AREA 51 VIDEO GAME VERSION. Chances are, if you've ever been in a bowling alley, bar, or pizza parlor in your lifetime, you've encountered at least one Area 51 arcade machine. Originally debuting as a light gun-based shooter, This is perhaps for a reason, considering the original game, let alone its follow-up sequels, wasn't really that great to begin with. Thankfully, Midway's latest version of Area 51 bears little resemblance to its predecessors. Now, Area 51 is a first-person shooter. The original game's titular setting has remained intact, as has its army of mutated villains. However, Midway has decided to inject some storyline into this version, as well as a smattering of Hollywood voice talent and a pretty-nice-looking graphics engine. Unfortunately, all this gussying up can't gloss over what's ultimately an average shooter that doesn't offer up more than a handful of satisfying thrills throughout its single-player and multiplayer modes. As the title would suggest, Area 51 takes place at the infamous, eponymous military installation, where the US government supposedly houses all its secret alien technologies picked up after the Roswell, New Mexico, incident of the 1940s. As one might expect, for this to be much of a game, something has to go horribly wrong; and indeed, it does. You play as Ethan Cole, a HAZMAT operative sent in with his team--a prototypically ragtag bunch--to assess some manner of viral outbreak within the walls of Area 51. After a gruff meet and greet with the local military personnel, you're sent in guns blazing. What you end up finding is a horde of mutated soldiers, scientists, and other alien creatures wandering about the place, looking to infect and/or kill whatever comes their way. Oh, and there's also a whole bunch of nonsense involving the Illuminati, psychics, those little bigheaded, gray-skinned aliens we've all come to know and love, and a whole lot of crazy conspiracies thrown in to the mix.
Average Customer Review:
( 22 customer reviews )
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44 of 47 found the following review helpful:
Just As Good As the ArcadeNov 12, 1999
This game is awesome, a whole lot of fun. I remember when I used to plug so many quarters into the arcade version of this game, and spend hours shooting alien scum. This version for the playstation has all of the same pros to it. Only one con: without a gun (like the Interact Lightblaster), control is hardly worth attempting. A definite riot for two players.
22 of 24 found the following review helpful:
Area 51 Freaks!Dec 30, 1999
My family and I just got Area 51 for Playstation and we are very happy customers! To make the game a truly awesome experience, it pays to get a gun. We bought Interact's Lightblaster Gun, and it's just like being in the arcade!
16 of 20 found the following review helpful:
Trigger Happy FunFeb 19, 2000
Area 51 was definately one of my favorite arcade games. Now, here it is, a perfect port for the Playstation. Everything included in this is just as good if not better than the arcade version. Just make sure that you have a lightgun or two. I reccomend Namco's GunCon which comes with Time Crisis and Point Blank 1 and 2. All those games are great as well, so you cant lose.
5 of 5 found the following review helpful:
Pretty darn good...Mar 18, 2002
This game held down the top 5 in the arcades for over 10 months. That is a pretty amazing track record and this game completely emulates the arcade game perfectly. The graphis are run of the mill but the game is incredibly fast. However, if you do not own a lightgun (Namco GunCON) or some other type of lightgun then you shouldnt buy it. No gun = no fun!
The GUNCON from NAMCO is the best choice b/c it is the most accurate and durable...get this game if you have a gun.
Also recommended: Time Crisis, Time Crisis 2 (ps2), Point Blank, Point Blank 2, Point Blank 3, Time Crisis: Project Titan
4 of 4 found the following review helpful:
Great game that gets repetitiveMar 07, 2004
By Richard Allman
"nextbarrybonds27"
Although this is a great game, that's extremely fun, you can only play it once. The graphics are ahead of their time (not now, but they were), and when you use a lightgun it's a party. But, you end up doing the same thing over and over again. It's like you die, then just play again, so you can die again then repeat. It sort of gets old after a while. If you can get it for a bargain I'd say go for it, but if it's too expensive don't get it, because the time you'll play it won't be worth the money.
Graphics: 5/5 (for their time) Fun factor: 4/5 Replayability: 2/5 Sound: 4/5 (just normal) Overall: 4/5
based on 22 reviews
( 22 customer reviews )
