Who hasn’t played or at least dumped in quarter after quarter in the coin-op version of Area 51, spending hard earned cash hoping to beat the game? Whoever came up with that continue from here for another.50 cents must be rich. I, for one, have never completed the coin-op version but now that I own the PC version it is becoming a reality.

Unfortunately the premise and storyline of the game has shifted into a FPS, which does kind of take away from the point-and-shoot arcade-style game. I remember Area 51 being more of a biohazard shoot-and-scoot type game. Though Area 51 was the name of the game, Aliens were not really what I remember the game to be about. It has been a few years so maybe my memory is going. Not that it is all bad; aliens are cool, just not exactly what I expected.

It all begins with an alien species called the Gray that is trying to develop a super-weapon that will ensure their survival in the interstellar war they have been fighting for quite sometime against an unnamed enemy. The Gray has studied humanity for thousands of years and because of all the resources and Earth’s remote location, the Gray found it ideal to conduct research that was far too dangerous to be done on any of their own home worlds.

A Gray research ship crashed down in 1947 on the Earth’s surface near Roswell New Mexico. In perfect government fashion the mishap was covered up and the U.S. government recovered a badly wounded Alien, which they called Edgar, and transported to AREA 51 for study. In exchange for studying the Alien technology, a group of government elitists called the Illuminati set up a research facility three miles below the Earth’s surface for Edgar to aid him in his studies. Since then it has been a secure landing site for the subsequent Grays.

For 20 years a human Dr. Watson has been working with Edgar to develop a creature weapon called Theta. In confidence Edgar told Dr. Watson that he believed this is the super-weapon the Gray have been looking for. Dr. Watson now tries to prevent the Grays from completing their super weapon and destroying the Earth by unleashing a viral weapon in portions of the base trying to eliminate all Illuminati that control the base until the military can arrive. Unfortunately the first hazmat team on the site disappears and a second unit (that’s you) has to find out what happen to them and discover the source of the deadly virus.

The game plays like your standard first-person shooter with a nice load out of weapons and gadgets to aid you in you tasks. Most weapons we have seen before or at least a variation thereof, along with other pick-ups, like ammo and health that are littered throughout the maps. It’s a decently long game and can be quite fun to play. I like that it can and does get more difficult as you progress so it’s not too repetitious. Most veterans of the genre will most likely complete the single-player game in a rained-out weekend, but rest assured there is a multiplayer mode.

What stands out most to me is it only carries a price tag of about $30, which for a newly released PC game is not too shabby. I say that because a lot has gone into the development of the game that is quite impressive. First off we have some real voice talent on the bill that usually helps any game when it comes to voice-overs. David Duchovny, Powers Boothe, and Marilyn Manson help make up the cast of characters. Ok, Marilyn Manson may not be an actor, but he doesn’t do too bad. Though the acting maybe a bit sketchy at times, it still not too bad. Try to keep in mind that voice actors usually take direction, so blame the director. Another rarity for a sub-$50 game is good graphics. And I have to tell you I was quite impressed with how spectacular they really were. Maybe because I was not expecting a whole lot, but in either case I don’t think anyone will be disappointed.

Overall I would say most FPS fans will find Area 51 to be an entertaining game for the money, and can find plenty of action online once the  single player campaign is mastered.

Gameplay: 7.5
Plays like a typical shooter but unfortunately had plenty of problems on a system that is supposed to be adequate according to the specs on the box. (Yes, my drivers are up to date but, was playing on Windows 2000.) Game play is fluid when not experiencing problems, and I like the cutscenes to break it up a bit.

Graphics: 9.0
Easy on the eyes and lots of special attention to detail assuming you have the rig to run it smoothly.

Sound: 7.5
Would have liked a bit more enthusiasm behind SOME of the acting but over all not bad. The sound effects were right on par for with most FPS games but from what I can tell not surround sound supported.

Difficulty: Easy
Decent tutorials will have pretty much anyone up and playing in no time.

Concept: 7.0
A bit different from the original coin-op game, and plays - is set up - like a typical first-person shooter. Somewhat interesting storyline that is splashed with good quality cutscenes.

Multiplayer: 8.0
Multiplayer games include Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Capture and hold, Capture the Flag, or Infection. Like most FPS games these tend to be a favorite and should not disappoint most players. I believe MP games do require a high-speed connection. Sorry dial ups.

Overall: 7.5
The name alone will bring many gamers to the shelves scooping this one up, but really it’s just another decent FPS. For the price it’s not a bad deal considering all the choices in this genre.