Wie einst beim bald drei Jahre alten Original rennt man auch hier wieder allein bzw. Als Team über eine Obwerwelt und durch "Gauntlet"-Dungeons im Techno- oder Organolook.

Der gezückte Laser brutzelt dabei Aliens aller Rassen und Klassen, stärkere Waffen wie z.B. einen Flammenwerfer gibt's an Terminals und herumliegende Nützlichkeiten wie Schlüssel, Munition oder Energierationen werden natürlich eingesackt. Dabei sind diverse Aufträge zu absolvieren, also etwa Geiseln zu berfreien, alles Leben in einem Stockwerk zu vernichten oderr auch mal unter Zeitdruck explodierende Korridore zu durchhetzen.

Daß nun wieder deutlich mehr Spielspaß als im vergleichsweise etwas lauen Alien Breed II aufkommt, liegt im Detail: Wer 1,5 MB unter dem Haube hat, darf das Schlachtfest auf die Festplatte nageln und dabei zwischen Standard- und AGA-Version wählen - beide Fassungen finden sich auf ein und denselben Disketten, so daß man beim Austieg zum A1200 sofort in den Genuß von leicht verbesserter Präsentation kommt.

Besitzer eines CD32-Pads schalten zudem ohne Zuhilfenahme der Tastatur zwischen den Waffen um bzw. "Retreat" Mode ein, welcher den Helden beim Rückzug das Ballern nach hinten ermöglicht. Auch der seinerzeit übertrieben hohe Schwierigkeitsgrad wurde entschärft, wodurch nun selbst Solosöldner eine reele Chance haben, irgendwann der finalen Alienkönigin den Garaus zu machen.

Schnickschnack wie Zwischenbildchen oder Scoreen zur Charakterauswahl findet sich zwar kaum noch bzw. gar nicht mehr, ein abwechslungsreiches Gameplay aber sehr wohl: Die rund 50 durch Tunnel oder Aufzüge miteinander vernetzen Abschnitte unterscheiden sich in Design, Aufgabenstellung und Spieltempo stark voneinander.

Im Actiondreß versteckt sich hier also fast schon ein kleines Adventure, denn die ausgedehnten Gänge und weiten Hallen, die Geheimräume und verborgenen Türen wecken in der Tat der Forscherinstinkt! Dabei schützt das feine Automapping vor Irrwegen, ein haltbarer Schutzschild vor zu frühem Verlust eines der drei Anfangs-Leben und die überarbeitete Grafik vor optischer Langeweile.

Sicher, die in alle Himmelsrichtungen scrollenden Szenarien ähneln denen der Vorgänger, wurden aber mit mehr "Räumlichkeit", neuen Monstern sowie zusätzlichen Hintergrundanimationen ausgestattet.

Musik ertönt allerdings nach wie vor bloß im Titelbild, doch die hervorragend in den Spielverlauf integrierten Sound-FX und Sprachfetzen sorgen schon für die richtige Atmosphäre.

Klares Fazit: Die vierte Alienjagd ist bestimmt nicht die originellste, aber doch ganz klar die ausgereifteste - und mit 49 Märkern auch ein preiswertes Vergnügen! (rl)

If Team 17's Super Stardust is the Asteroids of the Nineties then Alien Breed must be Gauntlet. Released just over three years ago the classic space based blast 'em up put a then fledgling company on the games software map.

Set around a human colony desecrated by aliens the game cast the player and an optional chum as galactic marines set in to find out what had happened to a space colony and then to clear the place of the aliens discovered within.

The plot was corny and uninspired but the execution was superb. Alien Breed was put together by a team of seasoned PD coders who included renowned graphic artist Tobias Richter and the then largely unknown computer musician Alister Brimble.

Everything about the game reeked of polish, from the silky smooth scrolling, atmospheric music and FX down to the arty black box which has since become a Team 17 hallmark. Such was the success of the game that a 'remixed' budget version was released (another successful formula that Team 17 have since re-used on other top titles) which went on to become one of the best-selling Amiga budget titles of all time and a sequel, last year's Alien Breed 2.

Tower of power
Now Alien Breed Tower Assault is upon us the most obvious question is whether this is more of the same or something a little more original. Judging by the game's plot it looks like the former.

Picture the scene. It's far into the future and the place is Azarin 2E, a planet rich in Tellrinium, a vital element used in military spaceship hulls. A military research unit is based here but unfortunately so is something far more unfriendly. That's right, another horde of aliens who just love humans (especially between two slices of buttered bread) are also living there and, breeding like bunnies, they start munching their way through the populace once more.

