Alien is one of my favourite films of all time.
Even now, I spend hours watching channels like Alien Theory, which I completely recommend.
I recall watching it sometime in the late 80s or early 90s, and not only did it grip
me throughout, but it left an imprint on my mind.
That huge hulking rig, drifting alone through space, an isolated beacon, the fight for survival,
against not only an alien foe, but the very orders of the corporation the crew were working
for.
It's drenched in a bleak atmosphere, which not only chills you to the core, it continues
to niggle on the mind, leading to questions about our own universe, our own progress and
indeed, our own fate.
I must have watched the film 5 or 6 times during the course of a month, along with the
sequel, Aliens, but invariably, I wanted more.
At the time I owned a Commodore 64, but for some reason or another, I was unaware of the
Aliens games already in existence.
Instead, I set my mind on creating a version of the ship's computer - Mother - using Commodore
BASIC, which kept me occupied, if nothing else.
I guess that given gaming information and news was far scarcer back then, looking for
an official Alien game didn't cross my mind.
It wasn't until fairly recently when I played Alien and both versions of Aliens on the Commodore
64, and they're reasonable enough outings.
The UK version of Aliens, puts you in a first person perspective, albeit, only with the
option to swivel from left to right, whilst the American release tries to recreate scenes
from the film, with varying success.
Alien, however, is a different kettle of fish.
Commanding your Nostromo crew, your task is to escape the ship using a text interface,
alongside a bare bones representation of the ship.
This may not sound overly exciting, but it manages to capture the suspense and atmosphere
of the film none the less.
With it now being 2018, it may seem the days of Commodore 64 Alien games have passed.
But bravely into this fold steps, Organism, which official licence excused, is very clearly
based on Alien, with this Geiger-esq artwork.
There's something about new releases which is exciting, and if this game had arrived
sometime in the very early 90s, I would have pounced on it like a Facehugger to a foolish
astronaut.
As you can see from the outer packaging, this is a Psytronik Software release, and the large
box is because I pre-ordered the deluxe disk version a few months back.
Let's see what it contains...
Right off the bat we've got a poster of some sort.
Ahhhhhhh, no, it's blueprints for the United Transport Shipping Vehicle...
U.T.S Heracles.
Ohhhh, it's HER-A-CLESE, the Greek Gatekeeper of Olympus.
Right, right.
That makes sense.
So these blueprints then clearly also also act as a handy navigational aid for the game,
I'm sure.
Oh, and we've got that sublime artwork by Trevor Storey on the back as well.
Nice.
Here then we have the main event, the game box itself.
I must admit it's really well presented.
This box is glossy, sturdy and provides enough tantalising screenshots and blurb to whet
your appetite.
United Transport Shipping Vehicle, the Haracles travels on the edge of known spacce.
It's desination: The military station Damecles.
It's cargo: Classified.
When a breach in the cargo containers sends the ship into high alert and the crew are
awoken from their hypersleep, only horror awaits them in the dark and silent corridors.
Once a safe and secure environment.
Now a ship of DOOM...
Wonderful.
Inside, next to that new box smell, we have a plethora of shiny goodies.
Allow me to lay it out for you.
There we go, quite a haul.
Piece by piece, we have a standard Organism keyring, your tried and tested round badge,
a portrait sticker, 6 square stickers, a rectangular Commodore 64 badge, an ever oh shiny Organism
postcard, with in and out of game artwork on each side, the soundtrack on Compact Disc
- remember them?
A 5.25" floppy disk, containing the game itself, along with a set of care instructions on the
back annnnd, last but not least, the game manual, which dedicates the main bulk of itself,
to the game story.
I'll spare you the whole thing, but it at least deserves a skim through whilst I load
her up.
Deep in the bowels of the ship, the darkness and silence is pierced by one terminal.
A lone figure sits silently behind the keyboard [Then the clicking and vibrating of it's hard
drive]...
The figure of a man stands up and crosses the room [flicking a switch he opens the doors]...
The man stretches out an arm and lays his hand on the container [a loud thump from inside
makes him jump]...
- Crew revival procedure -
The AI announces loudly "Lock down procedure initated, access to the ship is now restricted"...
