Gurney Devries
Oct 7th, 2004, 11:38:55 AM
I'd heard about this mod a while ago, and had a passing interest in it, but I never got around to actually downloading it until last night. I knew, from trailers, screenshots, and word of mouth that it would be good. But I had no idea that it would be fantastic.
Black Cat studios, the mod team responsible for making AS, is quickly earning themselves a name as the most professional mod team out there right now. Their first mod, Thievery UT, was a seminal success. And its follow-up, Night Blade, is looking to be phenomenal. Until Night Blade comes out, however, we have Alien Swarm.
Let me start out by putting it this way: Alien Swarm reeks of professionalism and polish. If they had packed this in a box and sold it, no one would have any reason to believe that it was anything other than a retail game using the Unreal engine. From the moment you first start it up, you're greeted by slick menus with top-notch artwork.
http://img62.exs.cx/img62/5421/alienswarm-menu.th.jpg (http://img62.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img62&image=alienswarm-menu.jpg)
The voice acting all sounds very natural and high quality, when it's used. The graphics are on par with any recent game you can think of, and it runs great (about the same as most UT2K4 indoor maps).
On to the game itself:
Alien Swarm borrows heavily from the "Aliens" franchise, especially the second movie. As opposed to playing the role of a single character in the single player campaign, you're in charge of a small squad of about 4-5 marines, each with unique skills and functions. It's your job to neutralize the threat presented by alien Xenomorphs, who (as the mod's title implies) swarm in great numbers. Pitch black and very swift, they can be fearsome enemies individually. In large numbers, they're outright killing machines.
At the start of a mission, you're given the opportunity to pick which troops you want to take in with you. Some soldiers are better grunts, while others can be medics, technicians (good for hacking security consoles and cutting through doors), or exotic weapon specialists. You then have the option to modify each soldier's starting weapons if you wish, but their default loadouts seem to work just dandy. During a mission, you can control any one marine at a time while issuing orders to the rest of your team to do things like lay down cover fire, hold position, cut through a sealed door, etc. It's almost like a streamlined Rainbow 6. With facehuggers.
http://img73.exs.cx/img73/2246/alienswarm-01.th.jpg (http://img73.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img73&image=alienswarm-01.jpg)
The game plays from a top-down perspective, which is what really makes it a unique mod. You point your cursor where you want your currently selected marine to fire and then left-click to have him blast whatever's occupying that space. It works out very nicely, and the gameplay is very refreshing. I can't say I've played any other game quite like it. In addition to requiring a quick trigger finger, there are many elements of strategy involved in proceeding through missions. Knowing when to hold your ground, how to advance, what types of weapons to use, and much more. I have to say, the mod team blended these elements in perfectly: Never once does decision making feel like a chore. Every choice you make just further immerses you into the game, where you have to decide if you want to have your team charge forward and possibly get slaughtered, or to hold their ground while you scout ahead.
You know what's even more fun? Aside from having a solid Single Player campaign, Alien Swarm has Co-Op! While the AI in SP is surprisingly good, there's nothing like teaming up with 4 other people, knowing that your back is being watched by a living, breathing human as you help each other try to stay alive. In truth, Alien Swarm may have initially been designed as a Co-Op game. But the Single Player is so robust that neither it nor the multiplayer mode feel like an afterthought: They're both equally developed.
If you own UT2004, you owe it to yourself to download this mod right away. If you don't, consider buying it just so you can play this. Even if you never touch the core UT game, it'd still be money well spent. Plus, I hear UT2K4 is a lot of fun, too. ;)
You can download Alien Swarm, check out some more screenshots, as well as download a trailer for it at www.blackcatgames.com/swarm/
Black Cat studios, the mod team responsible for making AS, is quickly earning themselves a name as the most professional mod team out there right now. Their first mod, Thievery UT, was a seminal success. And its follow-up, Night Blade, is looking to be phenomenal. Until Night Blade comes out, however, we have Alien Swarm.
Let me start out by putting it this way: Alien Swarm reeks of professionalism and polish. If they had packed this in a box and sold it, no one would have any reason to believe that it was anything other than a retail game using the Unreal engine. From the moment you first start it up, you're greeted by slick menus with top-notch artwork.
http://img62.exs.cx/img62/5421/alienswarm-menu.th.jpg (http://img62.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img62&image=alienswarm-menu.jpg)
The voice acting all sounds very natural and high quality, when it's used. The graphics are on par with any recent game you can think of, and it runs great (about the same as most UT2K4 indoor maps).
On to the game itself:
Alien Swarm borrows heavily from the "Aliens" franchise, especially the second movie. As opposed to playing the role of a single character in the single player campaign, you're in charge of a small squad of about 4-5 marines, each with unique skills and functions. It's your job to neutralize the threat presented by alien Xenomorphs, who (as the mod's title implies) swarm in great numbers. Pitch black and very swift, they can be fearsome enemies individually. In large numbers, they're outright killing machines.
At the start of a mission, you're given the opportunity to pick which troops you want to take in with you. Some soldiers are better grunts, while others can be medics, technicians (good for hacking security consoles and cutting through doors), or exotic weapon specialists. You then have the option to modify each soldier's starting weapons if you wish, but their default loadouts seem to work just dandy. During a mission, you can control any one marine at a time while issuing orders to the rest of your team to do things like lay down cover fire, hold position, cut through a sealed door, etc. It's almost like a streamlined Rainbow 6. With facehuggers.
http://img73.exs.cx/img73/2246/alienswarm-01.th.jpg (http://img73.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img73&image=alienswarm-01.jpg)
The game plays from a top-down perspective, which is what really makes it a unique mod. You point your cursor where you want your currently selected marine to fire and then left-click to have him blast whatever's occupying that space. It works out very nicely, and the gameplay is very refreshing. I can't say I've played any other game quite like it. In addition to requiring a quick trigger finger, there are many elements of strategy involved in proceeding through missions. Knowing when to hold your ground, how to advance, what types of weapons to use, and much more. I have to say, the mod team blended these elements in perfectly: Never once does decision making feel like a chore. Every choice you make just further immerses you into the game, where you have to decide if you want to have your team charge forward and possibly get slaughtered, or to hold their ground while you scout ahead.
You know what's even more fun? Aside from having a solid Single Player campaign, Alien Swarm has Co-Op! While the AI in SP is surprisingly good, there's nothing like teaming up with 4 other people, knowing that your back is being watched by a living, breathing human as you help each other try to stay alive. In truth, Alien Swarm may have initially been designed as a Co-Op game. But the Single Player is so robust that neither it nor the multiplayer mode feel like an afterthought: They're both equally developed.
If you own UT2004, you owe it to yourself to download this mod right away. If you don't, consider buying it just so you can play this. Even if you never touch the core UT game, it'd still be money well spent. Plus, I hear UT2K4 is a lot of fun, too. ;)
You can download Alien Swarm, check out some more screenshots, as well as download a trailer for it at www.blackcatgames.com/swarm/