Set on the doomed and crumbling space ship The Leopold, the Alien Breed Trilogy charts the story of Theodore J. Conrad, chief engineer and right guy in the wrong place, as he attempts to reignite the engines after a collision with a mysterious ghost ship.
Featuring all three top-down isometric shooter games, Conrad can run and shoot in all directions and, naturally, is controlled with the dual analogue sticks – one for movement, the other for aiming direction.
The series pretty much consists of travelling around the Leopold, switching on various power terminals, restoring power and escorting innocents you may bump into. All of this is clearly marked out and the ship’s main computer, Mia, keeps you up to date with what task is next.
Along the way Conrad will find various items, such as guns, first aid and grenades. One of the more interesting items that you may find is a gun turret, which is particularly handy when fighting off the hordes of alien nasties.
Most of the loot is randomly left on the floor, but you can also search corpses for various items – a dark little touch that brings a sense of horror to the proceedings.
Another nice mechanic is the ability to rotate the camera angle by pressing either LB or RB. It’s a neat little trick that opens the series in many ways, and reveals plenty of hidden secrets scattered through the Leopold.
Aside from the standard autosave feature, your progress can be recorded at the various Intex terminals. These handy computers give Conrad the opportunity to upgrade his weapons and purchase items such as ammo and first aid.
Graphically, the series is very solid and the developers, Team 17 have done a terrific job in giving the classic series a modern upgrade with the Unreal 3 engine. The contrast is pretty prominent, with the darks and lights having a wide ratio.
The sound design also does a great job in recreating the kind of atmosphere present in the likes of the Alien film series - Alarms go off, creatures scurry in the dark, machinery malfunctions without warning – you get the idea.
There are a few gripes to be had with the game, but they’re somewhat minor.
At times it can also get a bit repetitive – the series all too often relies on getting Conrad to unlock doors by backtracking to a computer terminal.
The shaky-cam during some sequences can also give you a bit of a headache after a while, and the autosave feature proves to be particularly irritating by making you go through sequences several times.
Overall, the Alien Breed Trilogy is a fine little package. While it's not the best game out there, if you are a fan of top-down isometric shooter games and enjoy a nice slice of sci-fi survival horror, this could be the series for you.
Verdict: 7.5 out of 10
Alien Breed Trilogy is out now and priced at £29.99 (RRP)
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