It's becoming hard to believe I'm reviewing Alien Breed: Impact again. Though this entry is titled Alien Breed 3: Descent, there's nothing 3 about it. Barring maybe it's position on my list of the best entries in the Alien Breed Trilogy.
Right off the bat, you'll likely note the universal critique that this game does not justify its existence as a sequel. Instead copying and pasting theIt's becoming hard to believe I'm reviewing Alien Breed: Impact again. Though this entry is titled Alien Breed 3: Descent, there's nothing 3 about it. Barring maybe it's position on my list of the best entries in the Alien Breed Trilogy.
Right off the bat, you'll likely note the universal critique that this game does not justify its existence as a sequel. Instead copying and pasting the previous entry and adding the red filter over the previously green interface, not unlike New Vegas from Fallout 3. Unfortunately, I have to agree with the masses here, so once again - anything I stated in my reviews of the previous two games, Alien Breed: Impact and Alien Breed 2: Assault, applies here unless explicitly stated otherwise. I'd recommend reading those first for a full picture.
Story wise, this game is appropriately the third and final act, including all downsides of that structure when separating 3 equal length games. You see, in the 3 act structure, the acts are not intended to be the same length. The setup is the shortest, followed by the conclusion and the middle action far outweighs them both. Except all three of these games are 5 levels each meaning that the conclusion here is mind-numbingly drawn out. This game is four levels of faffing about in the back of the class until the final level poses a test; forcing you to cram any relevant study in as quickly as possible. And overall, it's not satisfying. Klein is neither interesting, despite their best attempts at a philosophical or sympathetic nature, nor threatening as he sends more endless waves of the same aliens that you've already genocided twice in the past 24 hours. Dictators be hatin'.
Gameplay wise, there isn't much to add. It's somehow worse, and not just because I was completely sick of the same gameplay I'd been experiencing like some sort of dystopian time loop plot. For one thing, they decided the backlash against the fixed camera sections in the last game meant they were heading in the right direction like the plot of an episode of some generic comedy with an idiot character. As much as they provide a break in the usual aesthetic, they still control like piloting an RC plane using only a fork clenched in your ass. But that's honestly the minor issue. You might expect that a trilogy of practically the same game thrice would use that system as a means to introduce a difficulty curve over the course of the series, and you'd be somewhat correct in that assumption. Though these levels prove to be more of a difficulty roller coaster than a nice curve (like a difficulty bodice) and this entry does something simply annoying. It's not enough that most of the boss encounters have one of my absolute worst pet peeve mechanics - infinitely spawning adds. But the cheapness of the whole affair starts to stink of gas station sushi. When the previous entry started spamming the small face hugger enemies the difficulty was already starting to show signs of discounting price, but some of these levels have them spawning near you at a constant rate of about 1 per second. Enjoy interacting with anything when you have to keep stopping halfway through to haemorrhage yet another baby bug. Adding to this is the constriction of information. Half the levels have huge blacked out areas where eyesight cannot penetrate the two feet of torchlight before you. A red dot will appear on your radar and before you can even see the slimy git he's already nibbling your ankles. However, the real kicker is that they just gave up on having enemies spawn in fair and interesting nodes. Now enemies will simply burst open holes directly underneath you meaning you have no defence for 1-2 hits. And good luck seeing these fools when aliens can clip each other and occupy the same space, yet only one of them will take the bullets, or they just might hide the hole under you with their irritating carcasses and hence the alien in said hole. Suddenly, damage is just happening to you as if trying to mimic the cancerous cells in your body. These are difficulty mechanics you find in a bargain bin.
What's left after all of that, though?
There's water everywhere that slows you down. Yay...
There's the constantly repeating two voice clips of the villain laughing. The Tourette's of Disney villainy, I call that.
Oooh, there's the note I've never had space to mention before regarding every other characters' incessant need to end any dialogue sentence directed at Conrad with his name, Conrad. This is funny at first, Conrad. But honestly it gets really distracting, Conrad. And it is quite literally the first lesson in dialogue every writer learns, Conrad. It's unnatural, yet it's a common mistake, Conrad. I guess they just don't know how else to address Conrad, Conrad. Seriously, you'd think Conrad is his formal title, not his name, with how often these people have to drool it out their mechanical mouthpieces.
The game is simply tired. It's a tried and untrue formula. Take that as you will.
Conrad.… Expand
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