Alien Breed 2: Assault Review

Team17 are doing well of their remakes. We’ve already had a new Worms and a new Alien Breed and we all knew that it would be episodic. What 360 owners didn’t count on, was that Team17 would release a version of their first episode to PSN and PC owners, with a healthy dose of added extras which just wouldn’t fly in a title update for the platform. Xbox players then, were out of luck, a shame having been the guinea pigs in how well the reboot would do.

That’s changed with their second episode. Xbox players now get the updated models and the weapon upgrade system that appeared in Impact. Having already played the updated version on PC (review here) I already knew what the system had in store. However, whilst playing, something felt different. Something felt... better, more polished... more... finished. I don’t know if Team17 have been further tinkering with the engine since Impact, but I do know I felt more immersed in the atmosphere. Which as I’ve said before, is impressive for a top down shooter.

Episodic content like this is a tough one to talk about, especially when the first iterations were already brilliant, even without the upgrades (*grumble*). The graphics are more of the same polished Unreal Engine type, with plenty of dark corridors and atmospheric lighting around. Upgrading weapons changes their looks so you can visually see the bad-assery you’re running round with, destroying aliens left, right and center. Menus have changed, but not much - everything is now rendered in a more familiar shade of green, something players of the original series will feel much more at home with.

When it comes to sounds, it’s more of the same. Aliens breaking out of walls and floors create a sense of unease when you hear them blasting open from the darkness. The computer is still bone chillingly eerie when she utters “Welcome to Intex Systems”. The sense of solitude and overwhelming lack of hope for any kind of saviour sets in at this point.

However, Team17 didn’t leave it as just an extra episode. No, they rolled up their sleeves and found a couple of tricks up there. First, there’s a couple of new weapons, including a Rocket Launcher and the Hyper Blaster - I’ll not spoil the fun of what they do.

There’s new action sequences, which break up the top down element of the game and give you a different perspective of things for a while. This allows us to get a proper look at some of the aliens, shortly before filling their faces full of whatever projectile that ejects itself from the dangerous end of your weapon.

Lastly, and somewhat most importantly, is the inclusion of a Survival Mode. Becoming about as common in games these days as some form of undead, this gives the game some great re-playability. Completing the story mode was all there was to do in the first episode, with a mini campaign to complete with a friend if you wanted. Now you and your friends have reason to return time and time again as you seek to better your survival rates.

So Team17 have delivered again. But it leaves the question, where to next? What’s in store for episode 3? Only time will tell...