Alien Breed 2: Puzzles! I mean Shooting Aliens! PEW PEW

More Aliens!   More Weapons!  More... puzzles?  Chapter 2 of Alien Breed nearly immediately launches us into solving puzzles.  Admittedly simple puzzles, but its still an odd juxtaposition for a 80's arcade shooter remake.

This chapter is clearly about teh puzzls

Ok, poison trap puzzle solved, we're off to meet up with Mia, the creepy robot lady (possibly taken over by an evil AI.  We've been hinted at).

Alien Breed 2: Assault

Why is it that in every "Discover a ghost ship swarming with zerg-like aliens" game, there is identically colored alien goop covering half the ship?

Wait.

Why is that even a question?  Is the sci-fi branch of survival horror so saturated with zerg-infested derelicts that a new ultra-specific genre has been born?

For that matter, if you've given me an assault rifle and as much ammo as I can use, why is this survival horror again?  There is neither fear nor even really tension, even on "veteran."  Just a lot of beasties popping out of monster closets and getting mown down by my character, a former Space Marine with "super-human"  determination and tenacity.  Also the longest active-duty service record in more than three centuries.

This. Is. Not. Survival. Horror. 

I'm not enjoying this game.  However, it hasn't managed to kill me yet, so onward we slog.

A.R.E.S. Extiction Agenda

This Megaman-like is a lot of fun, although the control scheme definitely favors a game pad.  Perhaps I should have used one, but I went for the mouse and keyboard instead.

I started out with a laser gun.  PEW PEW

Upgradeable weapons and the ability to make items out of drops are a neat twist.  The initial enemies don't provide much of a challenge.  They're slow and stupid, and die in a few hits from even my puny lvl 1 laser cannon.  Platforming provides the usual thrill and challenges, as long as I manage not to fall on anyone.  This isn't Mario, after all.

That looks suspiciously like a robo-Xenomorph...

The first miniboss wasn't too hard, but I took a few hits, and got lots of loot in exchange.  Moving along.

After an uneventful journey...

BOSS FIGHT!

That's a lot of turrets

My Super Special Valkyl Zypher Cannon fixes them.

Special move recharging, and the actual boss shows up.  Just like old times in Megaman, we have a hard hitting, high HP, slow, predictable behemoth.  I dispatch him handily.

I clearly need to work on my screenshot timing.  There were lots more explosions ingame

Speaking of explosions, I get a HE grenade. Cool!  I'm hurting pretty bad (kindly indicated by a sparking animation).  Fortunately level completion resets the health bar.

Level two starts off by handing me another grenade, EMP this time.  I can it use to freeze enemies and obstacles; and it somehow doesn't hurt me, even though I'm a robot.  Ok then.

A wild Robo-Xenomorph appears!  And this one has a gun too.

My new gun is blue, and shoots lasers really fast.  PEWPEWPEW.  I also have no health.

He took most of my health, but I took his gun, so I guess I win.

OOOooooh pretty, it's a "Laser SMG."  Let's upgrade it!

Well, that was stupid.  Now I have a better laser smg, but I can't afford to make any repair kits.  We're going to creep ahead very carefully now, and try to pick up enough drops to build one.

*nin nin nin*

I do pretty well until I come to one of the falling-block traps ubiquitous in the corner of the platformer genre.  A well-timed roll will get me through this!

Or not.  I'm in little robot pieces, and the (apparently) evil robot-controlling sentient gas gets to keeps its hostages.  Yeah, I'm confused too.

In any case, chalk up another fail.

Is next: More Basejumping!  I'm pretty sure you can die if you stick the landing wrong, too.