Aliens TC 2017 DOOM mod review [Mod Pit 004]
5A retro game review of the Aliens Total Conversion mod for the original DOOM. Subscribe to Blown Cartridges for more retro game review videos: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoDQj54Gd-w8RTdukMrQScQ?sub_confirmation=1
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Aliens Total Conversion 2017 is a remake of the first Doom Total Conversion mod. Originally released in 1994 by Justin Fisher, it was remade in 2017 by modder Kontra Kommando with overhauled graphics, new weapons and character options, but the original textures.
As soon as the game starts, you'll notice the mod's oppressive atmosphere, casting you as a Colonial Marine in a progression that emulates the movie Aliens. It's really a great fit, Doom and Aliens, considering the influence the movie had on the game's development.
I'm not ashamed to say that this mod really creeped me out, playing it - the first level is entirely devoid of enemies, so by the time you hit the second you're expecting nearly anything at any time. Likewise, the claustrophobic nature of the levels' passages - the abandoned colony is bad enough, and when you get to the alien hive sections with hidden halls and grates for xenomorphs to ambush you through?
Maybe the worst of all is when your motion detector tells you that there are monsters all around you, and you just can't see them but you can definitely hear them. When it hits the fan, when the aliens finally attack, there's no cathartic relief.
These things are fast, brutal, and - just like in the movie - have acid blood that can hurt you if you're too close. The effect of blowing xenomorphs away is brutally gory too - blow off the front of their heads and they'll claw at you wildly until finally succumbing to death. And there are just... so... many of them. The arsenal you're given to wade your way through the aliens come from the movies.
As in all good mods you'll need to reload your weapons, though when swarmed it might be faster to just swap them out, like in Project MSX.
As a marine you start with the pulse rifle, which carries with it an underslung grenade launcher. Weapons can be occasionally found in armories throughout the colony, including variations on the shotgun and a smart-gun with auto-aiming capacity - for everything else, you'll need to lead your fire.
Also featured in the remake but absent from the original mod is the flame thrower, something just about as effective as you need it to be, and a great addition.
Speaking of additions, one welcome feature in the mod are flares you can throw to illuminate the many dark spaces you'll be running through - you spend a surprising amount of time running through vents and ducts. I'd spent much of the time in the pitch black navigating by means of the map screen - which is mostly safe if you've already cleared the way. Mostly.
If there was one problem I had with the remake it'd have been the music - while most of it was fine and added to the horror of the game in a subliminal fashion, some of it was almost confusing, more like sound effects that should have been diegetic, but weren't - this is mostly noticeable in the first level, where you're running around looking for aliens that aren't there yet.
This is a small complaint, though, in an otherwise outstanding mod.
If you still play Doom and want to play one of the earliest - and yet most impressive - total conversion mods for any game, Aliens TC is a great place to start, whether you go for the original or the remake.
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