Parents' Guide to

Alienation

By Chad Sapieha, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 15+

Hard sci-fi shooter with bloody human-vs.-alien combat.

Game PlayStation 4 2016
Alienation Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this game.

  • Alienation Game: Screenshot #1
  • Alienation Game: Screenshot #2
  • Alienation Game: Screenshot #3

Community Reviews

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age 10+

Based on 1 parent review

nuenjins
nuenjins Parent
November 1, 2017
age 10+

If Halo or Destiny was made into a great top down shooter.

When the Arcade style Halo Spartan Assault came out, I wasn't impressed. So when we bought this digitally, on sale I wasn't getting hopes too high and prepared to be underwhelmed. Thankfully though, this more than gratified our need for a local co-op top down shooter, but gave the complexities of reload times, ammo management and strategy that make it more interesting and familiar than a mere 'arcade' style game. I thought these elements belonged more in Destiny where power ups and resource juggling would be annoying in a top down shooter. However, the pacing of the game and map allow you to navigate more like an FPS (First Person Shooter), Not nearly as involved and complex as these aformentioned games, but a simplified version to keep the pacing and grit. Each class has weapons and abilities specific to them (3 in all) obviously being suited to play styles and for variation and to make leveling up more linear and simple so as not to be 'swapping' loadouts constantly. You fight various types of aliens IE the tentacle race, spider race, zombie-like race etc. You have grenades, super powers, shields, a strike call and more all on the fly. You may want to change your button scheme to something more familiar, but my son even got into it and became familiar being a Halo/Destiny/ COD fan himself, but now, we can play in the same room on the same console. The detail of the charecters is obviously not HD magic, but in top down mode it's superfluous and overall irrelevant,.This is a $15 arcade game after all, but well worth it. We need more of these type of games and it's kinda sad it took me this long to find one. Highly recommended. Parental wise, I don't think the far off vilolence is close up or graphic enough to merit great concern. If your child has stepped on a spider before, they should be more than OK.
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What’s It About?

Aliens have all but taken over Earth in ALIENATION, and it's up to a small squad of super soldiers to fight back and save humanity. The battle begins with players picking a soldier class and heading to a Hawaiian training facility to learn the basics. Then they'll fly to the frozen wastes of Alaska to start the war in earnest. Combat sees players moving their soldiers about with one thumbstick and aiming their weapons with the other while pressing triggers and buttons to unleash attacks and reload their weapons. Enemies -- a vast variety of aliens big and small -- tend to come in massive waves, madly rushing toward your soldier in an attempt to overwhelm him or her with sheer numbers. As players move from one firefight to the next, they also need to complete simple objectives, such as hacking computers, destroying alien nests, investigating the whereabouts of lost patrols, and clearing out staging areas. As the game progresses, soldiers gain experience that results in ability points that can be spent on special class-specific skills. They'll also find better weapons and salvage parts that can be used to upgrade their gear. If you opt to make your session public, your soldier may be joined by those of other players currently engaged in the same mission.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: (1):
Kids say: Not yet rated

This adventure game with fast-paced action is pretty much the definition of mindless entertainment. Its alternate-history extraterrestrial-invasion story is underdeveloped, none of the characters is particularly memorable, and the upgrade system is shallow and sometimes a little confusing. Players looking for a deep, RPG-style shooter with a dramatic narrative and iconic personalities are bound to come away disappointed.

That said, if you're just looking for some addictive isometric combat, you're in luck. Blasting the alien hordes requires no small amount of skill. You'll frequently need to switch weapons as you run out of and replenish ammunition, ensuring that you're using the right gun for the current enemy type. Similarly, each soldier's special abilities -- all slowly earned and upgraded -- take a while to recharge and are effective only in specific situations, but they can really save your bacon if you keep them in reserve for when you're about to be overwhelmed. And systematically exploring the enormous maps -- which are set in nicely rendered locations around the globe and can be surprisingly sophisticated thanks to occasional vertical and interior elements -- to find every nook, chest, boss, and special event is nearly as much fun as the firefights. Alienation isn't going to give us the next Master Chief, but it's undeniably entertaining in its own way.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about screen time. Missions in this game last about 20 to 30 minutes, so how many missions do you think you should play]per session?

  • Talk about trying to understand your opponents. When you take the perspective of an adversary, you might find you better understand their motives; how can that be the first step toward avoiding conflict?

Game Details

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