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Alien Syndrome

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7.1 User Score:

Generally unfavorable reviews

Based on 24 critic reviews
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Based on 17 votes
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Game Info

Publisher: Sega

Developer: Totally Games

Genre(s): Action, Role-Playing Game

Players: 4

ESRB Rating: T (Teen)

Release Date: July 24, 2007

Summary

In Alien Syndrome, players take control of the game's strong and enigmatic heroine – Earth Command Trooper Aileen Harding – and battle a variety of fearsome aliens and colossal bosses. Gamers choose from a wide selection of character specialties and skills as they progress through an engrossing campaign, protected by many different types of armor and using a variety of melee and ranged weaponry. Players can improve their heroine's statistics and discover a huge number of powerful new abilities as they fight through infested spaceships and bizarre alien planets. Alien Syndrome features two fast-paced action-RPG modes – the dramatic and engaging single-player campaign, plus an infinitely replayable co-op multiplayer mode for up to four players. Derived from the classic SEGA arcade game, Alien Syndrome's new action-RPG gameplay makes it easy to pick up and play, while its depth and wealth of features and missions keeps it challenging for all gamers. Alien Syndrome features 20 different weapons including flamethrowers, quad-barreled lasers, nanobot swarms that dissolve enemies, and incendiary grenades that shoot fire geysers from the ground. Each weapon offers advantages and disadvantages, dependent upon how it is used and the specializations players have chosen to adopt. Alien Syndrome's fast-paced combat also allows for any number of combat strategies to defeat over 100 different alien enemies at one time. [Sega]

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Also On The Web: Official Website

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

Game Informer

The levels are rote and tedious, offering no real surprise or sense of design. Adding to this sense of half-hearted execution are the graphics and storytelling, which are both sub-par even for the Wii.

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Nintendojo

Those looking for a serious RPG effort or a robust multiplayer, however, should hold onto their $50 for now.

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DailyGame

Avoid boarding this ship altogether and aim for the horizon's next bright star instead.

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Cheat Code Central

Alien Syndrome's best qualities are spread thin over two platforms, yielding two average offerings.

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Nintendo Power

Still, Alien Syndrome delivers solid arcade-style action, and the inclusion of a four-player co-op mode always helps to mitigate a game's shortcomings. [Oct 2007, p.89]

Deeko

All in all, it's a game you'll more than likely want o pass on, even if you're a die-hard fan of the original.

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IGN

For fans of classic action-RPGs or multiplayer addicts Alien Syndrome would be a solid weekend rental or bargain bin purchase, but given the lack of polish throughout, the overall “PSP-ness” of the game’s graphical presentation, and the $50 price tag we’ve got to put SEGA’s latest Wii effort in the “just skip it” category.

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NGamer UK

Like an awful movie shown in the graveyard shift during a sleepless night, you'll hve fun, but only because there's nothing else going on. [Oct 2007, p.56]

GameSpot

A sense of murky monotony sucks most of the life out of this action RPG remake of Sega's classic arcade shooter.

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Games Radar (in-house)

The purchase of a Wii does not waive our right to expect a game that looks like it was designed in this millenium. What you have here is a slightly enhanced, magnified, PSP port.

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GameDaily

The graphics look bland and the gameplay fails to perk up, as players simply clear out rooms without receiving any reason to keep pressing forward. The nearly inoperable item management system frustrates as well.

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GameSpy

The graphics, which look perfectly fine on the PSP, look decidedly low budget blown up on a TV. This is compounded by the fact that AS has been released as a full price title. This would be less of a problem if the game was $30, but for $50? You'd be better off saving $20 and picking up a copy of "Resident Evil 4."

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Games Master UK

Boo. We were hoping for mindless and stupid, but not THIS mindless and stupid. [Nov 2007, p.67]

1UP

Never does it become particularly fun, though it's quietly engaging in its own methodical, repetitive way. It's not a full-price purchase by any means, and it's nowhere close to the high action-RPG bar set by Champions of Norrath on the PS2 three and a half years ago.

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GamerNode

Alien Syndrome has a lot of promise, but the lack of a decent story and the poorly implemented Wii controls hamper the experience. If you're a fan of the original, get this on the PSP instead.

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GameShark

Gamers should do their best not to contract this syndrome.

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VideoGamer

The two-player cooperative mode may keep a duo of youngsters quiet for a handful of weekends, but otherwise this mismatched game has very little to offer.

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PALGN

Alien Syndrome is a generic update and a game that is easily forgotten.

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G4 TV

The addition of character development is a nice touch, but was handled poorly, and the visuals are almost depressing.

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Cubed3

There are moments where it feels good (which we hope can be expanded on for a decent follow-up, or be applied to another game entirely), but mainly it leaves a bitter taste.

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NintendoWorldReport

A thoroughly disappointing and discouraging game.

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Gamestyle

Alien Syndrome is another entry in the catalogue of Wii games that fail to grasp the potential of the system. Simply tacking on a few new controls in a title that could easily have been created twenty years ago is not a winning formula.

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Official Nintendo Magazine UK

It's dull, it's repetitive and it's as much fun as being cuddled by a cactus. [Nov 2007, p.87]

The Wiire

If you're an alien: we apologize for any offense taken by the poor representation of your kind in this game. Please don't invade us.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this game is 7.1 (out of 10) based on 17 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Alexis R. gave it a9:
Great game for co-op with non stop upgrades to keep it fun. Yes graphics are a bit dated but fun for the Wii to have a game like this on it;s roster. Its great to see less of the notorious minigame trend occurring in most Wii games but of the few offered here, they are easy to deny play, and continue which I recommend because they are hard and take upgrades away. Good game for non stop fun for 2-4 players. Do recommend it.

R C gave it a9:
Liked it a lot, played for hours and hours and loved the building, and puzzle solving scenarios. For multiplayer, it provided a fun gaming experience.

rocko gave it an8:
For co-op, it's fun! It's a dungeon crawler, this time with grenade launchers and flamethrowers. It's not as polished and balanced as the Baldur's Gate series, but it is FAR better than the recent X-Men games. I imagine that the single player campaign would get pretty boring. Get some friends!

Barbara B. gave it a5:
Boooring. The entire game feels like the definition of grinding. Go around this section of maze, kill a bunch of identical enemies, go through the door. Repeat ad nauseum. It doesn't look bad, but it feels like a much less fun gauntlet.

Karen H. gave it a2:
I can't believe I wasted my money on this. Unfortunately for me, it was an impulse buy at a store and I can't believe that I just spent $50 on it. All the reviews are right: this game COULD have been fun, but it's NOT. I don't care about pretty graphics or licenses (I just have a standard TV), but what graphics they had in the game were awful. The gameplay is also really bland. What's the point of the melee weapons AT ALL? it's better to be tank for the whole game. The leveling minigame is also really bad. If you lose, it takes away points from your stats! Horrible. Stay away.

[Anonymous] gave it a9:
The graphics are a bit dated, but the good camera and controls, along with plenty of upgrades and items to hunt make this very worthwhile for me.

Ben H. gave it a3:
In this case, the critics were right. The game boasts generations-old production values, unpolished graphics, and monotonous gameplay that quickly gets stale. And for an action RPG, there's virtually no story worth noting and the options are weak. maybe it would have been a different story if this game wasn't full-priced, but as it stands, it's just trash with a pretty cover. Skip it.

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Alien Syndrome

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