I’ll admit, going into this review, I was a little biased. So many of the big budget AAA games I’ve played over the last few years try and offer all things to all men. The open sprawl of GTA 5 managed to combine third person cover shooting, solid racing, and a flight simulator, with the acting and polish of a Hollywood blockbuster. Metal Gear Solid 5 garnished its tense stealth infiltrations with a sprinkle of tight gunplay, and a side order of base management. Because of this variety, top down, modest twin stick shooters really aren’t my thing. But when I fired up Alienation for the first time, the B-movie cheese of the “Serious Narrator” voice delivering the opening cutscene brought a smile to my face.

The plot is simple, clearly inspired by the bombastic sci fi of films such as Independence Day and Tom Cruise vehicle, The Edge of Tomorrow. Earth is crumbling, under threat of constant attacks by an invasion force of insectoid extra terrestrials. As one of the last bastions of humanities’ defence, you must strap on a super powered exo-suit AND TAKE THE FIGHT TO THOSE XENOS SOLDIER! (OOHRAH!) You’re given a choice of three suits, all with unique special abilities. The Bio-Specialist offers group healing, and area-of-effect Nano bot clouds. The Tank offers the classic combination of heavy firepower and high damage resistance, whilst the Saboteur offers a more sneaky approach, favoring cloaking tech and sword swinging melee attacks. Each class feels distinctly different to control, and you’ll want to deploy them onto the battlefield as soon as possible and test out each ability.

enough explosions, laser beams and flashing lights to make a particle effect junkie go weak at the knees

Alienation splits its story mode between global different locations, each featuring several missions. Once deployed, your super solider is tasked with carrying out simple objectives (go here, go there, scan a thing, defend a thing, collect another thing). Typically, only numerous aliens stand in your way. Hordes of the bug eyed monstrosities rush at you from all corners of the screen, often in overwhelming numbers. Luckily, aiming is made clear and easy by blue targeting lasers, which pinpoint exactly where your bullets fly. Shooting is fluid, and the usual armory of laser cannons, shotguns and missiles pack a hell of a punch. The action moves along at a breakneck pace, keeping you on your top-down toes as you swirl left and right, blasting away at oncoming aliens. The graphics are decent, offering a horrific bestiary of alien creatures, and enough explosions, laser beams and flashing lights to make a particle effect junkie go weak at the knees. Whilst many maps feature nice visual touches, such as the constant snow flurries of Alaska, they often border on the generic. I don’t think I need to experience one more battle amongst the ruins of another grey industrial facility.

For the first few missions, it’s an entertaining thrill-ride, but the boring objectives (do I really need to destroy another seven alien nests?) and the fun, if basic, combat, begin to grate. Despite moreish XP and loot systems offering upgrades to abilities and weapons, Alienation quickly falls victim to repetition. As a single player game, it’s often frustratingly hard. Despite the helpful map, I found myself constantly lost in the maze of burnt out buildings and abandoned car parks after each (frequent) respawn. Playing solo, the odds are stacked against you, and death by massive arachnid comes all too frequently. Luckily though, Alienation’s approach to multiplayer takes a leaf out of Destiny’s book. Online teammates can drop into your mission at any time to lend fire support. I was helped out several times by randomly spawning players (especially a Saboteur who joined alongside me for several tough missions.) Having teammates by your side establishes a great sense of camaraderie that solo play really lacks, and makes you truly feel like the last of humanity standing in the face of an alien invasion.