| Area 51 review |
|
Groom Lake, Nevada is steeped in mystery and conspiracy theories. Better known as Area 51, whether you believe it houses the bodies of extraterrestrials from the alleged 1947 UFO crash at Roswell, is home to supersecret spy plane technology, or just the unwarranted fixation of every paranoid nutter's distrust of authority, there is no denying that the 6-by-10 mile area in the middle of nowhere has become part of modern storytelling and the stuff of legend.
While many games have included visits to Area 51 or similar destinations, very few have made it the sole focus of their attention. Midway's latest offering changes that, opting to take the player deep within the top secret subterranean facility and show their interpretation of the classified horrors within.
As Lt. Ethan Cole, the player is part of a military HazMat team summoned to Area 51 when things take a turn for the worse. Years of secret experimentation have run amok, leaving Ethan’s team, plus the survivors of the facility, to try and sort things out. What starts as a clean-up mission quickly descends into a fight for survival against a rampant alien virus and overwhelming odds, as well as a desperate escape to freedom.
This game is not Midway's first venturing into the enigma of Area 51. Some may remember the lightgun arcade game that appeared in the mid '90s. Thankfully those involved with that title have been dragged away from Midway's employment under cover of darkness for heavy interrogation and anal probing, meaning that while this updated version still relies on plenty of shooting, it’s of the newer first-person flavour. This means they’ve managed to shoehorn a plotline into the experience that consists of a little bit more than "There’re some nasty Aliens! For God's sake, will you just shoot them with your plastic gun!"
Players are eased gently into the proceedings in the established (and by now almost customary) Half-Life-style introduction. This allows them to get to grips with the basics such as movement and weapons before the lead starts flying – which doesn’t take too long at all. From the opening moments Area 51 does a good job of pacing the action and storytelling, starting by suitably building the tension and with the onscreen carnage that follows being heated and fast-paced.
The action is well depicted, with nicely rendered cutscenes and some solid-looking levels and characters on display. Special mention should be made of the lighting effects (and even the tactical lack of lighting in parts), which is suitably moody and atmospheric. Reflections are also nicely handled, if sparingly used, adding an extra element of depth.
A mixture of weapons is provided as players progress, starting with a lowly pistol and working its way up through automatic rifles, shotguns, sniper rifles and even alien technology. Midway have attempted to incorporate something different with the wristworn scanner unit that the player is given in the opening stages. As its name suggests, this allows the player to scan objects, items and enemies that they come across. While this is a nice idea that adds a little depth to the proceedings, it is criminally underused. Those expecting to be able to scan everything and anything a la Metroid Prime will be severely disappointed and should expect to see the generic breakdown of thin air on a regular basis. The game also includes its own unique spin on dual-wielding, allowing players to double their firepower. However, unlike the system used in Halo 2, only one button is required to fire both weapons (what with the others on the controller being used to carry out a myriad of actions such as leaning, ducking, cycling through the weapons inventory etc) and there is no mixing and matching, making everything a little bit simpler.
The game later gifts the player with feral alien abilities, allowing them to switch between Human and Alien attributes at will. Unfortunately, as with the scanner, this feature is not exploited to its full potential. Having witnessed the destructive power of the mutants firsthand during the opening sequences, the alien abilities bestowed upon the player feel a little muted in comparison. While there is an explanation provided for this, it does little to remove the stinging disappointment that there isn’t that much difference between the two states of being.
Speaking of aliens, Midway's creations (which were drawn up in conjunction with special effects guru Stan Winston) are numerous and certainly nimble on their feet meaning the player can’t be a slouch if they want to avoid getting up close and personal. As the storyline progresses, players will not only face the bastard offspring of ET and the Predator, but also human opponents that offer a bit more challenge, particularly when they perform activities such as pinning the player down with heavy fire, chipping away at their cover and tossing grenades at them.
All enemies are suitably governed by rag-doll physics, giving some satisfying moments as they are catapulted into the air by explosions, or tumble into crumpled heaps riddled with bullets. There are some odd clipping issues on display though, meaning some dead enemies suddenly become jammed through railings or even inextricably pinned to the wall. Similarly there seems to be some kind of inverse gravity field at work in parts, with melee attacks sending rag dolls flying into the air to an alarming degree. Certainly plausible for the aliens and their enhanced strength, it’s more than a little odd when done by your human teammates, and while neither of these are serious problems they can lead to some strange and mood-shattering sights.
Everything is accompanied by decent audio, with explosions, weapons fire and ricocheting bullets all sounding the part. David Duchovny (a man who should already be well versed in the horrors of Area 51 due to his time on the X-Files) provides the voice of Ethan Cole, but sounds totally bored in his role. Thankfully his mumblings are limited to the scenes in-between levels, meaning his oddly stunted performance isn’t enough to spoil things. Other notable turns are provided by Powers Boothe (Sin City, Red Dawn) as Cole’s C.O. and a surprisingly decent performance from celebrated musical dirge-master Marilyn Manson, who plays the part of an alien interloper.
But perhaps the greatest fault with Area 51 is that it is far too easy. Players will be able to complete the game in around 10 hours with little replay value to the single-player campaign once everything is done and dusted. While there is a wealth of information to be unlocked from journals and documents using the wrist scanner, these can only be read by quitting back to the main menu. It’s a bizarre decision on the part of the developers given that the time spent with the game would have been prolonged as the player slowed up to sift through the information. As it stands it's more likely this annoyingly placed material will be left unsifted.
In essence Area 51 is a series of well-executed set pieces, meaning it could be argued that Midway intended the "all killer, no filler" approach which clearly couldn’t be sustained for a longer period of time. While not the worst example of its genre, Area 51 is only a must-play title for those obsessed with alien conspiracies, or those still hungry for more first-person horror after overturning the forces of Hell in Doom 3. For everyone else, the scariest thing about this game will be how quickly the credits roll, making it one title to be bought and thoroughly enjoyed essentially only on budget or rental. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
System: Microsoft Xbox
Genre: First Person Shooter
Developer: Midway Studios Austin
Publisher: Midway
Players: 1
Version: United States
Reviewed: Jun 2005
Writer: Jamie Davies
|
Pros:
- Well paced and executed
- Hectic firefights and action sequences
- Mindless fun while it lasts
|
Cons:
- Far too short
- Far too easy
- Lots of missed opportunities
|
|
|
|
|
|
