Everybody knows that Team 17 are one of the elite companies in the software business and I don't want to waffle on for ages abut how good they are. They seem to know what the public want and provide it with amazing graphics, sound and playability slapped in there for good measure.

Alien Breed is still one of my favourite games ever, not least because it was a sneaky interactive rip-off of the film, Aliens by James Cameron. One thing that was consistently present in the film was atmosphere, and luckily the film version did transmit successfully to the screen.

The original Team 17 blaster featured two marines called Johnson and Stone who ventured forth into a station called ISRC-4 which contained on Alien Breed. Johnson and Stone wandered through six massive and hugely challenging levels fighting aliens with all guns blazing.

Alien Breed was probably the first product to really set the Team 17 success ball rolling and proved to be an immensely popular with the games buying public. While everyone was eagerly awaiting the sequel, Team 17 did the unexpected and released a superior and enhanced version of Alien Breed at a budget price. Most companies wouldn't even dream of doing that, but Team 17 managed to hit the bull's eye and Alien Breed Special Edition has been at the top of the budget charts since November 1992, breaking the record for the longest stay at number one.

The Special Edition featured more action, more atmosphere, more gameplay, was a bigger game to boot and at only £10.99 has to be one of the best value for games you can buy. A masterstroke had been pulled by the lads and lasses from Wakefield, but the general public was gasping for the "proper" sequel and now after almost 22 months of desperate waiting it is here.

It's been nine long years since the first outbreak of aliens when Johnson and Stone crushed the invasion on a remote space research station. The horror has temporarily ceased. Times have changed in many ways; the IPC has now grown and strengthened, mainly due to the alliance of the six major races in the Federation colonies.

Problems, it seems, are long gone and the Federation can look forward to indefinite peace. But Johnson and Stone who witnessed the terror of the aliens can still not rest easy.

FEDERATION COLONY
Federation Colony Alpha-Five, home of several hundred crew members, has been transmitting emergency signals for the past few hours. Federation HQ fears the worst and it's almost as if history is beginning to repeat itself.

The four strongest members of the IPC's marine force are called together, but just two will make the journey to FCA5 their mission brief unclear, but they know that the horror is about to continue.

Yep, the scenario is similar to James Cameron's Aliens, but that isn't such a bad thing. The first new feature you came across is the introduction of new marines. You can choose which of the four IPC characters you want to play with.

Each one starts with different weapons and slightly different abilities, but you will have to find out what they are for yourself. Defaults are the old crew Johnson and Stone, but you can now select Ruffertoo and Zollux.
Ruffertoo is an intelligent lizard lifeform while Zollux takes on the form of a tough war robot. You may find it best to experiment with combinations of characters that best suit your style of play before you start your mission properly.

When you begin the game, you are lowered by a Federation dropship onto the landing pad of the Alpha-5 base. Your mission will be as the brief outlined to you by the Federation before you start to kick alien ass.
With a silly inane grin spread across your face you decided to check out this second bout of alien Breed tomfoolery. Starting outside the base you get the chance to boost up your supply of cash and keys while desperately trying to avoid the gunships and meteorites that fly overhead. Finally you discover the exit and immediately tens up because you know in just a few seconds time it will be time to face the aliens once more.

Exploding onto the next level you are immediately faced with one of the rasping beasts. Instinctively you grab your machine gun and plough a ton of lead into its disgusting alien body. One down and only thousands to go! Wondering around the level you find that you can once more gain access to the Intex 4000 computer terminals. For those who don't know about Team 17's original alien blast-'em-up, the Intex 4000s were a source of supplies.

Once you've logged onto the computer network, you can order extra weaponry, key packs, ammo packs and such like. The weapons are available in three stages. Each is more powerful, but each stage uses up more ammo, so it's up to you which weapon you choose.

The Intex terminals also supply your marines with information on the current mission and gives access to the Info base which is a large source of information about the game. For the truly dedicated "breeders" out there is the option of looking at your current statistics and status.

BRILLIANT
I had only played Alien Breed 2 for ten minutes and I already knew it was as good as its predecessor. It plays just as well as the original Alien Breed and that is a good enough reason for me to pour superlative over superlative onto the sequel.

Alien Breed 2 is no better than or worse than the original product - it is just as brilliant. Obviously the graphics and sound are better than those seen in the first game a couple of years ago.

I could grumble and whinge about the fact that the sequel's graphics don't seem to be as dark and moody, and thus are not quite as atmospheric as those from the original. But that's not to say that they don't look exquisite though, especially in the A1200 and A4000 versions of the game. The A500 does suffer slightly from colour loss, but nothing that's noticeable straight away.

The static screens in the A1200/A4000 are far superior to the A500s, but its all rather superficial as you're normally too busy rummaging through th levels blasting aliens to take any notice of the static shots.

