Trying every PS-Plus Extra game: Alienation

My quest to try every single game offered on the Playstation Plus Extra membership plan continues. The way I approach this is simple: I try every game for at least an hour and then judge the game based only on how well the game is able to suck you in and keep you there from the very start. I pay no attention to whether or not the game becomes better later because I don't have enough time for that since I only have a few months and around 100 games to go through.

I think the first hour of a game is the most important part of the gaming experience. If a game cannot entertain you at the very start I am not going to stick around to see what the later game content is like. Some of my favorite games of all time have been ones that were immediately fun and stayed that way for many hours afterwards.

Today I'm diving into a game that kind of reminds me of many other games like it in that it is fun and probably a lot better if played in a group online. However, I only played it in single-player mode.

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Although classified as an "action-RPG" game I feel as though it is definitely more of an action game and I don't really see the RPG aspects of it. In this game you are dropped onto Earth's surface at various locations and you are charged with clearing out Alien infestations. It certainly isn't a novel approach to the game's plot, but I don't really think that would ever end up being the appeal with this sort of game anyway.

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The action is pretty fast-paced and even though I played it with just one player, it is playable with up to 4, and I think it would be a lot more fun if I had been playing it with more people. Gameplay is simplistic in that you just run around shooting stuff and the enemies gradually become more difficult and take more than a couple shots as you move on. There are also various chests that can end up containing weapon upgrades and this seems to be completely random in a "Diablo" sort of way.

There are other aspects of the game that are quite Diablo-esque in my mind in that while the map you are currently on is relatively huge, you are only required to venture through a certain amount of it. If you venture off the main track you will occasionally encounter various bosses that might end up dropping something special for you in the way of armor or another weapon.

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They mix things up by having various events such as defending a position for a certain amount of time but for the most part your objectives are always to invade a certain area and destroy some sort of Alien structure. It's fun at first but ultimately, I found it to be quite repetitive after a while because honestly, how can they really mix things up when you are basically just running and gunning and killing wave after wave of alien creatures.

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The screen can get really full at times and for the most part I would imagine that most peoples' strategy will end up being to backpedal a bit and mow everyone down before proceeding forward. Things get a bit annoying because the main thing getting in your way is the reloading process that while realistic, becomes a pain rather than a feature since you have to do it 96 times per level. Also you tend to run out of ammo on a regular basis and the only way to get it back is to kill more enemies with your melee attacks and they will quickly overwhelm you if you do this. Of course you can never really "die" you just respawn at a checkpoint so I guess this doesn't matter too much.

You gain XP and can level up your stats over time but for me, after an hour and a half I started to feel like the game was just an endless repetition of doing the same thing but slightly different for the sake of gaining levels and getting better guns.

For people that enjoy leaderboard type games and joining in with what is bound to be toxic strangers in MP games, this could end up being a lot of fun. Or if you are a casual gamer and you have online friends that are not looking for anything terribly hardcore to do as a team, this could be a great way to spend a bit of time running and gunning with buddies because the control scheme is extremely simple.

I would recommend this for people that play with friends but not attempt to dive too much into it because the variety of scenarios and weapons for that matter are not varied enough to really hold your interest for very long as a single-player game.

Recommended for multiplayer, single-player not so much

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Games I have tried in my journey to play every PS-Plus Extra game for at least an hour

• Windbound (survival game with rogue-like elements - not recommended)
• Magicka 2 (top-down humorous multiplayer hack and slash-sort with immense spell system - maybe recommended)
• Tearaway: Unfolded (charming casual 3D platformer with inventive graphics and gameplay designed for all ages - recommended for casual players)
• Spiritfarer (casual simulation / resource-management style game with an extremely good story - recommended for all)
• Observation (point and click survival sort of... interactive game of sorts set in space - found it very boring after just one hour and do not recommend)
• Gabbuchi (simplistic puzzle game that I feel is better suited to mobile devices. Not recommended on consoles)
• The Messenger (8-bit style action/platformer that is a throwback to original Ninja Gaiden. It's simplistic fun. Recommended)
• Megadimension Neptunia VII (typical JRPG with some adjustments made to combat for uniqueness. Could be fun and I lukewarmly recommend for someone willing to dedicate 50 hours to a turn-based RPG)
• Monster Jam: Steel Titans 2 (monster truck racing game that will appeal only to people who are already fans of the sport - not recommended for any other people)
• Entwined (Visually appealing rhythm pace game that is very easy to pick up but gets repetitive after 30 minutes or so - recommended for anyone that can get it for free.)
• 2Dark (8-bit graphic survival horror/stealth hybrid. The game becomes extremely difficult really fast and therefore failed to hold my attention - not recommended)
• Virginia (interactive-cinema...not really a game and it is over in a couple of hours. Not recommended)
• Trials of Mana (simplistic action RPG that will definitely appeal to the casual gamer that is a fan of old-school RPG combat mechanics - recommended)
• Journey to the Savage Planet (FPS exploration game in a semi-open-world environment. The game is intentionally silly and I loved it - recommended)
• Resogun (arcade-style single-screen SHMUP that will get boring to most people after an hour or so. Not recommended)
• The Book of Unwritten Tales 2 (point and click adventure game that doesn't work on consoles and is just irritating to play - not recommended)
• Mighty No. 9 (it's Mega Man but terrible. Definitely not recommended)
• Moving Out (delightfully funny moving company simulator. It gets boring and repetitive pretty quickly. Recommended for a short laugh)
• Last Day of June (a sad story done in 3rd person perspective that while an interesting story and/or life lesson, quickly becomes repetitive and dull. Not recommended)
• Shiness: The Lightning Kingdom (action adventure RPG with an inventive combat system that unfortunately becomes very boring very fast. Filled with bugs and invisible walls, I lost interest within the first hour. Not recommended)
• Hue (inventive puzzle-platformer that whose basic controls are the reason why it is fun. This is also the reason why it gets old after a couple of hours)
• Dragon Quest Builders (simple building game similar to Minecraft with a quest and story system built it. A lot more fun than I thought it would be and highly recommended)
• Bound: Shattered Kingdom (artistic 3D platformer with an unusual graphical style that has an amazing story. It's only 2 hours long but still very good. Recommended)
• Hohokum (an artistic and relaxing experience but ultimately it isn't really a game because there are no clear objectives. Not recommended.)
• Bound by Flame (basically a budget Witcher but fails in almost every way. This game was frustrating to endure for an hour. Not recommended )
• Stray (a simplistic and beautiful adventure / puzzle game that I think most people would enjoy. However, it isn't as perfect as professional reviews would indicate IMO)
• Alienation (action RPG that plays similar to Diablo3 but set in a futuristic world. Recommended for casual multiplayer with friends)