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Head biting, gut ripping, face hugging, people shredding...

Ripley, the sole survivor of the crew of the Nostromo that was chomped by a single Alien in the original film, now reluctantly leads an assault on a base packed with alien eggs, warrior face huggers and queens. Their mission is genocide!

The target is a human colony that was built on the remote planet containing the alien eggs. The Aliens wiped them out, now they're after you...

You command a team of six troopers led by Ripley which includes Gorman, a space marine, Hicks, who is noted for fast reactions, the android Bishop, the tough Vasquez and Burke (the Company man). Each is armed with an alien-frying smartgun that can take out a warrior with a single shot at its head (or three to its body) and is also useful for blasting doors open or sealing them by taking out the lock mechanism.

Each crew member must be ordered separately either by issuing commands (e.g. 5n, move north five rooms) or by direct joystick control. I found this to be the better, although slower method, as you could ferry your crew room by room through the deadly maze of corridors. If you find an alien (or an alien finds you!) you'd better be quick before its jaws get you. You're given a fighting chance as a proximity alarm warns of a nearby alien.

If a crew member is attacked while you're controlling someone else then the aliens will try to take them over. This is represented by a health bar, which is normally green, turning yellow. You can save them if you can get to them and kill the alien before the bar turns purple. Panicking at this stage can cost you your entire crew!

Aliens can still be deadly even once you've killed them as they can leave impassable pools of acid in front of important doors and bio-mechanical growth all over the walls. This must be cleared, otherwise it will spread with disastrous effects. The air ducts will become infested with alien eggs and soon you'll be swamped with face huggers. Besides, if it takes control of the generators you'll be plunged into darkness and a hopeless situation.

The screen display shows the view of one of your crew as well as their gun sight. Underneath that is a picture of that team member, their current ammunition level and a display for each human showing their current state of health and the number of the room they're in. These numbers are essential to find your way through the complex. I also found it useful to blast the doors and the locks to mark a route through the maze for the rest of the team to follow since you haven't got time to ask directions when you're being chased by aliens.

Soom rooms have special significance, such as the armoury which automatically recharges your smart guns, the control and generator rooms that must be defended and the Queen's chamber that must be taken to win the game.

This is not an easy game to play as it demands almost total concentration coupled with a steady fire button finger and a cool nerve. One slip could cost you your entire mission.

Very few games have such atmosphere that compel you to return for more and more until you finally succeed. Aliens is an excellent game based on a superb film and is undoubtedly the best licensed game yet produced.