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The production values, graphics, and especially the voice acting are extremely well done, and the game has non-stop action and never feels dull.
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80While it’s not going to revolutionize the genre nor is it even a AAA title, it’s by no means a poor game and the ongoing action will really be music to the ears of FPS fans.
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80If "Half-life" and "Serious Sam" were combined, I have a feeling that Area 51 would be the result.
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80While there are problems--too cutscene-heavy, some lame objectives, and the fact that there are infinitely more zombies than little green men--Area 51 is more than enough to make a believer out of you.
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75From its chaotic beginning to its clinically insane conclusion, Area 51 provides just enough classic FPS action and technical goodness to merit a great rating and honest recommendation.
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75The name alone will bring many gamers to the shelves scooping this one up, but really it’s just another decent FPS. For the price it’s not a bad deal considering all the choices in this genre.
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75Unfortunately experienced FPS players may find they aren’t being offered anything new in the game.
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75One of the most intense first person shooters to be released this year.
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73Nothing sensational, but it provides a fun diversion for shooter buffs. [Sept 2005, p.68]
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But here again, another fun idea inevitably joins what feels like a game thrown together out of genre spare parts. [May 2005, p.39]
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Taken as a scripted series of events the gameplay can be engaging, particularly after an unusual plot twist.
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Despite a few shortcomings, such as a disappointing ending, a hard-to-read scanner, and a run-time glitch, Area 51 is ultimately a high quality title worthy of shooter enthusiasts' time and money.
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69For shooter fans in serious need of something new to play, Area 51 fits the bill adequately. But for anyone looking for something more than an average shooter, it probably isn't worth it.
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A competent and rewarding game worthy of a couple of days blasting. [PC Zone]
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67Area 51 is the antithesis of what first person shooter fans want. It is actually a better offline title than it is online.
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65If nostalgia for the original arcade light-gun game, or fascination with the myth of the Mid-West has you by the cockles, then this game may give you a day or two's worth of good times. But anyone with a stricter criteria than that would be hard-pressed to find real satisfaction in what's offered here.
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64Solid but wholly uninspiring. [Aug 2005, p.95]
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62Emerges as ‘just another shooter’, and with no splash-making potential or notable innovative features, it’s destined to frequent bargain bins for years.
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Area 51 is entirely without inspiration, an exercise in slick, crowd-pleasing cookie-cutter cliché from the Jerry Bruckheimer school of entertainment manufacture. It is absolutely not bad, almost never broken, and usually a good deal of fun. [July 2005, p.92]
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60Though the lack of very original gameplay ideas hurts Area 51, it does have a lot of good things going for it, including a very cool graphics engine and a cool infection mode, which, combined with a low price tag, do justify a purchase of this game.
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60The multiplayer is engaging and the storyline suitably absurd, but in the world of PC games the first-person shooter bar is set high, and with Half-Life 2 out there, it's hard to imagine choosing this shorter, less clever game instead.
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Lacking ideas, Area 51 plays up its license (and lessons learned from finer shooters) for a solid but unsurprising foray into the FPS field. Pity that it isn't more.
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60Squats squarely in the middle of the pack in terms of quality. With the exception of a brief infatuation with "mutant mode" and a few set pieces involving squadmates, the gameplay is serviceable, but standard.
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Lacking any innovation, the best this game offers has already been done.
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59All in all, Area 51 is a pretty standard first-person shooter with little if any original content, an unintelligible storyline, and game options typical for the genre, packed with some intense combat and an occasional feel you're actually onto something, while in fact you will only be browsing levels in search for bigger, badder, and meaner opponents.
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51The best thing we can say about Area 51is that it is “good enough”- a label that ultimately makes for a forgettable game.
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The weapons are uninspired, as are the levels, and the enemies are just barely smart enough to move toward you and attack. [Sept 2005, p.49]
User score distribution:
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Positive: 5 out of 10
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Mixed: 1 out of 10
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Negative: 4 out of 10
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JaredJ0
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FredM.6