Alien Earth
{{Short description|1998 video game}}
{{about|the video game|the novel|Alien Earth (novel)|the television series|Alien: Earth}}
{{Infobox VG
|title = Alien Earth
|image = Alien Earth Box Art.jpg
|caption = Box art
|developer = Beam Software{{Cite web|url=http://www.gamespy.com/company/026/026025.html|title=GameSpy: Beam Software|website=www.gamespy.com}}
|publisher = {{vgrelease|NA|Playmates Interactive|GER|Funsoft GmbH}}
|designer =
|engine =
|released = NA July 21, 1998
|genre = Action role-playing
|modes = Single-player
|platforms = IBM PC compatible
}}
Alien Earth is an isometric pseudo-3D action-adventure game with role-playing elements. It was released for Windows.{{Cite web|url=https://www.mobygames.com/game/windows/alien-earth/release-info|title=Alien Earth (1998) Windows release dates|website=MobyGames}} It was developed by Krome Studios Melbourne, (known as Beam Software at the time) and released in 1998.{{Cite web|url=http://www.thecomputershow.com/computershow/reviews/alienearth.htm|title=Alien Earth review by Al Giovetti|website=www.thecomputershow.com}}
Plot
What remains of Earth and most of its inhabitants after a nuclear holocaust is dominated and enslaved by the insect-like humanoid Raksha, invaders from another planet.{{Cite web|url=http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/alien-earth/|title=Alien Earth - PC - GameSpy|website=pc.gamespy.com}} Many years later, only the Resistance remains free, in the sewers of a ruined city. The player takes control of Finn, a villager in a jungle that the Raksha use to hunt their slaves as prey. A Raksha hunting lord marks Finn as a troublemaker, and he must outwit the Raksha, and seek aid wherever he can find it, to survive. His nemesis vanquished, Finn searches for answers about the fate of his civilization in a wartorn city, despite the Scavengers hunting through the ruins for scraps of remaining technology and intruders.
Gameplay
Resource management is a key part of the game; items are collected, as in most games, but also combined; the latter is crucial to completing the game. Combining a wooden pole with a metallic blade forms a Spear, for example, or an empty bottle, petrol and a rag cloth to form a molotov cocktail. Separate NPCs make scavenged Raksha weapons usable and sellable, and level up Finn's psionic abilities. Finn's fighting abilities use a skill levelling system; the more Finn uses a weapon, the better he gets at using it.
Development
The game was showcased at E3 1997.{{cite web|first=Helen|last=Lee|url=http://headline.gamespot.com/news/97_06/13_beam/index.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/19981206230300/http://headline.gamespot.com/news/97_06/13_beam/index.html|title=Beam Software and Melbourne House Unveil E3 Lineup|website=GameSpot|archivedate=December 6, 1998|date=June 13, 1997|accessdate=July 27, 2022}}
Reception
Next Generation reviewed the PC version of the game, rating it three stars out of five, and stated that "Well-designed and (mostly) well-implemented, it might not be flashy, but the game possesses a depth and quality that marks it as one of the brighter spots in the lineup this month."{{cite magazine|title=Finals|magazine=Next Generation|issue=42|publisher=Imagine Media|date=June 1998|pages=142, 144}} {{ill|PC Action|de}} gave the game a rating of 53% and said the game had a good idea but implemented it half-heartedly.{{cite magazine |last1=Aichinger |first1=Herbert |title=Test - Alien Earth |journal=PC Action |date=August 1998 |issue=8/98 |page=112 |url=https://archive.org/details/pcaarchiv-1998_202104 |publisher=Computec Media |language=German}} PC Zone gave a rating of 60% and said "the storyline is mildly enthralling, but nothing makes you sit up and take notice."{{cite magazine |last1=Taylor |first1=Adam |title=Reviews Extra - Alien Earth |journal=PC Zone |date=July 1998 |issue=65 |page=113 |publisher=Future plc}}
References
Category:Action role-playing video games
Category:Action-adventure games
Category:Playmates Interactive games
Category:Post-apocalyptic video games
Category:Science fiction video games
Category:Single-player video games
Category:Video games about extraterrestrial life
Category:Video games developed in Australia
External links
- {{MobyGames | /alien-earth}}