Alien Breed 2 features a more varied count of aliens and levels than its predecessor. In fact there are many new features, and it still retains that fresh feel of originality which captured the hearts of hungry little gamers a couple of years ago.

Any self-respecting Alien Breed fan will have already rushed down to the shops and bought this one, having had it on order for the last six months. The only gripe I have about Team 17's sequel is that it is bloody hard, but hey, that's probably just me being completely useless!

I don't need to tell you twice to buy Alien Breed 2 because it is so good. Fans of the original will fall deeply in love with it and want to have its children while newcomers will wonder why they ignored the first effort. The Teamies are going from strength to strength, and at the moment look completely unbeatable.

Sitting in the test room pootling around with Alien Breed II, I was moved to ask consultant ed Nic Veitch what he was doing with the stopwatch he was clutching. "Split-second reflexes and no small amount of cunning are required," he continued. "Want to know what I had for breakfast as well? Toast and Marmite, lots of vitamin B".

Not the most exciting conversation to take place in the AF office. Yet this seemingly insignificant tête-à-tête bears such resemblance to this shoot-em-to-high-heaven game that it almost defies belief. For Alien Breed II requires split-second cunning and no small amount of reflex action. And the two main protagonists, Johnson and Stone are just the types who would consume Marmite by the lorryload before heading off to blast aliens.

Brief Plot Scenario type of paragraph. It is some nine years since our heroes from the Inter Planetary Corps crushed an invasion of frightful aliens. Peace prevailed - until now, that is. The alien fiends are back and without the help of Flash, Super, Spider, Wonder, Six Million, the Judge or even the lads from Star Trek, it is up to you to quell this latest coup.

Aargh! Aliens!
Bombarding you from all angles, the nasties' barrage is constant and unforgiving. Balls of fire (goodness gracious), choppers, mutants, blobby things - you name it, it is on your case. The helicopters can run you over, yet fly over fences taller than you without gaining any height, while you shoot in vain hitting the barriers. Not fair. But persevere, and after the initial anxiety and tears, you will treasure each success. Pick-ups are scattered across a wide area, and if you are playing a simultaneous two-player game, it is wise to share them out so you both benefit. Credits are essential pick-ups and the first aid ones come in handy. Also, the keys enable you to get into all the rooms and passages.

Once inside the complex, there is a computer network which you can log on to when the need for that essential purchase arises. It provides access (if you have credit) to a range of goods including weaponry, key packs, as well as a superb selection of cutlery, crockery and tea towels with maps of the levels on.

The game area is huge. It is a maze of rooms and passages, which would not be so bad but for the fact that they are occupied by more aliens than the population of China (NB: Future Publishing reserves the right to let Steve exaggerate wildly, sometimes).

Good game, good game
Team 17 have, in this AGA version, produced some good graphic effects - the pre-mission screens are particularly stunning. The scrolling is smooth, although in the two-player games, both characters have to be on the screen at the same time, and you can get stranded at the side of the screen if your mate is dawdling. And sometimes you get stuck in gaps which look easy to pass through.

Alien Breed II is not wildly original - you trundle along shooting everything in sight; but it is slick and it is fun and yes, it is hard too. In two-player mode, it is a joyous romp. Thoughts of pick-up sharing fly out of the window as you zoom around, spraying bullets with wild abandon.

Alien Breed Special Edition is in the shops at £10.99 and this retails at a hefty £29.99. Expensive stuff, even if they have thrown in an Overdrive demo and a helicopter shoot-em-up, Apache, for free.

Yet Team 17 are to be applauded for producing good quality, cheap games. And despite the 30 quid tag, Alien Breed II is a better game than many others in a similar price bracket.

All you non-AGA owners will have been drooling and dribbling over this one for the last month. With a whacking great 83 per cent from Jon Sloan last issue, Alien Breed 2 is taking shoot'em ups to a new level.

Now Team 17 have released the non-AGA version, and, surprisingly, it's actually a better game. My only problem with the AGA version is that it is far too hard, and this version is just that little bit easier.

Why? Well, the fewer colours (but very cleverly used - can you tell them apart?) mean that the screen moves around a little faster, and there are actually fewer aliens on screen at any one time, so there's slightly less chance of you getting totally obliterated in the first few seconds.

Other than that, the game is identical. You still have to travel out to Colony Alpha-Five to wipe out an invading alien horde, running around a top-view maze taken from games like Gauntlet, logging on to huge supercomputers located all over the base where you can buy extra weapons and power ups.

It still has glorious graphics, with some of the most realistic fireballs ever seen.

The sound has changed little too, although some of has taken out in favour of some more standard spot effects.

There is so much going on at any one time, though, that you don't miss it.

