Based on the discussion going on in
this thread I went and had a closer look at the 1984
Alien game that was released on the 8-bit computers. It's a game I've known about for years, but never got around to playing until now.
The premise is exactly as in the film: The game takes place aboard the Nostromo and stars six live crew members, one dead crew member, one pissed-off cat and one murderous Alien. The goal is to have the crew get rid of the Alien, which can be accomplished in three different ways:
1) Scuttle the Nostromo and have up to three crew members (plus cat) aboard the shuttle, while the Alien is left behind and no other surviving crew members.
2) Blow the Alien out of an airlock.
3) Beat the crap out of the Alien using the various tools and weapons aboard the Nostromo. (Yes, really.)
This is further complicated by various factors. For example one of the crew is an android who will attempt to sabotage any actions taken against the Alien. Another problem is that each of the crew are supposed to have different personality traits which should affect their actions, but besides them having a morale rating I have yet to confirm this. Throw in the 35 different rooms scattered across three decks, 40 parts of the ventilation system and the timer counting down until all the oxygen runs out, and the end result is one challenging game. What makes for an interesting addition is something I hadn't mentioned yet: Which of the Nostromo crew dies first and which of the crew is the android is randomized each game. That means one can't count on the Nostromo crew to 'stay in character' and any one of them may ruin the player's plans.
Oh, and the whole game is in real time. When giving crew members orders one has to wait a few moments for them to (try to) carry them out. That's very impressive considering it's a 35-year old game using around 50Kb of RAM (depending on which version you're playing).
This means that this is a surprisingly deep game. There's a lot to things to juggle around; micro-managing six different characters simultaneously while having to worry about the cat, the Alien, an android and the time limit quickly builds up lots of tension while playing. There's also how the game plays on the
threat of the Alien's presence, rather than the Alien's presence itself. The player will hear doors opening and closing without knowing who's using them, and the Alien sometimes leaves tracks behind like open air vents. This would be an immensly enjoyable game even for today's gamers were it not for one huge problem: The UI is laughably ancient. Everything is done with lists and menus and messages crawling across the screen. Each of the 35 rooms is named in the sidebar, but not on the map itself, adding needless confusion unless a player draws up their own map (and another for the vents). Lastly the player never has an overview of where the crew are located, at best the currently selected player's location is marked on the map, and the message bar informs whether anyone else is in the same room. That means players will have to memorize and visualize themselves where all the crew members are and what they're doing.
The graphics and sound are minimal but functional, and cannot be put at fault due to the age of the game. But if anyone is willing to take on the cantankerous UI, overlook the outdated retro style and want to sink themselves into a deep and challenging game, this game may be just for you.
(Of the three versions available (C-64, Spectrum and Amstrad CPC) I recommend going with the C-64. It has more and better sounds, better graphics and runs at an acceptable pace. The Spectrum and Amstrad versions run at a higher graphical resolution but they also run too fast, making them more difficult for no reason.)
