"Has some originality but lacks lasting interest somehow"

Ready for an Agent Falcon spinoff for the 24th of July? Let's start it off with Area 51.

As you should all know, Area 51 was released by Atari in association with Mesa Logic as their answer to Lethal Enforcers. Area 51 might have enough secrets to have the average eagle-eyed shooter play for a lifetime, but once the secrets are all found, then it's all over. Plus there are a lot of flaws associated with this game that I would like to discuss in detail.

Graphics

This is definitely one of the most important aspects that Agent Falcon rates a game in. If you had to ask, Area 51 uses digitized graphics and backgrounds. The background animation seems to be a bit choppy at times. Whenever the background has to rotate left or right (rather than go forward, go left, go right, or go backwards), the animation isn't quite smooth as the game would benefit from higher rates of animation per second. Another reason why I'm pretty concerned with this game is because the enemies are basically moving left and right and they don't attempt to ''pressure'' their bleeding when you hit them. Most of the time when you move around, animation becomes quite phooey at times because just about everything is digital, and I felt that the graphics needed the most work. The detail of the digitized graphics are kind of grainy to my tastes and are not that lusturous to look at.

Mechanics

Two players can play at once in one screen. You use a light gun and a button that allows you to wipe out all enemies in the screen at the same time. Since you stand close to the screen, there should be no reason why you shouldn't miss. The light gun should've taken advantage of several good technologies that I've seen through this industry, though.

Gameplay

The learning curve is simple: Shoot anything but don't shoot innocent bystanders. At times if your shooting meets certain standards at a given area, then you will discover a secret. However, it would be a lot better if the innocent bystanders would help you rather than annoy you for 100% of the time. Although the secrets feature is pretty much a welcome feature, it's all over once you find all the secrets that the game has to offer. Area 51's flaw is that you will eventually take hits without knowing that you've got hit. You don't get warned when somebody is trying to hit you, but you take hits as time goes by. It would be better to get a warning before I end up losing a life box. This is the same flaw that Operation Wolf from eons ago had.

Story

The plot is pretty weak as you're asked to ''sanitize'' a facility that is taken hostage by a mysterious alien life form. As you play through the game, the plot doesn't get stronger as the game progresses meaning that the game needs a good improvement in the story. Rather than using the ''Remove the Aliens away from the facility'' theme, I would like to see stronger plots, such as Crisis Zone's complex takeover turning into a security threat.

Overall

Area 51 might be a shooter worth spending money at your arcades, but once you find all the secrets the game has to offer, then it's all over. Also, the grainy detail and choppy animation antics of this game really turn me off as the screen isn't lusturous in animation and detail at all. Another concern is that the story is really weak. I would like stronger plots whenever games like these hit the market. I recommend that you steer clear of this game and stick to Namco's light gun games. Also, give Konami's Silent Scope series a try after you play this one. That's all for now...

Reviewer's Score: 2/10, Originally Posted: 07/24/00, Updated 04/07/02