| Alien Earth | |
| Developer: | Beam Software[1] |
| Released: | NA July 21, 1998 |
| Genre: | Action role-playing |
| Modes: | Single-player |
| Platforms: | IBM PC compatible |
Alien Earth is an isometric pseudo-3D action-adventure game with role-playing elements. It was released for Windows.[2] It was developed by Krome Studios Melbourne, (known as Beam Software at the time) and released in 1998.[3]
What remains of Earth and most of its inhabitants after a nuclear holocaust is dominated and enslaved by the insect-like humanoid Raksha, invaders from another planet.[4] Many years later, only the Resistance remains free, in the sewers of a ruined city. The player takes control of Finn, a villager in a jungle that the Raksha use to hunt their slaves as prey. A Raksha hunting lord marks Finn as a troublemaker,[4] and he must outwit the Raksha, and seek aid wherever he can find it, to survive. His nemesis vanquished, Finn searches for answers about the fate of his civilization in a wartorn city, despite the Scavengers hunting through the ruins for scraps of remaining technology and intruders.
Resource management is a key part of the game; items are collected, as in most games, but also combined; the latter is crucial to completing the game. Combining a wooden pole with a metallic blade forms a Spear, for example, or an empty bottle, petrol and a rag cloth to form a molotov cocktail. Separate NPCs make scavenged Raksha weapons usable and sellable, and level up Finn's psionic abilities. Finn's fighting abilities use a skill levelling system; the more Finn uses a weapon, the better he gets at using it.
The game was showcased at E3 1997.[5]
Next Generation reviewed the PC version of the game, rating it three stars out of five, and stated that "Well-designed and (mostly) well-implemented, it might not be flashy, but the game possesses a depth and quality that marks it as one of the brighter spots in the lineup this month."[6] gave the game a rating of 53% and said the game had a good idea but implemented it half-heartedly.[7] PC Zone gave a rating of 60% and said "the storyline is mildly enthralling, but nothing makes you sit up and take notice."[8]