Alien Storm

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Alien Storm

Developer(s)	Sega
Publisher(s)	Sega
Release date(s)	1991
Genre(s)	ActionArcade, Sci-Fi / Futuristic, Shooter
Mode(s)	1st-Person Perspective, 3rd-Person Perspective, Side-Scrolling
Platform(s)	Arcade, Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, Sega Master System, ZX Spectrum
Media	8MEG Cart
System requirements	Game Controller
Input	1-2 Players

Alien Storm is an arcade game by Sega, later ported to the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis and Sega Master System.

1 Game play
2 Description
3 Storyline
4 External links

[edit] Game play

Like most Sega arcade games of the time, such as Golden Axe and Altered Beast, Alien Storm is a side-scrolling action/adventure game. The player (up to 2 players at once, 3 on the arcade version) selects from 3 different characters to embark upon a quest to save the Earth from an alien invasion. Each character has a wide array of attacks, including limited usage of a special attack that eliminates all enemies simultaneously within view.

[edit] Description

The aliens are invading Earth, and it's up to the "Alien Busters" to wipe them out and destroy their creator. The Busters consist of Karen, Garth and Scooter. Each one of them have their own unique weapons and special attacks.

When you start the game, you can select any one of these characters to play as. There are 6 missions to complete (8 in the Genesis version) with several stages, and each mission has you blasting aliens all the way to the end, from the streets to the mother ship, where you'll meet the mother of all aliens. Unfortunately, blasting these aliens will not be an easy task, as they get tougher in every mission, and are capable of hiding inside objects such as plants, postboxes, trashcans, drums, and other items. Each mission has an objective such as rescuing people or destroying an UFO.

When you deal with a few aliens, flying heads will appear, which you can shoot to collect life or energy (by the way, life is important to you, since if yours get empty, you're dead). However, rather than using your ordinary weapons, you can use the special attacks which are far more powerful than your regular shots. These types of attack vary depending on the character you choose at the start of the game. For instance, Garth summons a U.S. Air Force Jet that drop bombs across the street, while Scooter is able to teleport out of his present location, and leave a series of bombs that will blow up aliens on sight, he will then re-appear. However, using your character's special attack uses up a lot of energy, and if you'd have enough, you can't use it.

At the end of some missions is an alien boss, which you must destroy in order to complete the mission. Also, at the end of every one, you have to enter buildings where you participate in a shooting gallery. The objective is to take out the aliens popping up from several locations with the building.

[edit] Storyline

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

A homicidal alien race is invading earth, and the only thing that stands between them and world domination are a special forces team known as the "Alien Busters" composed of Karen, Garth(named "Gordon" in some versions) and Scooter (the robot, named "Slammer" in Master System version). In a similar format as other early Sega arcade games, each character has unlimited usage of various short-range attacks, i.e. punches, kicks and an electric whip or gun. They also have the ability to use a limited special attack that destroys all the minor enemies on the screen at once, but uses up your player's energy bar. The game has 6 stages (8 in the Sega Genesis version) that take the characters from the city streets to the alien mothership.

During the game, you need to rescue humans from the aliens, and at the end of each level there is a large alien boss to defeat. The game play often shifts from the side-scrolling game to a shooting gallery perspective where you must take out the aliens that pop out of various locations.