for review purposes.]
