Alien Syndrome (NES)

100 point score based on reviews from various critics.
5 point score based on user ratings.

User Reviews

Sweet cooperative alien-blasting action Multimedia Mike (17338) 3.25 Stars3.25 Stars3.25 Stars3.25 Stars3.25 Stars

Our Users Say

Category Description MobyScore
Overall MobyScore (9 votes) 3.1

The Press Says

Defunct Games
Even if the gameplay is repetitive and the graphics are poor, the action is still a lot of fun. Two-player support adds to the excitement and the port is surprisingly faithful to the source material. Much like 24, Alien Syndrome overstays its welcome and drags the entire game down. Still, there's a lot of fun to be had with Tengen's competent port of Alien Syndrome.
Video Game Den
For me, Alien Syndrome is an undoubtedly memorable game from the 1980s, thanks to its unique, imaginative and gruesome alien design. Bosses are especially odd and I can only marvel at their creative and twisted nature. So how does this conversion compare to the original game ? Personally, I think Sunsoft did a good job and this port is relatively faithful to the arcade game. Controls are sadly a bit slower overall and the weapon's firing rate is rather sluggish and limited. The color palette is also a bit bland and has lost its original vibrancy. But Sun Soft, despite the obvious hardware limitations, has managed to keep the two-player simultaneous mode, which was a brave and yet successful move despite some occasional sprite-blinking. All in all, Alien Syndrome is a decent conversion and a straight forward run-and-gun shooter that turns out to be rather challenging and fairly unforgiving (much like the original game though).
NES Player
One of Tengen's better games. It is fairly common and you can probably find it easily. I recommend picking it up if you just want a simple minded shooter to play, or if you want to marvel at the elusive KING CORE..
The Video Game Critic
The game gets off to a slow start, with beginning stages that are really easy. The background music can't match the menacing tones of the Sega Master System game, and the sound effects are also disappointing. This NES edition plays better, but offers a somewhat forgettable shooting experience.