Alien Breed 2 is a massive game, with dozens of extremely challenging levels. It's still not easy and you're still going to be pushed to finish this one in an afternoon.

But what the hell? It's just so much fun to play that you don't really mind wasting a week of three on it.

The camera sweeps across a line of young men and aliens, their blue beaks jutting out. They have all got shaven haead and are standing uncomfortably in their new starched combat fatigues.

RECRUIT JOKER (VOICEOVER): Paris Island marine training base. Home of the phoney tough and the crazy brave.
TITLE: FULL URANIUM JACKET.

Gunnery Sergeant Hurtmann walks on, pausing only to savagely smash one of the recruits in the face to add gravity to his forthcoming statements
HURTMANN: Alright you WORMS! I'm here to turn you lot into space marines. As you stand here in the uniform of my beloved corps, you may think you are marines, but think again. You are worms: no, you are dirt-encrusted bubblegum on the sneakers of worms. You are filth. You are matted crud. Do I make myself clear?
RECRUITS (QUIETLY): Errm, yes Sir.
HURTMANN: What the hell was that? Sound off like you have got a pair!
RECRUITS: SIR! YES SIR!

HURTMANN: You boy! You are walking down a deserted colony corridor and a slimy disease-ridden alien lurches towards you. What the HELL DO YOU DO, BOY?
RECRUIT PYLE: Sir! The recruit woul engage said hostile alien in hand-to-hand combat techniques, Sir!
HURTMANN: Hand-to-hand combat?
What is this, the stone age? There is only one place for scum like you who think that wandering around mazes and picking things up should be accompanied by HTH combat. Report for Gauntlet duties now. You boy, answer the question!
RECRUIT JOKER: Sir! The recruit would take his laser rifle and smear that weirdo alien butt all over the walls with extreme prejudice, Sir!
HURTMANN: And the recruit would be right. Okay maggots, follow Joker's example and I'll make men of you yet!

CUT TO: Montage sequence of training. We view the recruits from above as they work their way through mock-ups of colony bases. Occasionally, stern-faced marine instructors dressed up as aliens leap from air vents and clobber the recruits while they scour the rooms for credits, extra ammunition and keys.
At the same time, we see the loser, recruit Pyle, in the Gauntlet simulator.He appears to be doing much the same thing, only he is dressed up as a barbarian, walks slower and the graphics are not as good. Pyle is not at all happy with his current situation.

CUT TO: Graduation day. Hurtmann is finishing reading off the placements.
HURTMANN: ...Ortega, Alien Breed, Joker, Alien Breed '92 (well done, kid) and Pyle, Alien Breed. Looks like you managed it, huh?

Everyone turns to look at Pyle, who is standing with a mad look in his eyes and a fearsome amount of weaponry. It seems he has been hoarding credits and sneaked out to the nearest Intex computer console, where he has bought everything he could afford. Hurtmann goes down in a blaze of machine gun fire and then Pyle turns the gun on himself.
EVERYONE: NO!!!
Pyle shoots himself with a triple laser, flamethrower, and bouncy laser. It is not pretty. Silence.
EVERYONE: Oh well, better get on with the review then.

CUT TO: Alien Breed '92. The corridors look the same as the training base but this time, the ammo is live. The marines split of in pairs and wander the bases, shooting up aliens, slamming fire doors shut and running in blind panic for the exit when ever the lights go red and the foxy-voiced woman informs you that the level is going to blow up.
CORPORAL JOKER: It was hard going and I lost a lot of good friends.

Okay, so the corridors were not wide enough for both of us to fire at the same time, okay it was easy to get lost, okay so it looked like the movie Aliens, but I loved it, damn it! For nearly a year, we waddled along with our slightly unconvincing walks as the punters demanded more, more MORE! We may, as Pyle discovered, have just been a reworking of the '80s dungeon bash Gauntlet, but the public loved us, and when I got recalled, I was not too surprised.

CROSS FADE TO: Alien Breed 2. Joker opens the dropship door and squints at the AGA graphics in front of him. They are incredibly colourful and detailed, and he seems pleased that he has opted to go for the A1200 version.

JOKER: Okay, partner, lock and load!
Two figures run into the most ridiculous first level a game has ever seen. Automated helicopters blast the ground and meteors smash into them, and evading these fast-movers is complicated by the players bumping into each other. It is a pointless exercise in reactions and picking up ammo that the game could do without. Bleeded and battered they eventually reach the compound.
PRIVATE ALIEN: Blimey, Joker, not a promising start to such an eagerly-awaited and popular game.
CORPORAL JOKER: Roger that, Alien. Let us hope it gets a little easier and more enjoyable from now on.

