Alien Breed
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| Alien Breed {{#if:{{{image|}}}|<tr><td colspan="2" style="text-align: center;">{{{image|}}} | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Team17 {{#if:{{{publisher|}}}|<tr><th style="background-color: #ccccff;">Publisher(s)<td>{{{publisher|}}} |
| Release date(s) | 1991 |
| Genre(s) | Run and gun |
| Mode(s) | Single player, Two player {{#if:{{{ratings|}}}|<tr><th style="background-color: #ccccff;">Rating(s)<td>{{{ratings|}}} |
| Platform(s) | Amiga, Amiga CD32, DOS {{#if:{{{media|}}}|<tr><th style="background-color: #ccccff;">Media<td>{{{media|}}} |
Alien Breed is the first in a series of science fiction computer games played in the form of a top-down shooter. It was released in 1991 by MicroLeague and Team17 for DOS and the Amiga.
Contents |
Gameplay
The game was based heavily, and unofficially, on the Alien films, specificially Aliens, and also on the arcade game Gauntlet. Alien Breed consisted of the player or players having to find the lift down to the next level, occasionally setting the self destruct sequence to blow up the level above them. The players collected a variety of weapons from the space station's computer terminals. Credits found on the ground would have to be saved for those weapons and other enhancements, each giving you an edge over the gradually more and more powerful Alien forces.
Alien Breed was in many ways a 2D precursor to the popular 1993 FPS Doom. In both games the gameplay invariably consisted of clearing each level by rampaging from point A to point B.
It was released to critical acclaim. CU Amiga awarded it 90%, noting that 'Team17 have come up with a winner'. Alien Breed also stands, to this day, as one of the best cooperative two-player games made, providing an excellent level of tension, desperation and furious action.
Alien Breed Special Edition '92 was an expanded version, sold at budget price, and was hugely popular, staying in the charts for more than a year. It also featured a movie trailer style advert for Team17's upcoming Superfrog, which was unusual at the time. As well as being released on the Amiga, this version of the game was also released on the Amiga CD32 in a double-pack with Qwak, a platformer puzzle game developed by Jamie Woodhouse.
Sequels
In 1993, a fully fledged sequel, Alien Breed II: The Horror Continues was released and well received, followed by Alien Breed: Tower Assault in 1994. This last game was released with an extraordinarily long prerendered intro sequence on the Amiga CD32 version. It was heavily criticized in games magazines for being far too difficult.
Alien Breed 3D and Alien Breed 3D II: The Killing Grounds attempted to expand the franchise into the first person shooter genre, but both games were severely limited by the processing power of the Amigas available at the time, and bore little resemblance to the smooth-scrolling high resolution pixel art of their predecessors.
In 1998/99, during the time Team17 were developing Worms Armageddon, work began on another first person installment to the series, entitled Alien Breed Conflict (sometimes known as Alien Breed Action). According to Team17 Staffmember Andreas Tadic, "the game had to be put on ice due to several reasons (the size of the project was a bit overwhelming at the time)."
In 2003, Team17 announced they were working on a sequel for the PlayStation 2, entitled Alien Breed 2004. This project was announced as shelved in 2005.
See Also
- Alien Breed II: The Horror Continues
- Alien Breed: Tower Assault
- Alien Breed 3D
- Alien Breed 3D II: The Killing Grounds
- Alien Breed 2004
- Dream17
- Team17