The Digest: Alien Breed 2: Assault packs quite a lot for a Xbox Live Arcade title. With a fun, albeit generic campaign, co-op eligibility and survivor mode, you’ll definitely get your money’s worth here.

THE FACT SHEET

RELEASE DATE: September 22, 2010
PUBLISHER: Xbox Live Arcade
DEVELOPER: Team 17 Software
ESRB RATING: “T” for Teen
GENRE: Isometric Shooter

PRODUCT OVERVIEW:
Alien Breed 2: Assault is the second chapter in the Alien Breed series, and is an explosive science fiction arcade-shooter with an epic story, swarms of highly intelligent alien enemies and highly detailed environments, developed using Epic Games’ Unreal Engine 3. Assault finds the player taking control of Conrad, Chief Engineer aboard the dying ship Leopold and continuing his fight for survival across the fatally damaged space vessel.

PRODUCT FEATURES:

• Survivor Mode
• Hardened Armour and new weaponry
• All-new ‘Webber’ alien and new and shocking bosses
• Epic Single-Player Story Mode
• Two-player Co-Operative Play Mode
• Exclusive Xbox LIVE Avatar Award Items: ‘Barnes’ Helmet and Body Armour

Alien Breed 2 is setup to be a horror-survival game. You take on the role of Conrad, the game’s protagonist. Stuck on board the spaceship, Leopold, you must make your way across the ship in order to bring it back up online.

Using the famous Unreal Engine, the game sports some very nice graphics for a Xbox Live Arcade title. This is especially evident when the view switches from top-down to third person and you can actually see all the details and work that went into the environment. The effects are pretty good and the small things like all the various moving parts in the environment add a nice touch.

One rather seemingly unimportant feature actually ends up being one of the most useful. Using the shoulder buttons, you can rotate the camera in different directions. This is particularly helpful when you’re walking through tight corridors and want to use different viewing angles.

Controls are very simple. As an isometric shooter, you move with the left joystick and aim with the right. You have the ability to do melee attacks and run—although you do get fatigued from running long distances at a time.

When using items, you hold on the left bumper until a meter fills up. It’s actually a smart way to implement use of items because it keeps you from accidentally using some of them. Though there will be times when you will need to quickly shoot a frag or stun grenade to get yourself out of a sticky situation.

Intex stations are scattered around the spaceship. Here, you can purchase ammo, items, upgrades, and save your progress. Stocking up on ammo and health packs at these stations are key due to their limited supply.

The save system isn’t the greatest. I’ve died just before an auto-save point or Intex station to only have to go all the way back to my last save point and start again.

Upgrading weapons allows access to more ammo, a faster reload, and stronger damage. However, early on, you’re better off saving your credits to purchase health packs and ammo.

With your pistol equipped with an unlimited supply of ammo, you’re better off conserving your other weapons when facing smaller, less threatening enemies. There will be times where you wish you saved some extra assault rifle ammo for a sticky situation.

There are plenty of weapons, and with the ability to upgrade each of them, there are enough combinations to keep players from getting bored with the provided arsenal.

In the upper right hand corner, you have a radar grid that indicates your next waypoint. It also shows red dots for nearby enemies, which comes in handy with the limited lighting. However, it would have been nice to have an actual map layout instead of just a generic grid.

Objectives are fairly straight forward. Go to point A and activate some sort of console and then move on to point B. While generic in nature, they have enough variation to at least keep things moderately interesting. Activating these consoles usually accomplish numerous objectives; everything from unlocking a restricted area to connecting platforms for you to move across.

While exploring, you have to stay on your toes because the aliens pop out of the ground and without a moments notice. With short range on your flashlight, you must rely on a quick trigger finger and your trusty radar to keep you apprised of any nasty little surprises.

You’ll find human corpses littered around the station while you explore. Most of the time you’ll find ammo on them, but occasionally you’ll find credits and sometimes nothing at all.

At certain points you’ll have to fight bosses. Usually just really big aliens, but they keep things interesting with a variety of attacks and ways in which you can approach fighting each of them. While not technically boss fights, there will be times when you’re swarmed with waves of enemies. However, these areas are usually equipped with an automatic turret to help you combat them.

Conclusion: Alien Breed 2: Assault is a fun top-down shooter with plenty of cannon fodder to keep you occupied. With a co-op mode and a survivor mode that is reminiscent of Gears of Wars’ Horde mode, you can continue your fight beyond the campaign. The upgrade system makes searching that extra corner for potential credits worthwhile. You can’t argue with the price and value you get in the gameplay here.

Single Player: 4/5 | Multi-Player: 4/5

Special thanks to Team 17 for providing us with a copy of the game for review.