CUT TO: Inside civilian quarters. It is more enjoyable, but easier? The details of the base are impressive, but so are the enemy. Thousands of them swarm around the basem some of them firing, others disguised as furniture. Pausing for a moment, the team are shocked to see a remote gun turret appear. It is non-stop and relentlessly hard, with the boys taking damage due to the sheer volume of aliens.
PRIVATE ALIEN: Man oh man, this is hard, this is tough.
CORPORAL JOKER: Yeah, but so are we. Let us log onto this Intex computer and check it out.
PRIVATE ALIEN: Hey, not bad. Not only can we now buy things like homing missiles and grenade launchers, but there is also different versions of each gun, so if we are skint we can buy a lower-powered version.

CORPORAL JOKER: It is certainly the only thing that is keeping us alive. That and the fact you start off with a triple laser and I have got this groovy little map. And the woman's still got that smoochy voice. Now let's kick derriere.

FADE TO: Three weeks later. Private Alien is providing covering fire as Joker radios in a situation report.
CORPORAL JOKER: We have been taking lots of casualties due to a lack of coordination in the two player mode, the hidden aliens only reveal themselves when you are right next to them and there are too many gun turrets, but I cannot help having a good time. Relentless, one-track blasting it may be, stupidly hard from the word go it most certainly is, but I am sticking with it. Now then, let's Rock!!

The screen dissolves in a blur of gunfire, alien fangs and explosions.

Paying homage in both title and style to three of the most memorable films of all time, Team 17 have returned with a bang. Or should that be a splatt? Fancy taking the role of a hardened space marine, dropped onto a hostile alien infested world? Well now's your chance.

As the sequel to one of the most successful games of '91, Alien Breed II is set nine years on and the Human Federation has done all right for itself. With six main races and hundreds of colonies, it's the most powerful alliance in the galaxy. But now an old threat has resurfaced to plague the peace. An emergency distress signal has been heard from Colony Alpha-Five and two agents have been sent to investigate. So, the concept is simple in the extreme - grab a gun, drop onto the infested colony and wipe the aliens out of existence. But this simple concept actually translates into a pretty involved reality.

COMPLEX SPLIT
The game's split up into three main complexes - civilian, science and military. Each one is split further into four areas giving you over 12 levels of bug burning mayhem. These complexes designate the degrees of difficulty you'll face. With each new level the odds stacked against you get higher. Apart from new breeds of alien nasties, there are loads of vicious traps and security devices blocking your way. Laser turrets will suddenly pop out of the nearest wall and laser protection fields only allow certain doors to be accessed from one direction.

To make things a little easier you'll come across an occasional Intex 4000 computer console. Log onto one and you'll find all manner of goodies awaiting. If you've collected enough cash (left behind by the fleeing colonists) you'll get to choose from new weapons (see panel on left-hand side of page), as well as keys, first aid kits, ammo charges and even extra lives. And believe me you'll need them 'cos ABII is one tough game.

From the outset, dropped outside the base having to negotiate the remote security choppers, ABII is out to get you. The choppers strafe the ground, drop bombs and swoop so low that one touch means death. That wouldn't be so bad if they didn't appear out of nowhere or your sprite didn't run like he was in quicksand - but they do and he does. So it is very easy to lose a life before you even enter the base. And from then on it gets tougher!

DIRTY BREEDERS
The aliens themselves mare a mixed bunch from the simple grabbers on level one to the mutant tortoise things later. And they only have one thing on their minds - to eat your face. These aliens are no dummies either. In the nine years you've been away they've become more intelligent, faster and some even come armed with their projectile weapons. So, it's vital not to waste your ammo 'cos they keep on coming, reappearing even after you've cleared a room.

ABII is extremely well constructed. The AGA graphics breathe life, they're just so detailed. What's more, when you change complexes the graphic sets undergo subtle changes giving you the feeling that they've been completely redesigned yet still retaining a sense of familiarity. The sound too is something to behold. The first time you hear the great voice samples and haunting background tune you're sure to feel a little tingle down your spine.

FAULTY DRIVE?
That's not to say that AB II is without its faults. For one thing the game's too tough. Although there's a choice to two difficulty levels there's no perceptual difference between them. Another level would have been useful. Also, on certain levels you're given a specific mission to complete. Once done, the level begins to self-destruct. Unfortunately if you fail to make it to the turbo lift in time it's game over - no matter how many lives you have left. What's wrong with starting you on the same level again minus one life?

Niggles aside, AB II is one fine game. If you own an AGA machine you'd be a fool to miss out on this. Hard drive owners are in for a treat too. Contact Team 17 and they'll be able to supply, at a price, a hard drive install program. What more could you ask for? How about a version for standard machines? The Team aren't going to leave you out - we'll have a version for review next issue. Hold tight till then.