this game is old, but i had to make a review, because this has been the best alien shooter of all time for me, i have the PS3 and many games, but i still plays Area 51 in my PS2, the graphics for its time are great the sound and everything, ive past that game about 50 times already lol i really recommend this game even if you have a PS3 and or an Xbox 360.
Area 51 takes place at the infamous military installation, where the US government supposedly houses all its secret alien technologies picked up after the Roswell, New Mexico, incident of the 1940s. You play as Ethan Cole, a HAZMAT operative sent in with his team to assess some manner of viral outbreak within the walls of Area 51. After a gruff meet and greet with the local military personnel, you're sent in guns blazing. What you end up finding is a horde of mutated soldiers, scientists, and other alien creatures wandering about the place, looking to infect and/or kill whatever comes their way. Oh, and there's also a whole bunch of nonsense involving the Illuminati, psychics, those little bigheaded, gray-skinned aliens we've all come to know and love, and a whole lot of crazy conspiracies thrown in to the mix.
Game play- you begin the game teamed up with a bunch of similarly armed HAZMAT soldiers, and during the early portions, you'll find yourself frequently bombarded by swarms of enemy mutants. Your team is quite adept at fighting off the enemy (especially because they can't be killed during these fights), so they're right there, fighting alongside you. These fights can be quite thrilling, as huge hails of gunfire go flying and more and more bad guys keep coming out of the woodwork. Sadly, there are only a few of these moments. The rest of the game feels like a pretty standard corridor crawl, with small groupings of enemies leaping out at you at the most predictable times. Whether you're fighting mutants, Illuminati soldiers, or just about anything else, the battles tend to feel pretty much the same. They can often be challenging, and admittedly, some of the weapons do pack a pretty satisfying punch especially the ones that can be dual-wielded.
There are a couple of ways in which Area 51 does try to break up some of the monotony. For starters, Cole can scan a number of different objects, documents, and corpses as he goes. Scanning items rewards you with unlockable back-story, info, and secrets regarding the circumstances of the game, although you can only access this stuff outside the main game. The other X factor thrown in is the fact that early on, the virus that’s turned everybody in the installation into an ugly mutant of some kind infects Ethan. When this happens, Ethan gains the ability to transform at will, and he gets a different set of powers when he "goes mutant." Essentially, his melee attacks become stronger, and he gains the ability to launch two types of viral attacks at enemies from a distance.
Graphics- The game also tunes the visual experience, colorfully highlighting heat signatures for nearby enemies and giving a sort of soft blur around everything else. This infected state isn't a bad idea by any means, and there are definitely times when it feels useful, especially because you tend to take less damage in this state. None of the attacks are really that much more powerful than when Ethan is in human form, and apart from a change of scenery and a slight dent in the amount of damage you take, there's little other incentive to get your mutation on. Area 51 excels most in the realm of visuals. The graphics have a consistently sharp, well-rounded look. All the environments are nicely detailed and are actually pretty well varied, despite almost entirely taking place within the confines of a government laboratory. The characters and enemies are similarly detailed, though not quite as creatively designed. The HAZMAT teams just look like slightly less cybernetic Master Chiefs, and most of the mutants aren't all that scary. That's not to say there aren't a few horrific and creatively designed baddies here and there, but it is to say that you won't see nearly as much of them as you will generic-looking mutants. Small visual touches, like excellent lighting and particle effects, do little to hinder the consistent frame rate, which runs pretty smoothly across on PS2.
Sound- is also quite impressive. Weapon sounds are brutally loud and echo off the walls of the base in pretty fierce fashion. In fact, during the chaos of battle, it's pretty hard not to get lost in the din of gunfire and enemy growls. Unfortunately, the rest of the sound design doesn't measure up as well. The soundtrack consists of mostly minimalist beats and tracks that are barely even noticeable, let alone memorable. The voice acting consists of David Duchovny, Powers Boothe, and Marilyn Manson. Boothe simply appears over the radio from time to time to bark orders at you, Manson's jar-encased, fleshy, psychic creature is amusing, though not because of his voice work, and Duchovny sounds like he is recurring his role back during his X-File days.
In the end, Area 51 turns in what amounts to the perfect game for first person shooter fans. The graphics are good enough (well you can see what’s happening) the sound is fantastic (you really can here the blood splatter) and game play is unique and exciting. It’s a brief and frequently enjoyable game that has some problems, but it does just enough right, to make it worth a playing.
9 of 9 found this review helpful.
Overall rating
5/ 5
Gameplay
5/ 5
Graphics
5/ 5
Sound
5/ 5
Lasting Appeal
5/ 5
Left4Peelz
This game is perfect for:hardcore gamers
Better than it looks!
PostedJanuary 2, 2011
Area 51 is a fun addicting game once you start it.The campaign is awesome,the graphics are great,and the game itself is just amazing.Even the multiplayer is fun!
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mole
fromnew york
This game is perfect for:party gamers
This game is awesome for alot of people!!!!!
PostedDecember 6, 2010
I played thi game all night last week with my friend mole. We couldnt stop shooting aliens. This game rocks!!!!
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