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March 15, 2169, 06.25pm: aboard the Achilles cargo spaceship, flying to Earth with fifteen crew members, ore samples and 45 colonists from the planetoid LV-426, the artificial intelligence manoeuvring the ship awakens medical lieutenant Ashley Smith from cryogenic sleep. Soon, she discovers she is the only human who remains alive. The ship has been overrun by a dangerous extra-terrestrial species, presenting itself in the form of Facehuggers, crustacean-like beings that attach themselves to Ashley's face to suffocate her, and the horrible Xenomorphs, huge monsters whose assault is immediately lethal. Ashley will have to run through the corridors of the ship, facing the alien hordes and trying to find out the truth behind her predicament.

This is the plot of Aliens Neoplasma, the latest title of the SaNchez group, inspired by the Alien universe. A platform-and-ladders game where you impersonate Ashley, guiding her around the cargo hold, looking for terminals to interact with the onboard AI, thus allowing you to open doors and reconstruct past events through short conversations. Other re-fueling points will allow you to replenish ammunition for the pulse rifle and hand grenades, or to restore your vital energy. If this drops to zero, play will be resumed from the last reached terminal.

Grenades not only allow you to blow aliens up, but also to stop the large fan blades that reduce Ashley to slices if she falls into them. Sometimes fans can also be used to get rid of Facehuggers.

The initial impact is certainly positive: sprites are well defined and convincingly animated, with the Xenomorph being especially remarkable. Background music is a kind of "light" techno that can be pleasantly listened to. Seeing the mighty extra-terrestrial monsters fall under our shots undoubtedly gives satisfaction. However, as we enter the meanders of the Achilles, doubts begin to emerge.

The setting on a cargo spaceship, with the main character as the only survivor of its crew, ends up giving an impression of monotony. Forget the inner monologues of Survivisection, the dialogues of Castlevania Spectral Interlude and the scenographic variety and width of scope of both of those titles: here, you can see nothing but tunnels, stairs, doors and containers. Aliens themselves are more fearful for their numbers than for their offensive ability, as to get rid of Facehuggers and Xenomorphs it is enough to get in line with them at a safe distance as soon as we spot them, possibly taking advantage of the doors - which do not open until we are close to them - and press the fire button until they are dead meat.

Moreover, interaction with the ship's AI is limited. In fact, the only thing it really seems to respond to is when Ashley insults it.

Regarding gameplay, apart from the inconvenience of using two separate controls to jump and climb stairs, it is not encouraging to be forced to resume the action from the most recently reached terminal after the protagonist inevitably loses all of her health. Checkpoints may be understandable on consoles, but on a simple computer like the Spectrum they are just a nuisance.

In summary, Aliens Neoplasma, beyond the undeniable care that has been put into its production, looks rather like a single episode of a larger and more varied title, enlarged to assume the proportions of an entire game. Does this mean that it is not worthy of being played? Of course not. Fans of the Alien franchise in particular will appreciate it very much. Furthermore, a certain longevity is given by the two different endings which, depending on our actions, will be shown upon completion. However, compared to what we have seen in the previous productions of the SaNchez group, style seems to prevail over substance here.