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> Results: Alien Shooter: Vengeance
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The ESRB Says
Blood: GamerDad was mopping the floors with enemy monster blood very, very often. Language: Strong expressions typical of being overwhelmed by thousands of alien monsters. Violence: If it moves, shoot it until it blows into little bits ... repeat. Alien Shooter: Vengeance game reminds me of Shadowgrounds in many ways - the top-down perspective and rampant shooter element. But it is also being described as an action-RPG because you gain experience as you kill the waves of aliens which you then use to increase your various skills in order to defeat bigger monsters. In that regard I would describe it as Shadowgrounds meets Diablo in the bloodiest alien frag-fest in recent memories. Oh - and there is a decent little story tossed in for good measure. What surprised me was that it all works. This game knows exactly what it is and executes. There is limited dialog and no real choices; there is some excellent music and sound effects that carry you through the missions; there are side-objectives you can take on as you complete the fifteen harrowing missions; there are plenty of secret areas to discover - and you are scored on everything. Scoring well gets you extra cash to buy more weapons and better armor, as well as a better rank for bragging rights - plus it is just nice to look at the 'mission complete' screen and see that you killed all 1580 enemies on the mission. The voice-acting is terrible (fortunately there isn't too much of it), the load times are pretty long, and the game is pretty linear and single-minded in its presentation - but somehow it all works and comes together as a load of fun. For a budget release, it offers a lengthy set of missions with plenty of extras and replayability, as well as added 'survival' and multiplayer modes, and provides and excellent value and an easy recommendation for adult gamers.  
Shoot it once and you hurt it. Twice and you kill it. Three times and you blow it into little bits and stain the floor red. The game plays out from an isometric perspective, but the level of intensity and brutality is staggering. You are an alien slaughter machine - the game keeps track of your progress and reports back at the end of the game. I was told that over the course of the game I killed more than 16,000 aliens, most of whom were as large as the player. The ESRB descriptors are very much accurate - there is plenty of blood, language and violence. The isometric perspective keeps the blood and violence from being considered 'strong', whereas the scant dialog is what lessens the impact of the language. But make no mistake - this game is all about amassing a monstrous body-count, and while you get no extra points for stylish kills, the game encourages you to get your kills in big, fast and bold. It might look quaint in screenshots, but this is clearly not a game intended for kids.
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