software.wikisort.org - Video_game

Aliens Online was a 1998 massively multiplayer first-person shooter video game released for Microsoft Windows. It was based on the science fiction horror film Aliens.[2][3]

This article's lead section may be too short to adequately summarize the key points. (July 2015)

Aliens Online
Developer(s)	Mythic Entertainment Kesmai
Publisher(s)	Fox Interactive
Director(s)	Paul Provenzano
Producer(s)	Matt Firor Jason Bell Nick Laiacona
Designer(s)	Mark Jacobs
Programmer(s)	Rob Denton
Artist(s)	Bob Frizzell Missy Castro
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows
Release	April 16, 1998[1]
Genre(s)	First-person shooter
Mode(s)	Single player, multiplayer

Gameplay

Aliens Online included asymmetric teams, teams consisting of more players than found in most first-person shooters of its era, job/class specialization, and RPG elements. Players could fight on either the side of the United States Colonial Marines or on the side of the Aliens.[4] Scenarios were played in one of six different maps, with three more added over the game's lifespan.

• The Colonial Marine faction had the Medic, Scout, Soldier, and Heavy Weapons classes. More advanced weaponry were available when grouping as a "fireteam," and increased hit points became available as a character progressed in rank. Marines' equipment included the motion detector from the film Aliens, which was their sole method to locate Aliens, but would not locate Aliens which were not moving. In later versions of the game, the Marines could also drop proximity mines.
• The Hive Alien faction had the Face Hugger, Drone, Queen, and Empress classes. Their capabilities included leaping easily to vents and speeding through cramped ducts, and radar of the entire map, representing the aliens' greater awareness and hive-like mentality. They attacked only at close range using tail strikes and with claws. Each map allowed one alien player to fill the role as Queen or Empress, and that player could freely swap from drone to drone. Players gained points for killing Marines and lost them by dying, except when playing as a face hugger, which loses no points for dying.

Development

The game was announced in June 1997.[5]

Release

The software was free to download and was automatically updated. Joining GameStorm for $9.95 per month was required to play the game.[6][7] Online play was shut down in 2000 after the GameStorm network was sold to Electronic Arts.[8]

Reception

Aliens Online was well received upon its release. Chris Gregson of GameSpot gave it a review score of 7.2/10, opining "With so much to gain and absolutely nothing to lose, any self-respecting Aliens fan should give Aliens Online a try."[7] Brooks Peck and Craig E. Engler from Science Fiction Weekly gave the beta version the perfect A score. Noting the game's bugs, they nevertheless opined "it's clear that Kesmai has what it takes to satisfy both the Aliens fan and the hardcore gamer. This is one of those titles that cashes in on some of the Internet's promises of multiplayer action, and it's sure to be a hit with SF lovers."[9]

According to a retrospective by Stephen Kleckner of GamesBeat, "Aliens Online, unfortunately, was riddled with balancing issues and bad level design. (...) Ancient ’90s computing technology and Internet infrastructure and these issues worse, resulting in incredibly laggy connectivity."[10]

Next Generation reviewed the game, rating it three stars out of five, and stated that "Overall, this is a wonderful addition to GameStorm. We just wish there was more variety so the thrill could last."[11]

References

External links

• Aliens Online at MobyGames

На других языках

---

- [en] Aliens Online

---

[fr] Aliens Online

Aliens Online est un jeu vidéo de tir à la première personne développé par Mythic Entertainment et édité par GameStorm, sorti en 1998 sur Windows.

---

---