Planet Alcatraz

About

In "Planet Alcatraz," players manage a prison complex on a distant planet, facing challenges such as alien attacks, escape attempts, and the need to keep prisoners content. The game features real-time strategy and simulation elements, as well as a variety of buildings, units, and upgrades to unlock. The ultimate goal is to maintain a stable and secure prison while surviving in a harsh and unpredictable environment.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

65%

Audience ScoreBased on 150 reviews

story12 positive mentions

graphics4 negative mentions

The game has a surprisingly fun and engaging storyline with a lot of dark humor and twisted quests.
Despite its flaws, the game offers a nostalgic experience reminiscent of classic RPGs like Fallout, with a unique setting and creative mechanics.
Many players found enjoyment in the game's absurdity and humor, making it a memorable experience despite its technical issues.

The game is plagued by numerous bugs, poor translation, and subpar voice acting, which detracts from the overall experience.
Gameplay can feel unbalanced and linear, with many quests offering little choice and leading to frustrating instant failures.
The graphics and user interface are outdated and clunky, making navigation and combat less enjoyable.

story
58 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
21%
74%
5%
The game's story is criticized for its linearity and poorly written quests, often featuring juvenile humor and limited player choices, which detracts from the overall experience. While some players appreciate the immersive plot and extensive quest offerings, many express frustration over bugs and a lack of meaningful narrative depth, leaving them feeling disconnected from their character's motivations. Despite these issues, the game does offer an entertaining premise and a rich world to explore, reminiscent of titles like "Mass Effect."
- “The story is very rich; I've played this game twice, once in 2008 when I bought a CD and now, after more than 15 years, I've finished it again.”
- “You're an imperial soldier sent as an undercover convict to a penal colony on planet Alzatraz with a mission to sabotage a spacecraft the convicts are building to escape the planet.”
- “Pros - immersive storyline and missions which get you really enthused to level up in the right skills.”
- “Then you are treated to a tutorial city full of terribly written quests with binary choices.”
- “Many dialogues only give two options (yes/no), and there is never an alternate way a quest can be handled like in similar games.”
- “You are given no back story for your character, no idea why you are there or what you are supposed to do.”
humor
28 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is characterized by its twisted and often unintentionally funny dialogue, largely stemming from poor translations and bland voice acting, which some players found amusing despite being cringe-worthy. While the humor can be hit or miss, with some sequences eliciting genuine laughter and others feeling pointless, it appeals particularly to fans of black humor and non-standard quests. Overall, the game's comedic elements, though flawed, contribute to its charm and enjoyment for many players.
- “What made me laugh in disbelief is when a character makes you deliver booze, accuses you of taking the worms within, and then holds a shotgun at you.”
- “The translation is not the best, but the unintended hilarious dialogue makes this game one of my all-time favorites.”
- “The thumbs up for me is the wicked, or should I say twisted, humor in the game.”
gameplay
24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
71%
13%
The gameplay features a mix of solid combat mechanics with line of sight and pause options, but it tends to lose its appeal after the initial hours, leading to a disconnection between narrative and mechanics. While there are enjoyable RPG elements, quests, and a large game world, many players find the experience frustrating due to outdated graphics, wooden animations, and a lack of polish. Overall, the gameplay is seen as a mixed bag, with some fun moments overshadowed by annoying aspects, earning it a low rating from users.
- “Fair hit system, smooth gameplay (although the animations are quite wooden), generous XP and money rewards for quests.”
- “The gameplay is basically Fallout with real-time with pause combat, and the story (if you can decipher it) works pretty well, providing a good justification for why gear would ramp up the way it does, and a lot of scrounging.”
- “Graphics are slightly outdated, game mechanics somewhat cranky, but the RPG system is nice, the story is excellent, quests are very fun, and there are lots of weapons and skills in a large game world (prison planet).”
- “The gameplay pleases only the first few hours.”
- “In short, this is an extreme case of a game where the narrative and the mechanics are completely disconnected.”
- “I wouldn't recommend the game, but for that low price, or better, on sale, you can try it. There are some funny sequences in it, but the gameplay is very annoying; I often found myself forcing myself to play it rather than actually wanting to.”
graphics
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
15%
65%
20%
The graphics of the game are widely regarded as outdated and subpar, with many reviewers noting that they resemble visuals from earlier gaming eras, particularly from 2002. While some find the graphics passable within the context of the overall gameplay experience, others criticize technical issues like overheating due to poor optimization. Despite the lackluster visuals, the game's engaging mechanics and story are highlighted as redeeming qualities.
- “Don't let the visuals fool you, if you like squad-based combat and translated absurdity, you will love this game.”
- “The graphics are not too bad considering the game as a whole.”
- “Graphics: passable.”
- “Sure, the graphics are shitty at best.”
- “2002 called and wants its graphics back.”
- “After you install it, your graphics card suddenly takes upon a life of its own and nearly kills itself from overheating because the devs of this game forgot to put in actual functioning vsync.”
music
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
38%
38%
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with some players finding it relaxing and catchy, while others criticize it for feeling reminiscent of outdated disco tracks. Overall, the soundtrack is noted for its enjoyable tunes, despite some associations with less favorable genres.
- “The music score is nice though, has a catchy tune I like.”
- “The soundtrack is stripped from 1987 pornos.”
- “Disco music started playing and I killed my first opponent by kicking him in the balls.”
- “I relaxed for 5 minutes listening to this music, long enough to realize that I would be okay.”
stability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game suffers from significant stability issues, including frequent bugs and frame freezes that disrupt gameplay. Additionally, the poor translation and lackluster voice acting contribute to an overall frustrating experience, despite some players still finding enjoyment in the game.
- “Every second the game freezes for a few frames, which is very annoying.”
- “It's buggy, the translation is an incomprehensible mess and the voice acting is so bland and context inappropriate that it made me laugh and cringe every time anyone said anything.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players note that the game features fixed encounters on all maps, which eliminates the opportunity for farming items or skills, leading to a more structured but potentially repetitive gameplay experience.
- “All maps are fixed encounters (no farming for items or skills).”
- “All maps are fixed encounters (no farming for items or skills).”
atmosphere
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game's prison atmosphere is engaging and dynamic, featuring diverse groups and frequent conflicts that keep players constantly entertained and immersed in the environment.
- “The prison atmosphere, with its various groups and the fights between them, will keep you engaged and never let you get bored.”