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Only worth it if you can go online

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: November 16, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Overall this is not a bad game but if your not playing online do not buy area 51. The single player is really short and the last part of the game sucks. the online does kick ass

Great Sci-Fi FPS with few flaws

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: October 17, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Since a lot of reviewers have already laid out the plot, I'll try to concentrate more on what makes this a great (and sometimes disappointing) game. Bear in mind while reading that I'm fairly new to first-person shooters, as I've preferred 3rd-person games until recently, but am also not a fumbling beginner. :o)

First the great news: Area 51 looks great, the gameplay is big fun, and assuming you choose "easy," there's plenty of health, ammo, and cool weapons to go around. Playing on "normal," which I initially tried, seemed unnecessarily hard, though. So "easy" isn't all that easy after all. I gave up on normal fairly quickly and started over on easy. But back on track - the storyline and conspiracy theory elements are interesting, the occasional cut scenes look darn near like genuine movies, and the first-person perspective has a nice range and depth so you don't get dizzy moving around as with some FPS's.

I disagree with reviewers that say David Duchuvney sounds bored in his dialogues at the beginning of each level. I found the somewhat deadpan, world-weary tone in keeping with what the character is going through and discovering within the game.

I love that the team you start off with lasts a while, although they get whittled down one-by-one until you're left on your own. You also encounter other teams at certain points. They all have a brain and actually fight with some effectiveness, allowing you to get on with the things you have to do. The enemy AI is pretty good too. They'll take cover, move around, and when they charge you it's not like a mindless AI zombie.

The weapons are great, and I really like that you can dual-wield assault rifles and shotguns. The only problem there is when the ammo depletes in one, you automatically drop one weapon and reload the remaining one, which can get you killed in the middle of a firefight. But that's a small complaint. There are plenty of breaks in the action so you can relax and look around, which is a very good thing because scattered throughout are secret documents, displays, and other things you need to scan into your inventory. Much of the conspiracy theory data comes from these, and they almost go overboard by tying in everything from political assassinations to that sneeze you did yesterday for no apparent reason.

So what's bad? Well, again, it can be hard. On normal they throw too many enemies at you from too many directions, making it hard to take cover and/or knock them all off before your health is near zero. Grenades, like in a lot of games, are of dubious value (a typical Vietnam conflict-era grenade had a guaranteed kill radius of 30 feet, so why do so many games, especially futuristic ones, have grenades that take out one guy if you're lucky?). Then ending is a little anticlimactic and the final task (not a boss battle, which I thought was a nice change from the norm) was annoying.

To sum, this game is great, great fun. I'm not sure what those who trashed this game were looking for.

Great Game...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: December 18, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I like this game, its great! I bought it for my sister and she can't get over this game... =)

Underrated, but Short

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: February 25, 2008
Author: Amazon User

This game went by as kind of a sleeper. Didn't get much attention, but it deserved more. It's a solid, fun FPS with decent graphics (good graphics in the cut scenes), and a host of famous voice actors from David Duchovny (The X Files) to Marilyn Manson. What I liked most about the game is the alien and conspiracy lore entered into the game. Files scannable throughout the game give descriptions of the government's secrets and cover-ups and at one point you even get to explore the set of a fake moon landing. As for complaints, the game can often be too easy, though there are a few parts near the end that can have you repeating them easily six or seven times to get through. This is strange to me with the game going from mostly simple to very difficult without much middle ground. The ending is also a bit... blunt. One minute you're doing things and big stuff is happening (trying not to spoil anything here) and the next you get a quick cut scene and the credits roll. Closure is given and loose ends are mostly tied up, but it's still pretty abrupt. And another gripe--the game is pretty short. Very short, rather. I know it's a FPS, but you can get through it in four or five play sessions if they're reasonably long ones. I believe I beat it in two days. So I wouldn't recommend buying it unless you can get a good deal on it used, but it's absolutely rentable.

I know I've said some negative things about the game, but it really is good. It goes by at a good pace and offers plenty of shooting action. Though I was disappointed by the relatively small amount of useable weapons (one pistol, one shotgun, one assault rifle, one sniper rifle, two grenade types, and a couple special weapons), the weapons that are there are relatively satisfying and the 10mm Scorpion handgun is useful through the whole game, being able to drop most enemies in one to three hits.

All in all, you should play this if you're into FPSs. But only buy it if you can get it used. It's just too short to warrant a new price. But still, Area-51 is a solid and enjoyable experience with plenty of atmosphere in the second half and of course multi-player.

B--O-R-I-N-G

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 0 / 2
Date: July 30, 2007
Author: Amazon User

How this game is getting 5 star reviews is beyond me. This has got to be one of the most boring games I've played in recent years. There is very little variety in combat situations and in who you are fighting. It is just the same old, same old level after level. This game is as boring as David Duchovny's acting and monotone voice. Potentially good story line but falls short in my opinion.

Blasting Illegal Aliens Has Never Been More Fun

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 1
Date: June 07, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I didn't expect much from this game; I thought it would be a poorly manufactured bunch of crap like the "Run Like Hell" PS2 game that was coughed up months ago. I was wrong.

Overall, it was well designed and fun to play. There were lots of checkpoints and the on-screen arrows of my next destination was extremely helpful. I only wish my actions could've determined the fate of my compadres. In the beginning, I could let them do all the fighting while I hide in the corner like a sissy and save my ammo. I didn't use my mutant abilities that much, as it didn't really appeal to me. The difficulty level went from easy, to fair, to ridiculously hard in the missions where you fought the Grays. I almost quit playing because it just seemed unfair to take on countless enemies. Persistence was the key, along with a little luck. I give it 4 1/2 stars!

Overrated and a little cheap, but well done

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 1 / 6
Date: May 08, 2005
Author: Amazon User

If you go in for the first-person shooter thing, this game will certainly liven up your typical experience: it's smooth, it's jumpy, and it's relentless.

At the same time, it's a little cheap and overrated. It's not a genre-defining game or anything, and you get killed after a couple of swipes from an alien...which drops you back into the action pretty far back as a reset if you're not careful. It's cheap that way.

The graphics are pretty swell, but in the end it isn't Doom 3 or anything.

a woot woot game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 6
Date: October 11, 2005
Author: Amazon User

this game is awsome its not to hard or easy u get to be an alien and u get to do alot more stuff i mean its that fun. the only way u could get me off this game was if u gave me a twinkie the only problem was that the game was kinda short but thats me but i would get this game.

This Game is cool !!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 30
Date: June 17, 2004
Author: Amazon User

This game is soo graffic that you get in to it so much you don't hear nothing but what they say on the game.

Area-51

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 11
Date: October 25, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Area-51 is my favorite game. I like blowing the aliens heads off. I like how you can turn into human and mutant. All my teammates died an is so hard to beat. Crispy is the funny man that turns to mutant and you have to kill him, I beat the game It was easy on easy but I didn't beat it on medium and I almost beat it with help.

Michael

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