"Pretty average arcade shooter that's worth a shot"

Area 51. How do I say this? I know! It is an average arcade shooter that features the military agency S.T.A.R.S. (Resident Evil anyone?) battling gun-toting aliens in a ravaged military base. The premise may sound pretty cool, but the gameplay, sound, and graphics are pretty so-so. All the characters look okay, but the gunshots sound pretty inaccurate. The gameplay is okay, but shooting aliens in the same structure of level design can easily get repetitive.

Gameplay: 7/10
Area 51 is all about mowing down waves and waves of alien scum. Sounds cool for the first couple level and then you realize that all of the levels are basically the same. Sure, the levels may look differently, but it won’t be long before you realize that you are playing the same level that you played a few minutes ago. That my gaming friends, is the meaning of a repetitive game.

Control: 10/10
Well, all you have to do is hold up a gun and fire away at enemies!! What kind of man does not know how to hold up a handgun and pull a trigger? I know that I learned that technique a long time ago! Area 51 is definitely a game that even a tree-hugging hippie can play.

Sound: 6/10
Some of the sounds may be good, but the voice acting is pretty cheesy and the gunshots are pretty similar to the sound of a baseball bat being slammed onto a garbage can lid. The music is pretty cool but the shotgun sounds nothing like a shotgun! But sound never really plays a huge in arcade shooter because you are too busy taking down the opposition.

Graphics: 6/10
Some of the environments may look okay but I could not get over the fact that they put real people in a 3d world as characters! They look so awkward, and the weapon effects are not even that good. Also, the frame-rate can have some speed bumps thrown in.

Replay Value: 7/10
Area 51 is always a nice game to play every now and then in your local arcade. But, I wouldn’t play this if there are any other games that are better than it.

Game Time: 4/10
Area 51 is a very short game even for an arcade game! It only has around three levels and none of them are even that long. It may only seem long on a couple of levels due to the endless amounts of aliens coming at you.

Area 51 is a nice little game that may seem a little tired or repetitive due to the all-too-similar level designs. The so-so graphics and sound don’t really help either, but Area 51 is a nice little game that is worth your quarters.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 02/03/03, Updated 02/03/03