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Alpha Prime
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Graphics & Sound:
The cool thing about concept cars is they portray future elements and designs that will become more mainstream. Problem is that the original is seldom remembered and more often than not, the majority of the entire design is flushed. In games, we refer to these as tech demo games. Alpha Prime is one of those games that while it may not add up to a great or memorable game, it does have some really good pieces I want to see in future games.
The look and feel reminds me quickly of Doom III. This isn't necessarily a compliment. All of the textures and assets are well done. Lighting and camera are also well done and clean. The character animation and look, however, felt very plastic and rigid. The look of the ship really didn't feel any different than that of the mine and any other area for that matter.
They seem to be quite proud of their soundtrack, as it is available for download free from the website. And they shouldn't be ashamed; it is well done and works for the mood of the game. Again, however, it just isn't that monumental. It is a hard thing to describe when things are good, but they just miss the mark from being more than ordinary. Perhaps I am becoming harder to please. |
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Gameplay:
In the world of Alpha Prime, you play the nondescript guy who has an unnecessary immunity to the thing that everyone else is affected by. OK, so you have a name, but the rest of the story is just as plastic and canned as I make it out to be. In this world, there is a mineral called Hubbardium. All interstellar travel is based on its technology, thus making it valuable.
You might as well get used to pointing out other sci-fi movies as we go, like the fact that you can substitute the entire idea of Hubbardium as spice from the DUNE series. Is it alive? Is it inert? You will have to play to find out. But it does have adverse affects on humans and robots whose positronic innerds are made of the stuff. Like I mentioned, of course, you are immune to it. All of this aside, you actually find yourself in an illegal mining operation turned drug ring sort of like Outland with Sean Connery. You have to shoot everything that moves basically because it just starts shooting at you. You are going to spend a very long time trying to figure out what is actually going on within the game. It will eventually become clear as to why people have been shooting at you for half of the game, but only vaguely.
The game's story may be rough and overly predictable, the gameplay may be linear and cramped, but you actually have some well done features. There is the ability to hack computer systems and machinery. This in itself is not new, but it was nicely done and integrated well. Along with hacking, you will be given remote control of systems and machinery. Bored of it all, you can take a drive and look around Alpha Prime. Yes, it is a little out of place, but it does complete my example of this being a tech demo. |
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Difficulty:
In Alpha Prime, if you have issues with walking forward and then shooting the bad guy, you may have some trouble with this game. Saving this however, you should just sort of walk through the game on Normal very easily. There were weird combinations of enemies who couldn't see you standing in their face and others who could smell you through walls. I am sure their squirrely reactions are easily dismissed as possible design saying that they are so messed up on the Hubbardium that they don't act properly. Once you begin to up your own Hubbardium intake, you are unstoppable anyway. A sort of in-game God mode. The bad A.I. topped with being overpowered in weaponry and provisions makes the game a stroll in the park. Or, down a poorly lit tunnel or corridor. It is the same thing, really.
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Game Mechanics:
This is the part of the Alpha Prime game we have all been waiting for. What could I consider cool or interesting after I have beat this game up thus far. I will recap that it did have a nice hacking interface that was easy to use and believable enough inside the game's fiction. The remote control system also was well done in the context of its workings inside of the game's framework. The part I really liked was the ability to have all three of my monitors on and the game stretched across them. I have tried this with other games and with third party software, but this worked very well. Now let me temper a few things here. There is not a whole lot to see in the cramped corridors, so the only benefit is on the outdoor looks.
The game's few saving graces of the hacking system, the remote control that went along with it, and the 3 monitor system were not enough to really bring this out of the shadows. I feel as I reach the end of this game that there was a battle of where to spend their time and effort. It seems to me that they made too many sacrifices to design and gameplay when it came to scripting and enemy interactions. I hope they have enough success to continue on with other projects, and if you really want to see the little guy go up against big gaming, then help them out and check out the game. |
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-WUMPUSJAGGER, GameVortex Communications AKA Bryon Lloyd |
Minimum System Requirements:
Minimum system requirements:
CPU: Intel Pentium(r) IV 2 GHz or compatible, Memory: 512 MB, Graphics card: GeForce FX/ATI 9600 or compatible, Sound Card: DirectX compatible, Free space on hard drive: 3 GB, DirectX: 9.0c driver, Windows: XP or 2000 system
Recommended system requirements:
CPU: Intel Pentium(r) IV 3,6 GHz or compatible, Memory: 1 GB, Graphics card: Nvidia Geforce FX 5950 Ultra or compatible, Sound card: Sound Blaster(r) X-Fi(tm) series, Free space on hard drive: 3 GB, DirectX: 9.0c driver, Windows: XP or 2000 system |
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Test System:
Dell XPS DXP061, XP Pro, Intel Core Quad, 2GB Ram, Gforce 8800GTX |
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