It’s a clash of titans …

In one corner Calculeet, in the other Athleet. Pitted against one another in a battle in which there can be only one. With a whirl of squeals and squeaks, they plod into action …

Ok, wait a moment. A “leet” death duel isn’t exactly the main drawing point of Funcom’s newest expansion in the Anarchy Online universe. However fun it may be, it is not the main focus of this title. But before talking about Alien Invasion, maybe a brief overview is needed of AO.

Alien Invasion is the third expansion for the massively multiplayer online science-fiction title which first launched in June of 2001. The Notum Wars (2002) expanded the idea of the wars for control of land between the two main factions of the game – Omni-Tek and the Clans. In 2003, AO’s territory significantly expanded with Shadowlands, a title that not only took the game to a high graphical level, but introduced remarkable new lands and new character classes.

Almost a year later come Alien Invasion, which promises to give players more immersion and ownership in the series.

It all begins as your shuttle heads down to the planet surface. The radio crackles, the ship shudders and crashes to the beach, and you are forced to crawl from the wreckage through a hatch. Aliens have attacked. This menace will challenge player cities in wave after wave, each tailored to the player groups it faces … but more about that in a moment.

The ICC Shuttleport has been revamped, and players new to the world will find many things (missions) to do there. Also immediately apparent is the tweaking to the user interface. Health and nano bars have been reconfigured and are moveable, and the various interface boxes that used to cascade down the right-hand side of the screen have also been tailored to allow players to move them around. This is a departure from the classic interface and more in line with the Shadowlands interface, but the changes have not stopped there.

The chat groups are more easily accessed through the little “i” icon in the corner of the message box. Tradeskills have been upgraded, and with the emphasis on the combat, this aspect of the game is much easier. The tradeskill window is broken down into three parts – source, target and result. You can preview what you will get through the combination before you actually combine the items. Of course, while this aspect is easier, acquiring the right parts for the combination will be the tricky part.

Perhaps the most pervasive aspect of Alien Invasion is the way the expansion has upgraded the social aspects of the world. There are controllers all over Rubi-Ka which allows organizations to found player cities. These cities come in three lot sizes and can have stores for players to sell crafted items, as well as buildings, which will supply stat bonuses to members of the organization. The organizational HQ has a council chamber, a huge area for the council to hear debates – complete with tiered seating and a podium for speakers to stand on.

There are pools and bars for relaxing. The player cities will provide an intense experience for those wishing to plan and create self-contained communities. Not only are these cities a focal point for players to gather, but also provide the focus of the alien invasions.

But before getting into that – just a bit more about the cities. There are controllers scattered throughout the world. Players can purchase the controller, and must plant a headquarters within 24 hours or they will lose the rights to the land. There is upkeep costs and as you build, the costs will rise accordingly. Make no mistake, this is not a sole individual effort.

You can erect an ECM tower to cloak your city to avoid invasion, but that would circumvent the whole idea behind the game.

The invasion starts almost mildly. There is a disturbance in the atmosphere, with clouds and lightning (Funcom has done exquisite skies once again), and a smallish ship appears and aliens (think robotic worm-like creatures) are beamed to the surface near the city. The number of aliens and level is determined by the players, and the level of the players, in the area. This is the first wave of the attack. Aliens will continue to spawn until a boss appears and is defeated. Then the big ship appears – and this is big as in Star Wars star cruiser big. It occupies a vast portion of the sky over the city. Players again battle through until the mobs stop spawning, then it is time to board the ship, find and kill the ship’s pilot. Players only have 30 minutes to accomplish that feat. Should they fail to kill the pilot or leave the ship within the time frame, the ship lifts off and players left on board are killed.

Little has changed in the combat model – this is about expanding the combat beyond the missions and exploration free hunting. The interface has been upgraded to make it more accessible and the community aspects have been vastly improved. This certainly brings more depth to the game.

Alien Invasion may not be as innovative as The Shadowlands expansion, but it certainly brings new depth to the title and caters to the community aspects in a big way. Funcom is listening to its community and giving it entertaining new elements that provide a sense of ownership to the fanciful world. And don’t forget the leets. This is a de-leet-ful expansion.

Gameplay: 8.8
The interface is much slicker and more accessible, and the invasion episodes can last for hours – though that depends on the players. Fail to attack and the whole scenario will stall out. The city planning and building will greatly add to the hours spent playing in this expansion.

Graphics: 9
The ICC Shuttleport has been upgraded, and the city HQs and buildings are vibrant and quite fantastic. They fit perfectly within the whole concept of the world, and will delight players. Nothing has been done to the basic animation or character models.

Sound: 9.2
The musical score of this game is phenomenal.

Difficulty: Medium/Hard
The AI of this game tailors the experience to the players. Funcom has always done a good job of configuring missions to player levels and this experience is no different.

Concept: 8.5
This addresses the community aspects and expands the surface combat.

Multiplayer: 9.5

This is all about community.

Overall: 8.8

Alien Invasion does what expansions are supposed to do – expands the entire world, though the focus in this one is on community involvement. Players not part of organizations can still participate in the invasion scenarios, but this is definitely targeted toward in-game organizations.