Few movie franchise have squandered their potential as much as the series that began with Alien and Aliens, before veering off into succession of cinematic disappointments.
However, due to that promising start, fans still have much love for the world begun by Alien - indeed, social media has declared today to be "Alien Day 426" - named for today's date, and the planet LV-426 where the Aliens were first discovered.
To mark this most special and arbitrary of occasions, here's a brief history of the key moments in Alien gaming.
However, due to that promising start, fans still have much love for the world begun by Alien - indeed, social media has declared today to be "Alien Day 426" - named for today's date, and the planet LV-426 where the Aliens were first discovered.
To mark this most special and arbitrary of occasions, here's a brief history of the key moments in Alien gaming.
1982 - ALIEN (Atari 2600)
The first Alien tie-in was released for the Atari VCS back in 1982, three years after the release of the movie. Of course, the world was populated by massive idiots back then, so of course Ridley Scott's atmospheric sci-fi horror movie would become a garish and unnecessary Pac-Man clone.
1984 - ALIEN (Zx Spectrum, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC)
As a graphically basic, top-down strategy game, Alien was a remarkably faithful recreation of the movie. Your role as commander of the Nostromo was to issue orders to your crew, getting them herd the titular Alien out of an airlock, or trap it on the ship, set the self-destruct, and make your escape in a shuttle.
Except... the crew all have their own personalities and emotional states - and will choose to follow or ignore your orders based upon how freaked out they are at the idea of eating a bad egg.
Except... the crew all have their own personalities and emotional states - and will choose to follow or ignore your orders based upon how freaked out they are at the idea of eating a bad egg.
1986 - ALIENS: THE COMPUTER GAME (ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC)
A weird hybrid of adventure and first-person strategy - with several arcade-like mini games thrown in - Aliens: The Computer Game was well received at the time. It is rightly regarded as one of the most atmospheric and terrifying games of all time, as your Colonial Marine squad hunts down the Aliens across the planet Archeron.
Playing it now, with its chunky, lo-fi, graphics, it's hard to imagine anybody being scared of it. But then, it's hard to imagine anybody ever giving Little And Large their own Saturday night TV series - and they were still going strong in 1986. "Rock on, Little!"
Playing it now, with its chunky, lo-fi, graphics, it's hard to imagine anybody being scared of it. But then, it's hard to imagine anybody ever giving Little And Large their own Saturday night TV series - and they were still going strong in 1986. "Rock on, Little!"
1987 - ALIENS: ALIEN 2 (MSX)
This was the first of several side-scrolling shoot 'em ups to be based upon Aliens, and was surprisingly alright. All the movie monsters are present and correct: xenomorphs, Alien Queen, facehuggers, bottomsniffers, grointouchers, bunsenburners...
Also, if you ignore that Pac-Man thing, it was the first game where you played as Ripley... Believe it or not.
Also, if you ignore that Pac-Man thing, it was the first game where you played as Ripley... Believe it or not.
1990 - ALIENS (Arcade)
Judging from the day-glow visuals and neon-hued monsters in this side-scrolling, Contra-style shooter, Konami's development team had either never seen Aliens, or had dropped a whole basket of hallucinogens. Also, Ripley had bleached her hair.
1992 - ALIEN 3 (Various)
Released across a variety of formats, the assorted Alien 3 tie-ins all ditched the one-alien-vs-prisoners movie plot, for a more exciting lots-of-aliens-vs-Sinead O'Connor alternative. What a terrible, terrible joke.
Curiously, there were dramatic differences between the various versions - the Super NES and Mega Drive games followed the same side-on shoot 'em up style, but were basically different games. The Super NES came out on top, duh.
Curiously, there were dramatic differences between the various versions - the Super NES and Mega Drive games followed the same side-on shoot 'em up style, but were basically different games. The Super NES came out on top, duh.
1993 - ALIEN 3: THE GUN (Arcade)
Again - rather than just fighting one Alien, Sega's The Gun threw hundreds at the player, for this on-rails light gun shoot 'em up. It's worth remembering that Sigourney Weaver only signed onto the movie on the promise that it wouldn't feature any guns (which is why all the characters wield flaming mops).
1994 - ALIEN vs PREDATOR (Arcade)
Capcom did what it did best with Alien vs Predator, by making it a side-scrolling, Final Fight-style beat up. The Aliens were the enemy, with the player picking from a choice of four characters - two cyborg human marines, and two Predator warriors.
When studying the bright, colourful graphics, it's worth remembering the lengths filmmakers went to in order to keep the Alien hidden in the shadows, so as to preserve its grisly awe. Well done, video game-makers of the era for utterly missing the point of the Alien's appeal.
When studying the bright, colourful graphics, it's worth remembering the lengths filmmakers went to in order to keep the Alien hidden in the shadows, so as to preserve its grisly awe. Well done, video game-makers of the era for utterly missing the point of the Alien's appeal.
1994 - ALIEN vs PREDATOR (Atari Jaguar)
Widely considered the best game on the Atari Jaguar - if not the only decent game on the Atari Jaguar - Aliens Vs Predator was the first of many titles to give you the choice of playing as a human, a Predator, or an Alien.
Lots of people seem to like this, judging from how developer Rebellion ran the idea into the ground. However, we were always annoyed by it, as we felt it demystified the Aliens and the Predators too much. But then, we're so iconoclastic it hurts. No, really. We have to get cream from the chemist.
