Alien 8 is an action-adventure video game that is developed and published by Ultimate Play the Game. It was released in 1985 for ZX Spectrum, BBC Micro, Amstrad CPC, and MSX. The game is a spiritual sequel to the best-selling game Knight Lore, which has received critical acclaim for its isometric graphics. In the game, the player takes control of a robot, Alien 8, whose job it is to ensure that all cryogenically frozen passengers aboard a spaceship remain viable during the cruise. The game was written by Chris Stamper and the graphics were designed by Tim Stamper. Alien 8 uses the same image masking technique as Knight Lore, which allows developers to create composite structures from stacked images without visual overlay. The technique has been copyrighted by Ultimate as a Filmation game engine. As with its spiritual predecessor, the game is projected isometrically. The game received critical acclaim when it was released. The reviewers praised the game's graphics and innovation. However, minor criticism was directed against the similarities with Knight Lore.
plot
On a dying planet in a distant galaxy, the last of the creatures known as "Guardians" stored all of their libraries, records, and knowledge on a single spaceship along with cryogenically preserved members of their race. A single robot, Alien 8, is tasked with keeping the ship's occupants alive for the duration of its journey. The ship is launched towards a new solar system and Alien 8 has been doing its job throughout the journey for thousands of years. However, when the ship gets closer to its destination, it will be attacked by enemy aliens and brought on board. The cryogenic life support systems were damaged during the attack and Alien 8 must restore them to working order before the ship's automatic thrust systems maneuver them into planetary orbit.
Gameplay
The game is presented in an isometric format and placed on board a spaceship. The player takes on the role of the Alien 8 robot and must explore the large spaceship to make sure that the cryogenic life support systems that keep the biological crew alive are reactivated. The core of this system consists of a series of geometrically shaped circuits. However, the circuits were removed by the invading aliens and distributed around the spaceship. The main objective of the game is to collect the correct circuits and bring them back to their respective locations before the spaceship reaches its destination. The circuits are shaped differently as cubes, pyramids, domes or cylinders. As with its spiritual predecessor, the game's environment consists of a series of isometric flip-screen rooms (which trace the outline of a large spaceship). There are 129 rooms in total and most of them are filled with various objects like moving platforms, static hazards like spikes and enemy aliens. Not only can the player perform well-timed maneuvers and jumps, but they can also use spaceship props to block or defend themselves. Another feature is the use of remote controlled drones that Alien 8 can steer into inaccessible or dangerous areas.
Development
Development on Alien 8 began immediately after the release of Knight Lore, in which the Stamper brothers predicted that publishers would try to copy Knight Lore's Filmation technology in other games. As with its predecessor, the Stamper brothers developed the game in black and white to avoid visual overlays and attribute conflicts, as it was a common processing limitation in early 8-bit consoles. However, the Amstrad version only showed two-tone colors. In 2019 an unofficial Commodore port was opened.
front desk
The game was critically acclaimed upon release. A reviewer of Crash praised its graphics and presentations, calling them "excellent" and "more imaginative and engaging" compared to its predecessor, although he saw them as "only slightly marginal". Amstrad Action also praised the graphics, citing them as "amazing", "brilliant" and with "great" color combinations. A reviewer from Amtix! stated that the graphics were "breathtakingly stunning" and improved over its predecessor. Popular Computing Weekly's David Kelly stated that the game was a "minor" disappointment due to its resemblance to Knight Lore, but claimed that the graphics were of superior quality than its predecessor. Sinclair User's Chris Bourne stated that the overall quality of the graphics was "higher" than its predecessor, despite using an identical system. Crash praised the new additions to the game, particularly the time limit and various collectibles. The reviewer stated that the new features are "compelling and exciting" as they differ from its predecessor. A reviewer from Amstrad Action also praised its innovation, stating that it had "wonderfully" original ideas, although it criticized similarities to Knight Lore. Kelly praised the game's additional puzzles and enemy animation, touting them as "brilliant." Similarly, Bourne praised the 3D animation, stating that each expansion of the game has improved on Knight Lore.
Conclusion
The noises weren't good and the goal to survive was to activate 132 Kryongaughts on board a spaceship before reaching a distant planet in 40 days. The game was hard and challenging, which made for the right addictive potential. The game is definitely recommended for retro fans.
