In the alternate timeline where we actually got flying cars, New York City is invaded by aliens. These aren't the stubby grey guys with the ray guns and probing devices either. I'm talking about disgusting monsters formed out of the countless unluckily victims of previous invasion. Who should you call when you're under attack by extraterrestrial abominations? The Alien Busters of course! For them, blasting all things cosmic into goo is a welcome reprieve from their daily hell in the food service industry. Give them a ring for six to eight missions of bustin' goodness.
After 35 years of brainstorming, I have come up with the perfect description for Alien Storm. It's... a faster-paced Golden Axe. Utilizing a lot of the same fundamentals, but unique in so many others, this belt-scroller provides an excellent blend of action and moment-to-moment strategizing. A surprising amount of complexity is buried in here. Every wrong move causes the walls to close in, with your chosen protag getting chewed up, swallowed, and absorbed in the many being the eventual conclusion. In order to avoid a fate only slightly worse than working food service, you'll have to master the controls, find the right balance between aggression and focus, and know the enemy better than yourself.
Now I could pretend to have a lot to say, or I could fixate on what gives this game its magic. Let's start with what butters our bread; the dash-attack. Double-tapping the d-pad causes your man, woman, or robot to break out into a run. Pressing the jump button causes them to perform a stylish acrobatic maneuver, but we're not interested in that just yet. Press the attack button while running and they'll swing a melee weapon. You shouldn't be surprised by my hyperbolic tendencies anymore, but the dash-attack's understated brilliance deserves at least half as many youtuber videos as Mario's jump.
Unlike its predecessor, Alien Storm opts for a dash-attack that doesn't require the player to give up their momentum or control. Instead of stopping the instant they make contact, Karla (or her coworkers) will strike while running. The enemy is momentarily stunned, allowing players enough time to turn around and repeat the process. If you've got the speed and the execution, you can trap one or more aliens in a vortex, shredding them to pieces without any chance of being countered. Naturally, the developers were aware of the weapon they created. In order to blunt it, or at least keep it from carving the game apart, they made enemies that can be just as fast and aggressiveness. Their numerical superiority can't be discounted either. Pay too much attention to those vortexes, and you'll quickly lose sight of the bigger picture.
Maneuverability is everything in this game, and it's welcome to see that dashing isn't the only way to get around quickly. Thanks to the how fast everyone walks, you can quite literally walk circles around some enemies. Pressing the C button performs an escape roll. During a roll, you can attack with a tackle or a dive. They're handy moves depending on the situation, but the trade-off is a longer recovery. When you're dealing with three to six aliens at a time, every move requires careful consideration, even if you only have fractions of a second to consider them. A lot of battles are only going to end in your favor if you practice restraint. Absorbing the brains of innumerable humans hasn't made your enemies particularly smart, but they still have agency of their own. All it takes is for them to move slightly out of the way to throw you off your rhythm. If the situation is starting to unravel and you still decide to commit to the attack, then don't blame the game when everything goes wrong. Again, this is a faster-paced Golden Axe.
Adding long-term problems to your short-term struggles is the energy system. The gist of it is that energy powers your weapons. Cans of the stuff are dispersed throughout each mission, so you'll be fine as long as you never use the screen-clearing super attack. Now this, this is where Alien Storm becomes something akin to a shmup. If you're feeling overwhelmed, you can use a "bomb" to eradicate all of the weaker foes. However, just like anything Cave put out during their best days, the bomb can't be relied on. Without energy, that plasma cannon or flamethrower you're carrying is a worthless stick. I can't tell you what's the best time to use a bomb, because ultimately, it's psychological weapon. Even if its effects aren't immediate, using this weapon at the wrong time is only going to hurt you. Learning each encounter and mastering the rest of your arsenal is key to getting anywhere. Although, I certainly won't judge if you decide to bomb through the final mission. Those two-headed aliens are pretty obnoxious.
Unlike... every other belt-scroller imaginable, each mission ends with a light-gun shootout. Zap the aliens that pop up, destroy the scenery for E-tanks. Don't underestimate these sections, because every instance of damage is costly. You might also want to refrain from holding down the fire button, especially if you're playing the arcade version. The cursor moves faster when you're not blasting. Shorter, more controlled bursts are necessary for the many instances when multiple aliens attack simultaneously. This is something you won't have to worry about if you're playing the Mega Drive port.
While I really enjoy the arcade version of Alien Storm, it's clearly designed to bully players into submission. It's a game designed to be the answer to veterans who mastered Golden Axe by making every attempt to knock them down a peg. There's no respite to be found here. Aliens are mean and quick to punish every little misstep. The singular boss battle is actually a mini rush where you battle a three-phase monster, all of which require different strategies. Topping all this off is what I presume to be the total elimination of anything that constitutes healing. Energy isn't too hard to come by, but life is more fleeting than ever. If you want a fun game that's meaner than a drunken rattlesnake, then take a shot at this.
For everyone else, I highly recommend starting with the console port. Sega did a really good job here. They managed to tone down the difficulty without sacrificing the core gameplay loop. You're still required to learn enemy behaviors and manage limited energy. Med-kits can be found in multiple missions, which are handy for undoing the past couple mistakes. A few enemies and a boss-phase were cut, though I can't imagine anyone missing them. You're in for a great time whether you treat this port as standalone or as a stepping-stone towards the arcade original.
Alien Storm is one of those games that doesn't get recommended enough. It's a spicy take on the Golden Axe formula that has both a lower barrier of entry and a higher skill ceiling. Each alien encounter is packed with moving parts. The game really comes alive as you effortlessly weave through wave after wave of monsters. Easy recommendation.
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