Alien Earth, set in a post-apocalyptic timeline, is an isometric pseudo-3D action-adventure game for Windows. It has RPG elements,[2] including dialogue trees, so it can also be called an action role-playing game, but it uses resource management as puzzles, requiring the player to combine items in order to advance in the game.[3] It was created by Krome Studios Melbourne, in 1998, when they were called Beam Software Pty. Ltd.
Alien Earth | |
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![]() Original box art | |
Developer(s) | Beam Software[1] |
Publisher(s) | Playmates Interactive Entertainment, Inc (US), Funsoft (Germany) |
Platform(s) | IBM PC Compatible |
Release | NA July 21, 1998 |
Genre(s) | Action role-playing game |
Mode(s) | Single-player |
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.[4] 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,[4] 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.
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.
Production Credits |
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Beam Software |
The game was showcased at E3 1997.[6]
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."[7]