Giving a heavy nod to Ridley Scott's oh-so-creepy Alien film series, Alien Breed delivered a good dose of top-down sci-fi arcade adventure back when it first came out for the Amiga. Its portable debut is punctuated with plenty of crawly beast-blasting fun that spans the original game, an updated special edition, and a handful of all-new levels created for its iOS release. While the formula feels a little dated, there's still plenty of pull left in this intense bid for survival amidst the horrors of deep space.
Being called in to investigate a remote space station that has mysteriously gone silent throws you into the maw of danger, as you push your way through maze-like corridors filled with alien creatures that jump out of the darkness. There's a strong Gauntlet vibe that comes with using dual virtual thumbsticks to explore and blast the eerie foes crawling at you from all sides, and navigating stages goes beyond pushing to the objective point on each map, since scavenging ammo, door keys, and health power-ups is crucial for keeping alive against the hordes.
The flow of roaming and shooting gets repetitive at moments, though weapon upgrades like rocket launchers, flamethrowers, and laser pistols can be purchased with cumulative cash found throughout the game to help change things up. Playing the original version of Alien Breed, complete with old-school graphics, has some retro charm, and the Special Edition mode has many new levels and extra weapons to fiddle with. The four new iOS stages are enjoyable too, but simply feel like more of the same. The big draw of playing across each version is to collect cash to access all of the extra goodies.
The bottom line. Alien Breed's sci-fi shooter action holds up fairly well on iOS, and while it's better enjoyed in shorter bursts to stave off feelings of repetitiousness, it's a well-done update to an old-school classic.
iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad running iOS 3.0 or later
Huge retro charm. Nice features and extras. Classic arcade gameplay holds up well.
Missions can get repetitive. Serviceable graphics update.
