Alien Resurrection for the PS. And early dual-analogue shooter that had some reviewers baffled. Quite atmospheric and looks pretty good for what it is, but performance is shit and the ship interirors look very samey, so it's easy to get lost. No map, either. Still fun though.
This is a game, like Disruptor, that I either hear is an underrated gem (people playing it in retrospect) or complete garbage (often mainstream reviews at the time). Funny enough, I think somebody like Game Informer gave it a 6 when it came out and then revisited it years down the line positively for its mood/controls/etc. with a comment bashing the press for missing the boat on it.
Heh. Wish I had played it back then, without any experience of modern FPS controls. This game was ahead of its time, but I'm not sure I would have appreciated it any more than reviewers.
I've only played two of ten levels so far, but it's been a frictionless experience outside of getting lost in level two. I simply didn't see a ladder and redundantly crawled through a vent maze thinking I had gotten turned around in there. Have I mentioned everything looks the same? I don't expect much more variety going forward. There are only so many ways to have aliens pop-out of monster closets and have you hit a switch or find a keycard to progress, but it has me interested enough to check.
Further observations:
+ There's a quickturn on R3.
+ Sticky ladders, which take too long to detach yourself from, but sometimes have helpful signs the the top so you don't step off to the wrong side.
+ No jump, hence no platforming. (Looking at you, Powerslave.
)
+ Xenomorphs often crawl on ceilings and bound off walls before they come at you. Impressive and unsettling, but also gives you time to line up a shot (i.e. backpedal and aim straight ahead, as they take up half the screen and will line up for you).
+ Supports the PS mouse, which I'm going to have to try, if possible. I suspect it will make the game very easy.
- The X and Y axes were inverted by default.
- Moving while crouched has an extreme sway to it. To indicate that you are, I suppose?
- Vibration is uncomfortably strong and very sustained, to the point where I had to turn it off. Not entirely sure it's the game or the emulator not mapping them correctly to a 360 controller. Can't find references to it online, so I don't know.
- Mid-level save points. They add tension, I suppose, but I just started save stating the moment I had to repeat half a level because a Xenomorph hidden around the corner shredded me.