Odd that, at one time when everyone was afraid of the communists, that alien invasion themes were popular. Now the planet is going to pot, fights for diminishing resources seems to be a popular setting for stories and games. So we find ourselves on an asteroid, whose exterior bears a striking resemblance to the one in Armageddon.

The asteroid holds a source of energy great enough to power a whole planet, the only problem is that aliens arrived in their hundreds and kicked the Earth folk off. Earth plan number one: Send a single bloke in with a rifle, which should sort the whole thing out.

Alien Rage is a first person shooter from CI Games. It pits you as the poor hapless sap that has to infiltrate a mining facility filled with an alien horde and kill the lot of them. That’s pretty much the plot.

It presents itself as an old school shooter and indeed owes not a little to the games which came before, all the way back to the original DOOM game, so you know what you’re getting. Roam around pick up ever increasingly more lethal weaponry and kill anything which moves. Along the way you will get the requisite number of boss battles to keep the old adrenalin flowing.

The game does have a number of its own strengths, including a beautifully detailed environment for you to run around in, whilst the music pounds. In more silent moments you get to swap witty banter with your ship's AI.

The game also has a unique reward system. All kills are good, they all get you points, but some kills are better than others. Body kills are ok, head shots better and blowing your enemies up gets you even more. All these points go towards unlocking more abilities for your character, even if their inclusion makes the game feel like it should be found in an arcade.

As well as a choice of improving your own weaponry, you can of course steal it from dead Volus, who come in a variety of types, blowing up the guys with grenades on their backs is particularly satisfying and the game really shows it graphics chops when one of those guys goes up, taking a whole area with him. If you can’t take him out you can also shoot at the explosive containers found in the rooms.

The game boasts twenty-one enemy types and eight bosses to plough through over fourteen levels. Guns can be fired through a sight for more accuracy, in between lobbing grenades.

Following the route that its predecessors took, it’s a mindless bit of violence, well balanced with continuing rewards.

6

Charles Packer