If you got nothing else to use your plastic TV gun on then this game is more enjoyable then some others.
Platform: PlayStation, Sega Saturn
Developer: Mesa Logic
Publisher: Midway
Genre: Light Gun Shooter
Age Rating: 12+ BBFC
Release Date: May 1997
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Game Score: 8.0/10
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Summery:
If you got nothing else to use your plastic TV gun on then this game is more enjoyable then some others.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you remember Area 51 in the arcades then you might be interested to know that it's available on PlayStation and Sega Saturn, bringing the arcade experience home. There's nothing new to see here but it doesn't stop Area 51 from being a smash hit arcade shooter game.
Story-wise is simple you and a few squad-mates are assigned to a secret military base Area 51 to stop the invading Aliens from taking over the Earth. There is some hilarious voice work during the game but however most of which you can only just take them as tolerable.
Alongside the Practice mode where you can shoot enemies ready for the main game. Holding either the Lightgun, a mouse or a standard control pad you'll blast your way through 9 levels shooting hordes of Alien infected humans. You'll also shoot down Barrels and Windows to earn you score multiples which multiply your score to go higher but be careful using a continue lowers your score at least 30%.
You can change the settings on the controller and mouse to however you please. The controllers crosshair is a little slow but luckily the mouse sensitivity can be adjusted and the Konami Hyperblaster's accuracy is pretty good for the most part. The difficulty in the game is acceptable to any players challenge and you can make the game harder to include more Aliens to shoot at. Along the way you'll find power ups that upgrades your weapon but it feels unnecessary since your gun can kill almost any Alien in 1 shot. The only difference is that some weapons can fire automatically. But even so the game feels a little to easy to beat but pretty fun to blast through.
Level design is pretty good and the acting's self explanatory but the later levels lose interest as one level just as you shooting Aliens but the level repeats for no reason. The sound effects are alright and the Aliens grunts when they get shot are pretty good. The music track is alright with decent composing material but the voice work is hilariously awful but you can't help but to have a few giggles at it.
With Light gun games not being as good as they were in the arcades. Area 51 on the other hand is a pretty fun Light gun shoot em up game from the arcade. It's a shame that it only lasts less then half an hour. But if you got nothing else to use your plastic TV gun on then this game is more enjoyable then some others.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Pros:
1. It's fun to shoot everything you can including windows and barrels to add more points
2. Hilarious voice work
3. Plenty of secrets to discover and minigames
The Bads:
1. The later levels lose interest later on
2. A little too easy
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reviewed by: Anthony Hayball (BlaZer91)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------