Alien Syndrome

The time bomb is set. It's the only sure way to get rid of these aliens. For good. They're vile.

Released: 1 January 1987
Platforms: Amstrad CPC Arcade Atari ST Commodore 64 Game Gear MS-DOS MSX Master System NES Sharp X68000 ZX Spectrum
Genres: Arcade Horror Run and gun Shooter
Developers: —
Publishers: Tengen
Series: Alien Syndrome
Modes: Co-op Single-player
Perspective: Third person Bird view / Isometric
Themes: Action Science fiction Horror Survival
Country: Japan
Age ratings: ESRB T
Languages: English
Entry: #1 in Alien Syndrome

About

Alien Syndrome (エイリアンシンドローム, Eirian Shindorōmu) is a 1987 run and gun video game developed and published by Sega for arcades. The game utilizes a side-scrolling feature that allows the player to take control of either a male (Ricky) or female (Mary) soldier whilst hunting aliens and saving hostages before they run out of time.

Alien Syndrome was released to commercial success and positive reviews, with praise towards its gameplay, character designs, sound design and horror themes. It was ported to various home computers and consoles, including Sega's own Master System, becoming one of the best-selling titles for that console. It was included as a bonus title in the 2009 compilation Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection.

Keywords

aliens
shoot 'em up
murder
death
run and gun
maze
female protagonist
hostages
survival horror
high score
boss fight
countdown timer

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

Two players control two soldiers, named Ricky and Mary, who fight through large eight-way scrolling levels while rescuing their comrades that are being held by aliens. At the start of each level, a time bomb is set onboard the infested ship and the players must complete their task before it runs out which will result in the ship being destroyed. After they have rescued a certain number of hostages, the exit opens and they can pass through it in order to fight the end-of-level guardian. If the guardian is defeated before the time runs out, the players are then able to move onto the next stage. Once all seven levels are completed, the game starts over with more aggressive aliens, and less time on the clock.

Reception

In Japan, Game Machine listed Alien Syndrome as the third most successful table arcade unit of April 1987. The original arcade version of the game was reviewed in the July 1987 issue of Computer and Video Games, where Clare Edgeley described it as "one of the most gripping games" she "played in months", praising the Aliens-like horror atmosphere, chilling sounds, special effects, graphics and gameplay. She stated it was "the first time the atmosphere and sheer addictiveness of a shoot 'em up has transported me to another planet," and concluded that it "is fantastic".

The Master System version of the game was reviewed in Console XS magazine, which gave it an 85% score. It was reviewed in 1989 in Dragon, which rated it two out of five stars.

Legacy

The game was also converted to polygonal graphics for the PlayStation 2 as part of the Sega Ages re-release program and included in the US version of the Sega Classics Collection (it was removed from the European version to receive a lower age certificate). This version adds twin-stick shooter controls that use both analog sticks. The original arcade game was also included as an unlockable in Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection.

The game was followed by two sequels with the same name; Alien Syndrome on the Game Gear and Alien Syndrome (2007 video game) on the Playstation Portable and Wii.