Lots of people seem to like this, judging from how developer Rebellion ran the idea into the ground. However, we were always annoyed by it, as we felt it demystified the Aliens and the Predators too much. But then, we're so iconoclastic it hurts. No, really. We have to get cream from the chemist.
1995 - ALIENS: A COMIC BOOK ADVENTURE (PC)
Loosely based upon the series of Aliens comics published by Dark Horse, Aliens: A Comic Book Adventure was just that - albeit with some nice pre-rendered visuals, and a clunky grid-based combat system.
The story expanded on the Space Jockey race - seen in Alien - which would later be canonised to such disappointing effect in Prometheus, Ridley Scott's weird return to the series he gave birth to.
The story expanded on the Space Jockey race - seen in Alien - which would later be canonised to such disappointing effect in Prometheus, Ridley Scott's weird return to the series he gave birth to.
1996 - ALIEN TRILOGY (PlayStation, Sega Saturn, PC)
Very loosely based upon the first three Alien movies, this is more an Aliens game than anything else. Generally favourably reviewed upon release - the godawful limited draw distance accidentally added some much needed tension and atmosphere.
1998 - ALIENS ONLINE (PC)
An online-only multiplayer title, wherein players could choose to play as part of an Alien faction or Colonial Marines. Intriguingly, players on the Alien side were able to play as face huggers or the Alien queen. Though it wasn't universally loved, the game had its supporters. When the Alien Online servers were closed down in 2000, they were rewarded with a free copy of Ultima Online - and a small cake in the shape of a flansy.
1999 - ALIENS vs PREDATOR (PC)
This first game of a two-games-and-an-add-on series was developed by Rebellion - the studio responsible for the Atari Jaguar game of the same name. Both it, and a sequel - instead developed by Monolith - once again featured three campaigns; human, Alien and Predator. The novelty of that had by this point worn itself so thin you could see its nipples.
2000 - ALIEN: RESURRECTION (Playstation)
Based upon the peculiar movie of the same name, Resurrection loosely followed the plot of the movie, with the usual enemies... and the introduction of evil alien clones of Ripley. Originally, it was planned to be a Resident Evil-style survival horror game, but that decent-sounding idea was dropped and development re-started from scratch as a first-person shoot 'em up.
Interestingly, it was one of the few games to utilise the godawful PlayStation mouse - which added an extra layer of challenge and swearing.
Interestingly, it was one of the few games to utilise the godawful PlayStation mouse - which added an extra layer of challenge and swearing.
2001 - ALIENS: THANATOS ENCOUNTER (Game Boy Color)
Thanatos Encounter not only took its cue from the Aliens movies - albeit with an original storyline - but also Team 17's Alien Breed games... which took nothing but inspiration from the Alien movies. Arguably, the latter provides one of the better, more authentic, interpretations of the movies they failed to officially license.
2003 - ALIENS vs PREDATOR: EXTINCTION (Xbox, PlayStation 2)
A real-time strategy game, Extinction once again gave players control of the same three factions, with 7 missions a piece. Even as an RTS, it was hard to understand why developers kept reeling out the same weary notion. Look at that screenshot: Aliens running around in broad daylight. People don't need to see that any more than they need to see a nude Boris Johnson doing the same.
2006 - ALIENS: EXTERMINATION (Arcade)
Another on-rails light gun shooter, Extermination was intended as a sequel of sorts to Aliens - set once again on LV426. In addition to the Aliens, enemies included malfunctioning synthetic humans, and the base's security system. Nicely, the cabinet featured authentic replicas of the iconic pulse rifles, with which you could impress the arcade youths.
2007 - ALIENS vs PREDATOR: REQUIEM (PSP)
The less said about Aliens Vs Predator: Requiem - the movie - the better. The same can be said for this PSP exclusive - in which a Predator was the protagonist. His name? Kelvin J. Portmouse.
2010 - ALIENS vs PREDATOR (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC)
Rebellion once again return to the Aliens Vs Predator brand, and once again flailing players in the face with that one idea they had way back when. The most notable thing to do with the game was its banning in Australia. Publisher Sega appealed the decision successfully, leading to the game being published like a failed circumcision (uncut Down Under).
2013 - ALIENS: COLONIAL MARINES (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC)
A direct sequel to the movie, Colonial Marines was hoped to be the Aliens game fans had been clamouring for. With original voice actors reprising their roles, great attention to detail, and early footage promising much... there were great howls of disappointment when it arrived looking like the inside of a dog's anus.
ALIEN: ISOLATION (PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PC)
For many, Isolation remains the most authentic Alien game to date. The story was solid (if somewhat repetitive) - featuring Ripley's daughter's search for her missing mother - and with a solitary xenomorph hunting you using its own complex AI, there was no question that the tension was high.
Unfortunately, for our money, it was a little too difficult, the invincible Alien a little too smart and dangerous; seeing it typically meant instant death. Though certainly a step in the right direction - once again returning the Alien to the role of antagonist, and not a Predator in sight - the relatively low sales suggests that years of over-exposure had damaged the Alien brand, and people were reluctant to spend hours hiding beneath desks.
Unfortunately, for our money, it was a little too difficult, the invincible Alien a little too smart and dangerous; seeing it typically meant instant death. Though certainly a step in the right direction - once again returning the Alien to the role of antagonist, and not a Predator in sight - the relatively low sales suggests that years of over-exposure had damaged the Alien brand, and people were reluctant to spend hours hiding beneath desks.
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