"The best light gun game since my dream about Jurassic Park. They invaded my freakin' house!"

Area 51 is a light gun shooter, similar to Lethal Enforcers, House of the Dead, and Time Crisis.

Game Play-
8/10

Area 51 is an Automatic First Person Shooter (EB calls it a “Track” shooter), which means the computer controls your direction. The formula was seen in past arcade games such as Lethal Enforcers, Revolution X, and Operation Wolf to an extent. This time, you don't do it from an exact 2-d angle. Sometimes you shoot from different angles, like upward and forward. You obviously use a light gun peripheral.

The game, at it’s heart, is a fast shooter where only the hotshots succeed. The enemies come at you fast, so be ready to shoot on sight! The game was really short. There were a bunch of levels, but they were extremely short. But, you can continue and add to your high score. I once spent twenty dollars (eighty quarters) in an Area 51 machine. It was worth it though, I got the high score. (I would have gotten a higher score if that kid had not forced himself in on the two player feature). That is a true story, and I am honestly a little embarrased. But, I do stupid things all the time and I'm not embarassed. I once licked the floor of a bus. I do daring and stupid stunts for the public eye. I was born to entertain!

Control-
8/10

In order to really enjoy this game, you have to be good with a light gun. I can kill anything the second it comes on screen. The light gun is very easy to use. There are many things to shoot in the game, and they are easy to shoot. Just don’t shoot a fellow agent. The gun may give you a sore hand after a while. And for some reason, I still don't know how exactly light guns work.

Graphics-
9/10

The graphics are surprisingly good. The polygons aren't blocky, and the camera angles don't skip frames. The enemies are of different variety. That is good work for the time in which Area 51 came out. Which was, like five years ago. The graphics are pretty good. The frames run smooth and the visuals are pretty nice. The game has basically no slowdown either.

Audio-
4/10

There was no music in Area 51 whatsoever. Seriously, no music in this game. The sound effects were extremely good though. The dying, shooting, and vocal sounds were great. But no music, even Revolution X (The game where you shot CDs at bad guys) had music, although not good music.

Enjoyability-
10/10

To really enjoy the game, you have to become a hotshot at it, like me. Three machines boasted my top score. The game is very fun, and worth a play or two. I seriously recommend this for you to do, NOW!

Score Rundown

Game Play-8/10 – The best light gun game out there, but game is too short
Control-8/10 – The light gun needs practice to get a good streak, but easy to use
Graphics-9/10 – The polygons look nice and realistic
Audio-4/10 – There is like, no music in this game
Enjoyability-10/10 – Careful. This game will suck up quarters fast

Score-39/50

Percentage of Gaming Goodness-78%

Overall-
8/10

Doodleheimer's Recommendationitivity-

The game is definitely worth playing, and you’ll probably want to play the game again. The price is 50 cents to start the game, and 25 cents to continue. It’s definitely worth it. The addictiveness of the game and the amount of practice with the light gun makes this game worth playing. Luckily, as long as you keep putting quarters in the machine, the game will never end. It’s like Tyrian. The game will continue in a loop, keeping your score. I love Area 51, this machine was in the same cabinet as Maximum Force, another Light Gun game, although I did not touch Maximum Force. I just loved Area 51 too much.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 05/15/01, Updated 05/20/02