Alien Arena: Tactical

Multiplayer shooters have a long and prosperous history on PC, ever since gems like Quake, Half-Life and Wolfenstein left their mark on the genre. However, they need to adhere to certain standards in order to be enjoyed by gamers, because with so many options available, it’s easy to find something that fits your needs better.

Alien Arena: Tactical is more of an experiment into team play than anything else, but it tries to implement a few new ideas in the genre. As such, instead of the usual fast-paced shooting with barely any time to breathe, the game is a tad slower and objective-based. Sure, hardcore deathmatch fans may not appreciate the new mechanics, but it’s nice to have alternatives when you need them.

As such, there are two teams fighting against each other in this mode: the aliens and the humans. In order to win, one of the teams must disable the other one’s defense system and destroy various objectives. The players must work together to achieve this, because unlike in deathmatch, running around alone trying to frag everyone can get your entire team killed.

To make matters more exciting, there are multiple classes to choose from as well, each one of which comes with a variety of special abilities. Obviously, each team must consist of an optimum number of players from each class, otherwise you can find yourself not being able to respond in kind to the enemy team’s attacks. Skill has a lot to do with it as well, but a squad that sticks together always has more chances of success.

As far as the technical capabilities of the game, not much has changed from the original game, given the fact that this is merely a mod and nothing else. A few new textures and models have been included to accommodate the new content, but the maps are not as numerous as one would hope. Thankfully, that will change in time as the mod gets more recognition.

Although Alien Arena: Tactical is not as fast-paced as the regular version, the gameplay should appeal to those who want a bit more coordination and planning. Hence, the mod is perfect for those who enjoy playing with a team and do not mind the lack of constant fragging.