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Alien Breed 3: Descent

Alien Breed 3: Descent

The final chapter in Team 17's new Alien Breed series is here. Christofer reviews the downloadable shooter.

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I'm fascinated by the trend of episodic digital releases. It's a new way of developing games that wasn't possible on this scale a mere five years ago. The danger as it turns is that you risk turning an idea that was barely fleshed out enough for a traditional downloadable title, into something that drags on too long and really suffers from being compared to a full retail release (what a few downloadable episodes amount to in terms of price).

Alien Breed 3: Descent is much like its predecessors. No one should lose any sleep over skipping over one or two of the games. The mechanics and graphics have been experienced before, and you won't remember the story in a month's time. Simply put, as a final chapter to a trilogy it's not really anything spectacular, but if you're looking for a simple standalone topdown action title you might want to give this a closer look.

The main campaign takes you through five long levels in order to break the neck of the man whose voice has been tormenting us all too often during our journey. Perhaps it's because of the awful voice acting that he must die. It would no doubt make more sense and feel more purposeful than the mundane space opera that makes out the story in Alien Breed 3: Descent.

The five levels are brimming with particularly aggressive breed of monsters. Judging by their attack patterns they don't rank amongst the most intelligent beings in the galaxy, but the relentless flood of enemies makes me doubt that they're really only in it for a meal. Predators or not, their innards must paint these corridors in order for me to survive. There is a definite "Nostromo" feel radiating from the environments.

I have six different weapons and a few grenade types at my disposal. The arsenal isn't exactly impressive, but that is made up by the great variation it offers, and every weapon has a purpose and place. The Electro-link gun is the one I enjoy the most, and it often takes out both the enemy I'm aiming at as well as few mates of his close by. Grenades on the other hand can't be trusted. This is especially true of the frag type that always seems to get stuck on the smallest of critters and never quite lands where you want it to.

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The graphics are of great quality for a downloadable title even if they may feel a bit recycled. Another strength of Alien Breed 3: Descent is its lasting appeal. Five levels may not sound like much, but each levels offers almost an hour of gameplay. Given that it's difficult in some parts and the stupidly placed save points it will take a while to complete the adventure. Add to that an old favourite - Survival Mode. As you probably know it puts you against waves of increasingly challenging enemies. And you can tackle this challenge with a friend, locally or online.

To sum it up you should consider buying Alien Breed 3: Descent if you miss something like this in your gaming library and pine for a challenge that comes in an easy going and accessible package. Even if this is in no way an innovative or revolutionary game it still provides you with those tense moments when you're low on ammo and the radar lights up with way too many blinking lights.

Alien Breed 3: DescentAlien Breed 3: DescentAlien Breed 3: DescentAlien Breed 3: Descent
06 Gamereactor UK
6 / 10
+
Nice graphics, challenging, good weapons variation, intense tempo.
-
Poor weapon upgrades, no co-op campaign, poor camera.
overall score
is our network score. What's yours? The network score is the average of every country's score

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