Alien Breed Trilogy

I didn’t know what to expect with Alien Breed Trilogy. I remember downloading the original on my extremely underspecced laptop and manage to push out a massive 6 frames per second so instantly gave up feeling slightly disgruntled.

I don’t want to spend a huge amount of time talking about each game because the site has reviewed Alien Breed Evolution, Alien Breed 2 Assault and Alien Breed 3 Descent already so I want to give you my perspective on the overall trilogy and what it has to offer.

The story appears to run through the trilogy over 15 chapters; Each game split into 5 chapters. I have to say though that you don’t have to start at the beginning and going slightly against the grain of the reviews I would probably suggest going from the start isn’t the best idea unless it’s a story line you’re after.

However, what I do agree with is the look of the game. All of the Alien Breed Trilogy games have kind of ariel view at an angle to them and I love this sort of game. It gives you a clear view to what is going on around you and if you feel the need to look around you can use the control pads shoulder buttons to move the camera 90 degrees at a time.

The game is quite dark a lot of the time in an attempt to create atmosphere but sometimes it is too much. Not because I don’t like dark games but some of the textures are beautiful and unless you are shining a 5000 candle torch you’ll miss half of them.

Along with the graphics there is an array of sounds to suit each situation. I felt that one of the most off putting parts of the game was the amount of explosions. Some people may think that this helps make the game more exciting, but it just pushed me to the end of the levels more quickly.

Each iteration of the game starts with clear instructions on what you should be doing. Alien Breed makes sure that you know the basics such as movement, understanding the map, aiming and firing and the looting system. This is ideal but the game mechanics don’t really change that much as you move through each title.

Each version of the game gets better in my opinion. Sounds change, camera angles become more creative as do the aliens. One thing that does remain consistent throughout the titles is the attention to detail and they consist of some of the most polite aliens in the history of science fiction.

Whilst there is a collection of aliens that would take at least 7 Sigourney Weaver’s to get through they do know when to attack. Most of the time aliens appear through potholes in the floor. If you happen to be standing on a spawn point then they want to come out the gentlemanly beasts will re-enter the pothole until you move away. THEN they come out to kill you! Often you have to open the doors for them as well before they introduce you to your maker.

Other than the main storyline you can also play co-op mode or survival mode which are both fun to play but to be honest I think I’ve seen enough in the solo campaign to satisfy my needs.

One of the great things about Alien Breed Trilogy is that you can now play it offline whereas before you could only get it from the Xbox Live Arcade for 800 points per title. Buying a physical copy won’t cost you much more as I have seen it for around £18. There is plenty of game play here so you’re getting good value for money.

As the trilogy comes on one disk I would have thought there would have been a more slick way to move between each title. This isn’t the case though, if you want to move between each game you have to exit the whole thing and go back in again. Anyway, minor gripe.

Overall this a decent selection of games. If you enjoy science fiction and comic books you will probably enjoy Alien Breed Trilogy.