Now the universe might be a large place but after three previous colonist wipeouts at the hands (claws?) of aliens which fit the description of those here, you'd have thought the inhabitants of Azarin 2E would have clicking something was afoot when they kept tripping over assorted limbs and entrails of their companions. But no, clearly these colonies are staffed by the sort of people who have the life expectancy of a red jumpered extra from Star Trek and consequently it was goodnight Azarin 2E for anything human.

This time round though, a few of the colonists managed to survive long enough to get off an SOS. The dreadnought Herona was the interceptor and after jotting up on previous breed encounters ten dropships of trained and prepared crews were launched. As the saying goes, though, military intelligence is a contradiction in terms and the dropships neglected to take into account the base's defences. With nine dropships destroyed things weren't looking good for the crew of the tenth but they got a whole lot worse when only the player's character survives the crash. Oh dear. So once more it's down to just one man to sort these aliens out for good.

Thankfully the game itself is far more satisfying than the plot. Although the scenario and much of the gameplay is similar to previous Breed titles (why change a winning formula after all?) the implementation is better. For a start the 50 new levels are a lot less linear than before with multiple exit points. This adds considerably to the lastability rating because as its now possible to come back to a level once completed and play it again through a different route.

And it tends to stop the frustration of being stuck for ages and performing the same tasks over and over as the different routes throughout the game tend to have an easy or difficult rating. If one particular zone is causing trouble then next time round other, hopefully easier paths open to the player can be tried. Team 17 claim there are over 250 ways to complete Tower Assault.

Pulp puzzles
A puzzle element has been introduced on some of the levels but don't fear shoot 'em up fans, this accounts for only a small percentage of the total game. For instance, one of the earlier routes requires all the auxiliary generators ina zone to be found and activated before a door later in the level will open. The other main new gameplay feature is the retreat mode which lets the player fire behind while running away. Although only a small point it helps avoid the frustration of say, trying to open a door while an alien sneaks up behind and attacks.

As well multiple exit points the levels themselves are much more variety packed than has often been the case. For instance some levels are set in the dark with only the aliens' eyes and a torch providing limited vision. The effect is similar to the night driving sequence in the old arcade game Spy Hunter, if anyone can remember that far back. There's new variets of alien too, including ones which burst from cocoons and others that are invisible.

Upon playing Tower Assault though, its improvements in the audiovisuals which are first apparent. There's far more graphical detail here than had been the case previously. Player sprites and backgrounds in particular deserve special praise, being both highly detailed and fluidly animated.

There is a definite downside to the detail though: some of the floor debris can look like collectible items. The yellow credits are particularly prone to this, which I found frustrating, especially after expending several keys trying to reach them. Sound too, has been suitably beefed up, even more so if playing on an A1200. If you don't have access to a stereo monitor this game is a suitable reason to consider a purchase.

Squeal like a pig!
Some of the squeals the aliens make after being hit are quite disgusting and feature a fine reverb effect. The best use of the sound though, is where the aliens are seen feeding off the humans. This is graphically depicted and the reason the game carries an 11+ rating. I'm not a great fan of ratings in games but the above scenes are some of the most gruesome I've seen in a 16-bit product and rank up there with Dreamweb so it's probably a good thing if it keeps parents happy.

Out of interest the mutilated bodies were supposed to appear in the original Alien Breed but Team 17 decided against it. After the furore surrounding the supposed violence in Mortal Kombat last year it would have been interesting to see whether Alien Breed would have sold better if it had been released with all that 'adverse' publicity.

Still the Breed series has done very comfortably well so far and Tower Assault should do the same. In my opinion it's the best of the titles and would have scored much more it wasn't a sequel. The multiple exit points and puzzle elements and of course far more levels will keep blasting fans involved for longer than the original title did, as well as breaking up the frantic blasting action that became a chore in Breed 2.

The difficulty curve has also been well judged, unlike Alien Breed which was too easy and Breed 2 which proved ridiculously tough. As it stands if you own the original Alien Breed this is still a worthy purchase. It contains much more variety and will no doubt prove to be a longer lasting gaming experience, as well as removing minor gripes like not being able to fire backwards.

If you haven't previously bought one of the series the same recommendation applies but if you've got Alien Breed 2 have a good look first as Tower Assault has a lot of similarities. It's definitely the best of the Breed bunch though and a very fitting finale to a classic Amiga games series.

Bereits die banale Hintergrundstory vom Überfall der Außerirdischen auf die Azarin-Kolonie und der anschließenden Verteidigingsschlacht wird in dieser Version zu einem ersten Höhepunkt des Games: Für das neunminütige (!) Intro wurde die Geschichte mit Hilfe des Raytracing-Programms "Real 3D" in derart packende Weltraumkämpfe, rasante Kamerafahrten und überwältigende Bilderstürme verwandelt, daß dem Betrachter die Kinnlade bis in die Kniekehle klappt.

