Alien Shooter 2: Reloaded
- May 27, 2009
- Sigma Team Inc.
Alien Shooter 2: Reloaded is a top-down shooter game where players must eradicate an alien invasion in a 3D environment. The game features a wide range of weapons, various types of aliens, and a leveling system that allows players to upgrade their skills and attributes. With a single-player campaign and a survival mode, Alien Shooter 2: Reloaded offers hours of gameplay and a thrilling experience.
Reviews
- Fun and addictive gameplay with a variety of weapons and enemies.
- Nostalgic experience that brings back memories for many players.
- Improvements over the original game, including better graphics and RPG elements.
- Performance issues, including crashes and low resolution limits.
- Lack of meaningful content compared to the original, with some players feeling it is a downgrade.
- Repetitive gameplay that can become boring over time.
- story206 mentions
- 16 % positive mentions
- 78 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The game's story has received mixed reviews, with some players appreciating the added depth and RPG elements compared to its predecessor, while others find it simplistic and generic. Many noted that the narrative serves primarily as a backdrop for the action, with some missions featuring engaging dialogue and character interactions, but overall, the plot is often described as cheesy and predictable. Despite its shortcomings, the story provides a framework for the gameplay, allowing players to enjoy the alien-shooting experience.
“The story also has more substance, with choices that affect how things unfold.”
“There is also more of a plot to this game than its predecessor, making it more of a story, and in my opinion, more enjoyable as well.”
“The game is almost twice as long as the first entry, providing the room necessary for its story to be told.”
“The story literally seems to change script halfway through... and both scripts are terrible anyway.”
“The game was made on a budget, had an awful story with some generic and predictable characters, awful voice acting and dialog, and is awfully short.”
“Barely there plot which gives you enough reason to shoot aliens and little else.”
- graphics126 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 71 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game have received mixed reviews, with many players noting significant improvements over previous installments, including better detail and a darker atmosphere. However, some users find the graphics somewhat dated or unoptimized, with occasional glitches and a lack of clarity in certain areas. Overall, while the visuals may not be cutting-edge, they contribute to the nostalgic and enjoyable gameplay experience, especially for fans of retro-style shooters.
“The graphics are well-done and the sound design is top-notch, adding to the overall immersion of the game.”
“The graphics received a big upgrade.”
“Graphically the game is significantly improved.”
“Game did not start at first (switched pack to Vista), no sound, graphics are absolute garbage, unoptimized.”
“The graphics are low res, and not in a charming, deliberate Terraria way, but a 'this engine sucks and we're a team of carefree chancers' kind of way.”
“The graphics are dark and the walls opaque.”
- gameplay74 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- 59 % neutral mentions
- 11 % negative mentions
The gameplay is generally described as fun and fast-paced, featuring a simple yet satisfying loop of shooting hordes of aliens with a variety of weapons. However, some players find it repetitive and criticize the addition of RPG mechanics and progression systems as unnecessary, detracting from the core experience. Overall, while the game retains enjoyable elements from its predecessor, it struggles with level design and pacing, leading to mixed feelings about its execution.
“The gameplay is fast-paced and satisfying, with a wide range of weapons and enemies to take on.”
“Great gameplay just like the first one, and the atmosphere is easily three times better.”
“A fantastic top-down arcade shooter with some RPG mechanics thrown in.”
“While the graphics are decent and the sound effects enhance the atmosphere, the gameplay can feel repetitive at times with its simple loop.”
“Secondly, instead of expanding the original gameplay, the developers decided to add a lot of redundant RPG elements and progression systems.”
“It's more or less the same game, but they ruined it by oversimplifying the RPG mechanics, adding 3 long, boring, and pointless stages with no music, and speaking of music, there's only 4 action music tracks, while the original version had 11 tracks!”
- music60 mentions
- 37 % positive mentions
- 58 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The music in the game is widely praised for its engaging soundtracks, with many players noting that it enhances the overall experience, especially during battles. While some reviews lament the reduction in the number of tracks compared to previous installments, the remaining music is described as catchy and atmospheric, effectively complementing both action and non-combat scenarios. Overall, the soundtrack evokes nostalgia and adds a significant layer of enjoyment to gameplay.
“The OST still rocks, and even managed to give me goosebumps a bit because they remade some tracks from the first part.”
“Melting hordes of charging aliens and prioritizing which ones are more dangerous, quickly swapping weapons on the fly to nail heavy hitters, all to intense pounding music which even with only a few tracks never seems to get old.”
“The action music is catchy and nice to blast aliens to, while the atmospheric music is even better as it is actually creepy and gives off a horror vibe.”
“While the base game is still Sigma Games Studio's best work to this day, it's a shame the extra added levels lack detail and even in-game music.”
