Super Mutant Alien Assault Review

Super Mutant Alien Assault is a gory alien killing simulator that had me at the edge of my seat. At first it seems simply, kill all the aliens attempting to invade your ship. Eventually things become more hectic with branching objectives and evolving enemies littering the screen, requiring you to quickly adapt or face extermination. Evolved enemies not only become stronger but sometimes more agressive. Prioritizing kills in the later levels becomes essentical, especially when new breeds of aliens slowly start showing up. 

It's a shame that online play isn't an option. When you get a friend to play alongside Super Mutant Alien Assault it becomes significantly more easier. Playing alone is feasible but very difficult without a friend to watch your back, especially when the battlefield is condensed with enemies and objectives are flashing.

Why are aliens trying to kill you? Well it's not you, it's the humans you're protecting. You play a robot, task with keeping the humans inside cryogenic sleep alive. Not only must you expel all foreign hostiles from the ship but keep the ship itself from exploding.

You can pick from one of four robots, two of which are locked from the beginning. Weapons are dispensed in a timed manner, one a kiosk gives you a random gun you have to wait until another can be picked up. Keeping track of your ammo is vital as your sidearm isn't strong enough to fend off the alien hordes for long. Defense abilities such as Dash, explosives, and special abilities can keep you alive but it's clear that ammo management is the best strategy to survival. 

Special abilities and perks can be picked up to bloster your chances of survival. For example the Plasma Blast can create a vertical wall that disintegrates enemies and the double jump allows for increased mobility. Other item drops include health picks, which are available from dead aliens for crates. 

Enemies are wonderfully designed. The retro 8-bit look is complemented with the 90s soundtrack, delivering an ideal alien vs. robots atmosphere. At first the enemies don't seem much of a threat, hovering, jumping, and dashing across the battlefield. However if they're not eliminated quickly enough these creatures will eventually evolve, becoming more of a danger. If you're feeling daring Heroic and Epic difficulties are available that turn the alien horde into unstoppable monsters.

You cannot aim weapons. Instead everything is either fired from a horizontal plane or on an arc. This can become an issue for weapons such as the RPG and granade launcher, which can cause friendly damage. 

You won't be fighting all the time. Certain rooms have special objectives such as delivering fuel or shutting off valves. The game does alert you to these objectives with flashing sirens but ultimately it's up to you to keep an eye on these objectives. Some of these can be used wisely, such as allowing a fuel tank to go critical instead of shutting it off. This will deal damage to you but will also clear out any weak aliens from the surrounding area.

Dying is harsh, especially if you go solo. When killed players must start at the beginning of the galaxy. Super Mutant Alien Assault has three galaxies, each with 3 rooms that ends with a final boss room. Bosses are the real challenge, these mutanted behemoths are distinct from the other aliens and offering a new challenge to overcome such as toxic blood that inflicts the floor when damaged. 

Each one of these galaxies is a challenge and getting to the end of this game will test the best gamers out there. If you're looking for a challenging shooter this is the game for you. Once you complete the core game an Endless option is available, this mode has players fending off hordes of enemies in an endless stream.

I had a lot of fun playing Super Mutant Alien Assault. The lack of online play is disappointing and the game can be harsh to those who choose to play alone. However despite this issues Super Mutant Alien Assault shines on multiple fronts. It's a fun, chaotic, alien shooter that is further enhanced by its retro style and fantastic soundtrack.

Adam Siddiqui, NoobFeed
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