Alien 3 Longplay (Mega Drive/Genesis) [60 FPS]

Developed by Probe Software and published by Arena Entertainment in 1992
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For today's video, I decided to play through the Sega Mega Drive version of Alien 3, a run 'n gun shooter that's based (very) loosely on the third film in the Alien franchise.
Considering that both Alien and it's sequel were such massive hits, Alien 3 always felt like something of a backward step. With almost none of the suspense of the first film and lacking the adrenaline-packed action of the second, David Fincher's follow-up seemed like a wearisome drama by comparison.
Following Ellen Ripley's escape from the doomed colony on LV-426 and battle with the Alien queen, she enters cryo-stasis aboard the marine transport Sulaco for the long journey home. The Sulaco's emergency systems detect a fire on board, jettisoning the escape pod containing Ripley into space, only for it to crash-land on Fiorina "Fury" 161 - a penal colony that also plays home to a large foundry.
The game is based in and around the foundry, requiring Ripley to secure and rescue a group of prisoners in each of the various levels before the time limit expires. Once all of the prisoners have been rescued, the level's exit door opens and Ripley must find it in order to escape to the next level. Occasionally, the game mixes things up by featuring levels where there are no prisoners to rescue and lots more aliens to kill, or to defeat a boss, but the main bulk of the levels are of the search and rescue variety.
Each level features a series of rooms and chambers, interconnected by corridors and air shafts and actually finding all of the prisoners in a level is no small undertaking, particularly in later levels where the design becomes more meandering and more maze-like. Extra ammunition and power-ups can be found in secret rooms hidden throughout each level, but finding them is difficult and time pressures usually force you to prioritise finding prisoners, rather than hunting for loot.
Given the problems with the source material on which it's based, it's not too surprising to find that the developers took some liberties in order to create a title that gamers would actually want to play. The most significant difference between the game and film is that Ripley is given access to an extensive arsenal of weapons, including the iconic M41A pulse rifle; a stark contrast to the movie script where, ironically, Ripley and the prisoners have little else but harsh language to combat the alien menace.
You're certainly going to need this arsenal since each of the game's levels is infested with Xenomorphs, compared to the solitary alien that appears in the film. The shooting is surprisingly satisfying, with the Xenos exploding in a acid-spraying collection of body parts, accompanied by an agonising scream.
However, the one problem I have with the game is the sheer speed it runs at, coupled with the limited time you get to react to an enemy when it appears. You really do have a little more than a split second to aim and get some lead in the air before the alien reaches you and takes a chunk of health away, knocking you over in the process. I appreciate that fighting the aliens is meant to be filled with suspense, but I think it can be particularly unforgiving at times and results in unwanted frustration.
The game boasts some impressive visuals and animation for the time and features some extremely smooth scrolling. The main Ripley sprite is pretty faithful to her depiction in the film and runs around in realistic fashion. Being an Alien game, one can't ignore H.R. Geiger's iconic designs, which are recreated here in all their chitinous, extendo-mandible repulsiveness - a special mention must go to the great pre-level graphic showing a Xenomorph in all it's horrific glory, complete with viscous droop running down it's jaws!
As for audio, Matt Furniss is on top form with a range of thumping audio tracks and excellent sound effects. I particularly enjoyed the background music that accompanies the Hive levels, featuring a slower-paced, more ambient affair with catchy synth lead. In fact, my only disappointment was the lack of effects for the motion tracker display when active, but I guess we can't have everything.
If the game didn't require super-human reflexes then Alien 3 might have qualified as one of the top-tier shooters for the platform. As it stands, it 's still a very good game, although the occasional frustrations I experienced meant I'm reluctant to describe it as a great one. In any case, Alien 3 is still a satisfyingly good shoot 'em up experience that comes much more highly recommended than the film it's based on!
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