“It's more or less the same game, but they ruined it by oversimplifying the RPG mechanics, adding 3 long, boring, and pointless stages with no music, and speaking of music, there's only 4 action music tracks, while the original version had 11 tracks!”
“In addition, instead of adding new environments, the sequel again takes place in dim laboratories and those few levels you have in open areas utilize mediocre transport mechanics and are just poorly designed themselves (they don't even have secrets and background music).”
- atmosphere20 mentions
- 60 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 15 % negative mentions
The atmosphere in the game is widely praised for its tension and dark, creepy vibe, enhanced by improved graphics and sound effects. Players appreciate the dynamic music that shifts between action-packed and atmospheric themes, contributing to an immersive experience. Overall, the combination of solid gameplay, a variety of weapons, and a rich atmosphere creates an engaging environment for players.
“Alien Shooter 2 is the direct sequel to the first game and offers a whole lot of content like more levels, upgraded visuals, new weapons, and a nice, dark atmosphere.”
“The action music is catchy and nice to blast aliens to, while the atmospheric music is even better and actually creepy, giving off a horror vibe.”
“Great gameplay just like the first one, and the atmosphere is easily three times better.”
“While the graphics are decent and the sound effects enhance the atmosphere, the gameplay can feel repetitive at times with its simple loop.”
“Great gameplay just like the 1st one, and the atmosphere is easily 3 times better.”
“This time around we also get to use cars and even a tank to destroy hordes of aliens plus the graphics and atmosphere have been improved!”
- optimization18 mentions
- 11 % positive mentions
- 11 % neutral mentions
- 78 % negative mentions
The game's optimization is widely criticized, with users reporting significant stuttering, framerate drops, and crashes, even on modern systems. Many players suggest workarounds, such as disabling the Steam overlay and adjusting settings, but overall, the game is deemed poorly optimized, especially compared to its original version.
“I feel this game is poorly optimized for modern systems, even though the original plays flawlessly.”
“I adjusted the configuration to turn VSync off due to performance issues, as it's not an in-game option, and changed to a slightly better resolution; I used 1440x900 on a 24" monitor.”
“Game did not start at first (switched pack to Vista), no sound, graphics are absolute garbage, unoptimized.”
“I feel this is because the game is poorly optimized for modern systems, even though the original plays flawlessly.”
“It also has stuttering, framerate drops, and potential crashes despite being an 11-year-old game, even when running on Windows 7.”
- replayability14 mentions
- 29 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 21 % negative mentions
The game's replayability is mixed; while it offers high replay value through various difficulty levels and a survival mode, the linear campaign and lack of procedural generation limit the experience. Players can revisit to uncover secrets and challenge themselves, but those who have fully explored the game may find little incentive to replay beyond increasing difficulty. Overall, it receives a moderate rating of 7/10 for replayability.
“The replay value is high due to the ability to play through the campaign on different difficulty levels and the inclusion of a survival mode.”
“Replayability: 7/10”
“Very much a classic isometric shooter, and although 00's hardware allowed it to be a bit more impressive than similar (though admittedly rare) games of the 90's, it still suffers from the lack of replayability.”
“Replay value limited by linearity of campaign and lack of procedural generation (difficulty levels aside, the campaign is exactly the same each time, from layout to enemies and loot).”
“It has an 'ok' replayability, because you can run through the game again and find every single secret place and kill every monster, though if you've done that already there's not many reasons to replay the game other than trying a harder difficulty.”
- grinding8 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the initial missions to be tedious and grindy due to poor visibility and enemies that absorb too much damage, leading to a frustrating experience. However, as they progress and acquire better weapons, the gameplay becomes smoother, maintaining the series' signature monster-slaying excitement. Overall, while the grinding aspect is noted as boring, it eventually evolves into a more enjoyable experience.
“It's just boring and grindy.”
“Tedious job.”
“The first 3...4 missions are tedious because it is too dark, so the visibility is bad, and some monsters seem to be bullet sponges.”
- stability8 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The Steam version of the game is plagued by bugs and stability issues, including a maximum resolution of 1024x768 and lack of borderless or widescreen support, which may require modding that can introduce further glitches. While the game has a pleasant graphical style, these technical shortcomings can detract significantly from the overall experience.
“The game itself is good, but this Steam version is buggy.”
“AS2 is only good if you can stand the outdated port; otherwise, these issues can put you off easily - max resolution is 1024x768, no borderless or widescreen support (you have to mod, but glitches may appear).”
“The game offers some pleasant graphics and graphical style, although there are some ugly glitches here and there.”
- humor6 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is characterized as both entertaining and intentionally absurd, with many players finding the bad voice acting and writing to be a source of hilarity. Overall, it is considered a great value for its comedic content, making it a fun experience for those who appreciate its unique style.
“It is hilariously worth the money.”
“This game is awesome, and it should be pretty damn cheap for being the hilarious game it is.”
“+ hilariously bad voice acting and writing...”