Alien Crush
Reviewed by Michael LoCascio
Never, ever did I think I would purchase a pinball video
game. I hated pinball in the first place, and the thought of
controlling a couple of flippers and batting a ball around
my TV screen just didn't sound like very much fun. Frankly,
the only reason I even purchased Alien Crush was because
Blazing Lazers happened to be out of stock and I was pretty
desperate for a new game for my Turbo. Well, it just
happened to be one of those rare strokes of luck that I did
give Alien Crush a chance, because it truly is one of the
most enjoyable and addictive titles I've ever played - and
that includes games of any genre.
Rather than consisting of mere, mundane bumpers and lights,
the playfield in Alien Crush is stocked full of all sorts of
slimy monstrosities. There are plenty of secrets to uncover
as well: for example, should you hit the humongous 'Brain
Buster' enough times to blow it up, a new alien will come
flying out of it. If you manage to destroy this alien before
it leaves the playfield, you'll be rewarded with some extra
bonus points.
The playfield is comprised of two separate levels. When you
hit the ball from one level to another, the screen
'blinks' for a split second, and then play immediately
resumes. Some players found this to be disconcerting; I
never thought it was a major problem, but NEC disliked the
blinking system enough to alter it when the sequel, Devil's
Crush, was eventually released.
Should one of the many aliens on the field happen to swallow
up your ball, there is a chance that you'll enter one of
Alien Crush's four bonus rounds. There is a different
objective to meet in each bonus round: one requires that you
destroy a number of huge aliens that are protected by some
smaller, slimy henchmen, while another demands that you
knock a group of skulls into three holes in the playfield.
My personal favorite features a large centipede that you
must decapitate and destroy.
The graphics in Alien Crush are superb - the aliens look all
too creepy and gruesome. At the title screen, you are
allowed to choose from two different music tracks (dubbed
'Lunar Eclipse' and 'Demon's Undulate') that will play
during your game. 'Eclipse' is a fast, intense tune while
'Undulate' is dark and brooding. Amazingly, both tracks
fit the mood of the game very well, and you will likely
alternate between the two each time you play.
Alien Crush can be even more fun when you compete with a
friend to see who can attain the top ranking on the high
scores board. In case one player is far superior to the
other, you can adjust the speed of the ball from fast to
slow in order to make things more fair. One thing is for
certain, however: the game is so incredibly addicting, that
you and your friends will be competing for many, many hours.
Overall: 8 out of 10
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