[ Transscript of review for Alien Swarm 1.1 | Posted by Bean on 2004-07-04 | Score: 9.5 ]
This Is Why We Love Games
You know, from my years in the UT community, and the online gaming one in general, I have learned that mods are all labors of love. That is one of the most beautiful parts of the community. While real developers\' motives can sometimes be questioned, it is rare that I have felt that a mod team had sacrified a part of its mod for some reason besides the true best interests of the mod. I\'m sure there are many of you going, \"Oh, but what about...\" You know what, people have problems, but these modders just love this stuff. And it\'s a mod like this, Alien Swarm, that reminds me what gaming love is. This gift Black Cat has given us is one of the GREATEST games I have ever played.
Ok Guy, Shwat Do You Do?
This mod can be best described as a team-oriented tactical shooter. Obvious influences are Aliens, Starship Troopers, and even a little Starcraft. It sports a fleshed out Single Player mode...and a mind-bendingly fun Multiplayer mode. Single player allows you tackle individual levels, or go through of them in Campaign. Multiplayer plays similarly, only with other live teammates.
The game places you in the feet of an elite squad of space marines that have to eradicate a deadly Alien Swarm. You are placed in various locales on an infested planet, with a variety of objectives. I would highly recommend playing the (fun) tutorial to really get a grip on the game. In single player, you control your entire squad of marines, either commanding them as a leader, or moving them individually. Every marine has a unique loadout, specific to his or her abilities. You have a team of 8 marines, composed of two explosive specialists, two weapons specialists, two medics, and two techs. Ideally, you need one of each, then add extra according to your need. However, you can arrange your team as you wish. But each type can serve an important purpose. An explosive specialist can work with explosives, namely these neat little fire mines that are mighty useful in fending off the Swarm. Weapons specialists come loaded with sweet gun destruction. Medics can heal other teammates, and cure them from being infected from the Swarm. If you are infected, you will need a medic pronto...if not, you explode, spreading more aliens a la...Alien. Techs can hack terminals, along with opening sealed doors, and sealing opened doors.
The single player dynamic is very methodical, as you must watch every teammate. But, you won\'t have to totally babysit them, as they have OUTSTANDING AI. It is especially impressive when you realize how difficult some of the missions are, and how well they adapt. They will do generally well with the basic commands. On certain occasions, it is wise to place them in certain spots, and hold their positions, and that is certainly part of the fun. It is fun to walk into a situation, knowing how to set up your troops, and then just shoot the evil out of that Swarm! And this is where it gets really good. When you finish a mission, according to who survived, you can upgrade your characters, forming a sort of bond with them. You are also awarded medals for special feats, such as number of kills, and the like. I\'ve been working on the Gunfighter medal, where you kill 20 bugs with the pistol. Then you get dual pistols. Yes...this mod is that cool. The Single Player campaign is reasonably long, gigantic considering how long mods go. I highly recommend finishing it, in order to prepare for the glory that is online. At least play enough where you understand the essence of the game.
When you ready to go online...oh, you will be on cloud nine. Now, before I did this review, I decided I needed a few more screens, so I hopped on line for a quick game. But like any good multiplayer game, it kept me on for 4 hours. I only stopped because Spiderman was coming on, and I had to see it so I can see the 2nd (It\'s true...I haven\'t seen the first Spiderman...but I found out Bruce Campbell is in them, so I HAVE to see them now). When you go online, you join a team of grunts, and head out to f*** up bugs. All might not be well. Team-killing is fairly rampant, as bug ambushes always cause distress. Teams get seperated. Medics get shot in the face. But that\'s ok. Because the online co-op is so UNBELIEVABLY fun. I can\'t describe it. Epic themselves called it the \"best co-op game ever\". I really have a hard time disagreeing. It\'s so damn fun. And I have found the online players pretty damn cool to play with. There seem to be two factions. There are the professionals, who take things very seriously, and are fun to play with, because you see how things are really done. Then you have the good ol\' boys, who just go in to blow stuff up, and they are just as fun (maybe not as successful, but fun). I have heard claims of elitism, but I didn\'t experience any. I have played with newer players (and I am too), who were grateful that they weren\'t disparaged by pros. We\'re all just out there to have fun.
Peaches
Ok, every individual piece of the game is great. The unique top-down viewpoint of the game is excellent, and the visual structure of the game appeals to that sensibility very well. Lighting and maps are excellently constructed. Dark, claustrophobic, horrific...delicious. Player models are great. [edit: This is probably because they are UT2K4 models, Bean. The PORTRAITS on the right of the screen are new.-Nem] Art direction is great. This mod oozes style from the title screen (which rocks hard). Music and sound are on point. The menus all work very intuitively, as does the fantastic HUD. There is also a very well integrated voting system, which can not be lauded enough. Just more evidence that attention to details is as important as the big overlying concepts.
Breaky Break
There are a few quibbles with Alien Swarm. I noticed one lone bug. In single player missions, following marines often get stuck in tight corridors. I am not sure how this would be resolved, but it is an issue. It is at first an annoyance, because you\'ll notice that they aren\'t following you, and you get peeved. But in certain missions, you\'ll burst into a corridor, and get ambushed. You\'ll find you are fighting the hordes by yourself, and your teammates can\'t fit in the corridor as they are crowding, and since they are so well programmed, they won\'t dare shoot in the narrow space and hurt you. Doh.
Saving mid-mission in Single Player would be greatly appreciated. Sometimes you finish an exhausting battle, and then get ambushed again, having to go through it all again. I suppose this is part of the replay...but...we\'re PC gamers. You gotta give us something. Checkpoints maybe?
Team-killing, while understood, is fairly rampant. I understand the need to make players aware of their surroundings, and careful of where they shoot. And it adds to the terror of an ambush, and marines just shooting everywhere. But it often leads to seemingly unnecessary frustration. Maybe tone it down, or off, or give an option for it...which may lessen the challenge. I guess it\'s a \"you say tomato, I say tomatah\" dealie.
Better Than Orkin
Play this mod. Please. You will not regret it. If you haven\'t, when you do, you\'ll say \"What\'s wrong with me...why didn\'t I d/l this?\" When you do get it, I\'d suggest checking out the guide posted by Darkus on the Alien Swarm forums. Very useful for getting oriented with everything. Maps seem to be in the pipeline too! Well done Black Cat. You bring a joyous tear to my gaming eye.
Bean
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