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Revamping classic arcade games is nothing new, and Sega certainly has plenty to choose from in their coin-op back catalog. Arcade hounds from the 80’s probably remember the name Alien Syndrome with some fondness. It was a slick, intense, and fun overhead shooter that was equal parts Aliens and Gauntlet. Though the original has been released in one of the endless arcade compilations, Sega attempts to move the simple gameplay of Alien Syndrome forward by revamping this quarter-muncher for your Wii and PSP.

The Retread Syndrome

The new Alien Syndrome keeps a lot of the old stuff, so fans of the original will recognize a lot of the giant worms and blobby things that lurk in the corridors of the infested SAT5 facility. For those new to the series, you’ll quickly become familiar with all the creatures, since the game has a tendency to re-use the same enemies a bit too often. The game is still definitely an arcade shooter but now with some RPG-lite elements.

Starting off, you choose an actual character class—a demo expert, firebug, sharpshooter, seal, or tank. The class dictates your starting weapon and initial stats, but as you progress you can add other weapon skills. Strangely, you can’t actually create a character from scratch. You’re stuck playing Earth Command lieutenant Aileen Harding, who seems like a boring Ripley clone.

You’ll also be able to play weird mini-games that let you alter Aileen with alien DNA, making her stronger, faster, healthier, etc. Basically, you use the remote to nudge good particles to your DNA strand, while bumping bad alien particles away. The fuzzy graphics don’t help matters much.  Although the benefits make the mini-games worth the effort, you’ll wish you could just buy enhancements or grab power-ups instead.

Housecleaning

The object of the game is to clear out an alien infestation in a civilian space station, while rescuing anyone you find. The game opens with some semblance of a deeper storyline, but doesn’t do much with it. Aileen seems to have some inner trauma that causes her grief and now she has to work her feelings out like any reasonable person would—with a flamethrower, or machine gun…

The big enhancement the Wii Alien Syndrome has over the PSP version is the use of the Wii’s remote. If you have strong wrists, you move Aileen with the thumb stick, but use the remote as your aiming mechanism. This enables you to aim in 360 degrees while moving independently. Until the carpal tunnel pain becomes too much, or you just slightly move the remote sensor out of visual range, sneeze, stand up, or otherwise move your seat.

The Amazing Graphics of the PSP… Now on Your Wii!

Normally, developers simply port PS2 games to the Wii, but in this case Totally Games did one better and used the PSP instead. The visuals look the part too. The Wii graphics border on ugly, and feel more old school than the actual gameplay. The levels are bland, stock science fiction set pieces, filled with the same obstacles and crates. The whole game has a bleary, almost muddy look.  While it’s not the worst Wii game we’ve seen, it’s definitely disappointing.

Thankfully, Alien Syndrome does offer multiplayer. The original coin-op was a two player co-op game, and the new version supports four players. There is also the usual variety of Wii mini-games. Although four players seem a bit crowded, there simply aren’t many multiplayer shooters on the Wii.  This gives Alien Syndrome an extra nudge for players starved for multiplayer action.

Retro-active

If you’re a fan of the original game, it’s hard not to want to like Alien Syndrome. The game has enough of the coin-op classic to be worth a look in that regard, but it still feels unrefined. The addition of character development is a nice touch, but was handled poorly, and the visuals are almost depressing. The Wii desperately needs more action games--especially multiplayer-capable ones. The use of the remote is creative and makes the game more fun with friends.

Article by: Jason D’Aprile
Video Produces by: Joel Rubin