Nach diesem Meilenstein in Sachen Amiga-Animation muß das eigentliche Spiel da natürlich abfallen, aber was soll's? Immerhin enthält die CD ja gleich auch noch den Vorgänger "Alien Breed II" also doppelter Alien-brutzelspaß zu einem absolut friedfertigen Preis!

Hier wie dort erinnert die Draufsicht-Action an den allerersten Alienbraten" und damit an das klassische "Gauntlet" Prinzip: Mit einer Handvoll Leben im Gepack läuft man über Planetenoberflächen oder durch die verwinkelten Gänge einer Raumstation und macht die massiv anstürmende Brut mit dem Laser bekannt.

Stärkere Waffen, Torschlüssel oder Infos zum Spielablauf sind an Terminals erhältlich, während Credits, frische Energie für den gebeutelten Schutzschild, Munitionskisten oder andere Nützlichkeiten (Automapping etc.) bloß aufgeklaubt werden müssen.

Tower Assault spielt sich also ähnlich, aber dank des ausgeklügelten Designs doch deutlich schöner als seine Vorgänger: Da gibt's nun etwa den praktischen "Retreat Mode" für gut gedeckte Rückzüge, und der immer fair Schwierigkeitsgrad gewährt auch Solosöldnern eine reele Chance auf das Tete-a-tete mit der finalen Alienqueen.

Schnickschnack wie etwa eingestreute Zwischenbildchen fehlt zwar auch auf derr Schillerscheibe noch, die altbekannten Qualitäten des Games blieben dafür vollzählic erhalten. Dazu gehört der missionsartige Aufbau der rund 50 mit Tunnels und Aufzügen untereinander verbundenen Abschnitte ebenso wie viel, viel Abwechslung - mal steht die Such nach einem Geheimlevel an, dann gilt es wiederr, einen Generator zu aktivieren, Geiseln zu befreien oder einfach nur unter Zeitdruck einem explodierenden Korridor zu entkommen.

Die gelungene Steuerung und einen Gutteil der Präsentation kennt man dabei bereits vom A1200, aber auch die neuen Monster und die zusätzlichen Hintergrund-Animationen in den soft scrollenden Levels können sich sehen lassen.

Und die aufwendige Soundkulisse (Titel-musik, FX und etwas Sprache) trägt gleichfalls zur fesselnden Atmosphäre bei.

Wer also ein CD32 oderr einen AGA-Amiga mit CD-ROM besitzt, darf unbesorgt zugreifen - auch wenn es Tower Assault schon wegen der Konkurrenz aus eigenem Hause ein wenig an Originalität mangelt und der Hit somit in der Schublade bleibt. (rl)

The CD32 has been under-used since it first went on sale. Bringing out games for it has largely been a process of porting Amiga or PC products across and tarting them up with some sound. No one has been bothered to really take advantage of its combination of CD-ROM drive and AGA chipset, until now it is.

Team 17 are many things, top partying geezers, purveyors of quality software to the masses and black sheep of the industry. They've gone their own successful way and remained faithful to their developer roots, but there's one thing they are not - actors.

Well, I suppose they are now, in a manner of speaking, because three of them star in the first real filmed CD32 intro sequence. The Alien Breed Tower Assault intro has been put together using live action footage and speech by producer John Allardice, combining Lightwave rendered space ships and cut scenes where the Marine Commander, played by Marcus Dyson, gives instructions in a deep Yorkshire accent to two Space Marines. It borrows from a wide range of sci-fi and action movies, most notably and predictably Aliens 2. What a coincidence.

That said it's actually a pretty good intro, if a bit corny and over long. The screen takes up about one fifth of the monitor and because of this it has an acceptable frame rate update rate. It's also shaped roughly like it would be on a wide cinema screen so after a few seconds you forget how small it is.

The intro movie does tend to go on a bit though. After you've seen it once or twice you'll want to skip past after the first minute or so, which contains some stunningly atmospheric music as well as a rendered planet and spaceship. Last month we mistakenly quoted the price for Tower Assault on floppy disk £29.99. We were wrong. It is in fact £19.99, but this version definitely costs £29.99. Why? Because it's not only got the rendered into it's also got Alien Breed 2.

But the primary reason for buying this CD still has to be Tower Assault, the last of the Breed series and in many ways the best. It falls in terms of difficulty between the first two: more so than Breed 1 and less so than Breed 2.

Once again it's a top down view shoot 'em up for one or two players. The graphics have become more detailed and gruesome with the addition of dead and mutilated bodies around the levels, hence a voluntary 15 rating. Other new features include none-linear progression through the game, with Team 17 claiming that there are over 270 different ways of completing it, and there's also a 'retreat' mode that allows you to back away from an object or breed while firing at it, it's a classic game and a fitting finale to the series. Need I say more? No. Get it.