Area 51 (arcade game)

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This article is about the video game. For the U.S. Air Force installation in Nevada, see Area 51.

Area 51
Screenshot of Area 51
Developer(s)	Mesa Logic
Publisher(s)	Atari Games
Designer(s)	Robert Weatherby
Release date(s)	1995
Genre(s)	Light gun, Rail shooter
Mode(s)	Up to 2 players simultaneously
Rating(s)	ESRB:M (Mature) 17+ (console/PC ports only)
Platform(s)	Arcade, Sega Saturn, PlayStation, PC
Input	Lightgun
Arcade cabinet	Standard
Arcade system(s)	CoJag
Arcade display	Raster, 320 x 240 pixels (Horizontal), 65534 colors

Area 51 is a light gun arcade game issued by Atari Games in 1995. It takes its name from the Area 51 military facility.

1 Overview
2 Description
3 Legacy
4 Ports
5 External links

[edit] Overview

The plot of the game involves the player taking part in a military excursion to prevent aliens and alien-created zombies from taking over the Area 51 military facility.

[edit] Description

The game takes the player through several sections of the facility, including a warehouse and underground tunnels. The player must kill all of the zombies without harming any allied STAARS members (at the cost of one life point). None of the actual aliens will appear until the office level.

The game is notable for its use of digitized video stored on an on-board hard disk, and the bizarrely contrasting unrealistic gibs into which every enemy blows apart when shot, in exactly the same way. Another interesting note about the game is its several "backdoors"; by shooting certain objects in the correct sequence players can unlock shooting exercises, weapon stashes, and gain bonus items that are not available in the main game plot.

The game's arcade board, CoJag, was a modified Atari Jaguar with enhanced graphics and sound capabilities.

Unlike other light gun games, Area 51 allows the players to start at the beginning of the game, or warp ahead to the middle of the game.

[edit] Legacy

In 1998, an arcade sequel titled Area 51: Site 4 was released. In 2005, a first-person shooter was released that shares the name and uses the original as an inspiration was released for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, and PC. It featured a more sophisticated storyline and features the voices of David Duchovny, Marilyn Manson, and Powers Boothe.

On August 31, 2004, Paramount Pictures announced that it had bought the world-wide film rights for the series.^{[citation needed]} Billed as an action-packed thriller, producer Christine Peters was said to be collaborating with the game developers to help construct the film. On September 9, Variety reported that Paramount had hired Dean Georgaris to write the screenplay and produce with partner Micheal Aguilar. It was to be under their Penn Station banner along with Christine Peters and Midway.[1] However, not much has been officially announced and the film's development current sets in an unknown status.[2]

[edit] Ports

Tiger Electronics' handheld version

In 1996, the game was ported to the PlayStation, Saturn, and PC. Tiger Electronics later developed a miniature version of the game with an LCD screen.