Sunday, October 28, 2012

"Alien3", SNES, 1993.

Another day, another Alien3 conversion, this one for the Super Nintendo. The aspects of the game the ad stresses bear only a casual, passing resemblance to the movie being licensed.
EGG-LAYING
EXTERMINATE DEADLY FACE-HUGGERS! RED-HOT ALIEN ACTION!
CHEST-BURSTING
CHEST BURSTING EXCITEMENT! SCRAMBLE ALIEN EGGS!
ACID-SPITTING
FLESH-RIPPING EXOSKELETONS OVERHEAD! ACID-SPITTING ALIEN INVASION!
GET ALIEN3 ON SNES!
DEADLY ALIENS ARE EVERYWHERE!
EXPLOSIVE FIREPOWER!
FEEL THE TERROR!
This angle is pretty wrong-headed, though of course what works (arguably, in this controversial film's case) on-screen doesn't necessarily make for a great game. Let's break it down. "EGG-LAYING." No eggs laid in Alien3. "Red-hot Alien action!" Only in a literal sense, and can we get a spoiler warning please? "Scramble Alien eggs!" Have you even seen any of these movies? "ACID-SPITTING" But only in the sense that you're blood-spitting. "Flesh-ripping exoekeletons overhead!" Yeah, I don't know what they're talking about either. The powered loaders from the previous movie? "Deadly Aliens are everywhere!" Sounds scarier than "a single Alien is in one location"... admittedly that would be more of a "Hunt the Wumpus"-type game. Hmm, actually, that's an intriguing prospect! "Explosive firepower!" To quote from the movie's screenplay, "This is a maximum security prison and you're telling me that you have no weapons of any kind?" In conclusion, another case of "We licensed Alien3 to make the Aliens game we wanted to."

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