Alien³

Based on the film of the same name, this is a run and gun game published by LJN and developed by Probe Software. It was originally released in August 1992 for Sega Genesis and was later ported to many different platforms like the NES which this review covers.

The controls are swapped; B is used for jumping, and A is for firing your weapon. Also, unlike most games, you cannot jump off the ladders. Even worse, the screen doesn't keep up with the player; there is even a time limit, which you can't see; and the second stage looks nearly the same as the first, making it feel like you started the game over.

Like many LJN-published games, the game deviates too much from the source material, making it feel more like an adaptation of Aliens and not Alien 3. You can shoot guns, but you can run out of ammo in the game. Ripley never shot any gun in the third film.

The game also introduces a lot of Aliens, which is weird, considering that there is only one Alien in the third film. You can't attack those aliens until they appear on the screen. If they're not present, you may get killed fast. Ripley moves too fast, so it's hard to predict when the aliens come to attack you.

There are doors, but they can't be opened. Why include a door if it can't be opened? Also, at one point, there is a platform with some items on it, but you have no way of reaching it, so why was it even used?

Oh, and when the game finishes, it tells you that Ridley leaves the prison planet, but in the film, she never leaves the planet, and instead drops herself into the furnace and dies as the Alien Queen embryo bursts out of her chest.

So you thought the film was bad enough? This game is even worse...