Aliens Online

Aliens Online is an online FPS based on the second part of the famous science fiction film series Aliens. The production was created in cooperation with Kesmai Corporation, known mainly for its online sim series Air Warrior, created together with Mythic Entertainment, known for online games such as Dragon's Gate and Rolemaster: Magestorm.

Mechanics

In terms of mechanics, Aliens Online is a typical - although in many aspects innovative - online FPS, in which two teams of players face each other. We can take the side of the United States Colonial Marines or the iconic xenomorphs, first seen in the Alien movie. Compared to similar productions, Aliens Online is distinguished by such elements as asymmetric teams, the ability to host more than hundreds of players simultaneously, division into classes/specializations and limited RPG elements, manifested in the character progression system.

As the marines, the players have four character classes at their disposal, i.e. Medic, Scout, Soldier and Heavy Weapon. The soldiers are armed primarily with firearms such as pistols, rifles and pulse rifles, although there is also a motion tracker, an item known from the movie, which allows you to locate moving aliens. During the game, the marines can team up into squads of up to 4 persons, which enables them to access more powerful weapons, as well as to view the actions of the other members of the team by means of mini-cameras placed on their helmets. Kills and victories are rewarded with experience points, enabling us to gradually raise the rank of our character and finally transform an ordinary marine into a veteran of great strength and firepower.

As the aliens, we also have four classes at our disposal: Face Hugger, Drone, Queen, and Empress. Unlike the soldiers, xenomorphs fight mainly in close quarters, and their basic weapons are attacks with claws and tail. In addition, they can hide and leap across the rooms, and their ability to scan the entire map helps them find enemies. In return for killing marines, aliens are rewarded with experience points, and once they have reached the appropriate levels, they can enter the game as a Queen or an Empress, which are extremely difficult to kill (although there can only be one player of this class on each map at the same time).

Game modes

The game in Aliens Online takes place on film-inspired maps, such as a spaceship or alien nest, each filled with sewer pipes and ventilation ducts to help the xenomorphs navigate quietly and quickly. In the original version of the game, only the Eradication mode was available (a variation of the classic team deathmatch), in which the game takes place until all xenomorphs on the map are killed, or until the limit of respawns of the marine team is exhausted. In later updates, the devs of Aliens Online introduced additional gameplay modes, such as Capture the Flag and the ability to play with bots.

Technical aspects

Aliens Online uses a modified engine from the earlier Mythic Entertainment game, Rolemaster: Magestorm, and features an atmospheric, full-fledged 3D visuals. The action window occupies about 2/3 of the screen, and the rest is the game interface.

Additional information

Although Aliens Online was available for free download, you had to set up a GameStorm account and pay a monthly subscription of $9.95 to play. Despite the good reception, the life of Aliens Online was relatively short. The game servers were closed on May 29, 2000 (a bit more than two years after its release), just after the GameStorm website that supported them was purchased by Electronic Arts.

Last updated on February 14, 2020