You begin to wake, a scream echoes outside your room, your eyes flicker open...
HULL BREACH ALERT, HULL BREACH ALERT...
"Heracles" what the hell is going on? you call, the AI does not respond.
With a deep inhale, you set off down the corridor.
Just like the story, the game oozes suspense.
The music by Saul Cross makes sure of that.
We need a joystick to play, and so everything ready, and armed with our trusty map, we're
good to go.
This game may not follow the Alien story - in many ways, it's actually more like Alien Resurrection,
but it doesn't matter.
The fact that it replicates the atmosphere of the film, means the same feelings are generated
in the pit of your stomach.
The same fears are provoked at the back of your mind, and although we're only in an 8
bit world of Commodore 64 graphics, the visuals combined with the eerie soundbed provide enough
stimulation to drag you into this forboding world, this silent ship, and her eerie corridors.
Almost immediately we're confronted by Face Huggers.
We have a weapon, which comes in more than handy, and we have the ability to strafe,
should we need it.
We also have tasks to complete.
The first being, to locate a disk and activate the nearby terminal.
I do like a game which gives you immediate goals, immediate threats and immediate action.
It reminds me of Doom.
The story is there, if you want it, but if you don't, you can just get involved straight
away.
Also, like Doom, the game manages to retain its tension and suspense, despite the continuous
onslaught of enemies.
For respite, your only option is to find a small room like this, where you can get yourself
together.
Although if you find one like this, you can free your ship mate instead, then immediately
shoot the crap out of him before their mutated body kills you.
Because, that's another task for each deck.
Free your shipmates, then kill them - in return they'll often gift you a medi-kit, which is
awfully good of them.
Once you've collected the disk, you can access the computer terminal, where you're faced
with yet another obstacle.
This time, it's a logic puzzle, which must be solved in order to download the data.
You're then free to move to another deck... in fact, you can move from deck to deck whenever
you wish, and let me tell you, the provided map quickly becomes very useful.
This ship is massive, and other than some colour differences between decks, everything
looks much the same.
Of course, if you really want to relive your youth, you could create your own map - that
was half the fun.
Or you could just use the one they've made.. even the digital download has a copy.
As you move from deck to deck completing objectives, it quickly becomes apparant that the lower
in the ship's bowels you traverse, the more fearsome the creatures which lurk there.
The very bottom of the ship has the hallmarks of an alien nest, so you're often best to
out manouvre and run, rather than stop and shoot.
This not only requires finesse and tip-top joystick control, but also the ability to
read your map at the same time.
There's no room for stopping and starting here.
I did notice however, that often this process can feel akin to navigating the London underground.
Sometimes you feel like just another commuter getting from A to B with these fellow aliens.
Suffice to say, the AI of these creatures isn't the best.
Sometimes they'll make a B-Line toward you.
Other times, they'll just amble about, minding their own business.
The Face huggers are probably the worst, and you'll end up with many on your face.
When this happens, a rapid wiggle of the joystick should free you...
however, walk into a room like this, and you're best to get the hell outta there.
Don't go doing a Kane here.
If you can go through the entire ship without depleting your health to the extent that you
die, then you might just escape the ship, and complete the game.
But in the process, you'll have a hell of a ride, and enjoy a healthy wedge of dred
inducing gameplay.
The game is also available on Tape, for those who want the true British experience.
Because, let's be frank, none of us owned a disk drive back in the day.
For those wishing to play on the C64 mini or through emulation, you can also grab a
digital download, and play until your heart is content.
Handily the download contains appropriate ROM packages for whatever your preference
may be.
So.
That's Organism.
A game which I feel I've waited about 30 years for, and I think that's because having a Commodore
64 at the time, paired that machine with the film for me.
Commodore 64 technology also feels like an accurate fit to the technology we witnessed
aboard the Nostromo, and for that reason, it seems to add a ethereal dynamic of atmosphere
to proceedings.
So was it worth the wait?
Well, I'd say, it probably was in all fairness.
I mean, it's not Alien Isolation.
But it does fill a void that has felt unsatisfied for the last few decades.
ohh err missus.
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