Midway digs into the classic game grab bag with Area 51 which, like NARC before it, is a total retelling of the light gun games of the mid to late nineties, only this time it’s a first person shooter and an all right one at that.

Area 51 takes elements from other first-person shooter games like the gameplay of Halo and the creepy environments of Doom 3 and thrusts you into the no-so-secret base where all hell has broken loose. You, as Ethan Cole, and your hazardous materials team, are called in to search for the members of team delta who disappeared twenty-four hours ago. Apparently, there was some research being done with an unknown virus that basically mutates anyone who comes in contact with it. You’re not the only team on the job; however, as the illuminati own the base and have sent in their own black ops to take contain the virus, and anyone who witnesses their presence.

Weapons are the normal console FPS fare, while initially starting out with just a pistol, you’ll eventually get your mitts on the assault rifle and shotgun (both of which can be dual wielded) as well as a sniper rifle and the other worldly BBG which fires exploding plasma rounds and recharges itself rather than needing ammo. The weapons are augmented with frag and plasma grenades for crowd control or those hard to reach places. You can even pistol whip baddies if you’re too busy to reload.

After getting infected with the virus towards the beginning of the game, Ethan gains the ability to mutate where his vision goes red and heat signatures stand out as well as a slew of new attacks, such as shooting parasites and melee attacks that give easy one-hit kills. Mutation is gauged by a mutagen meter that’s constantly running out while in mutated form. You can keep up your mutagen meter by performing melee attacks, picking up syringes, or finding an infested carcass. In later levels, you won’t find much use for the mutated form due in part to the overly aggressive enemy AI which makes it hard to pull off melee attacks and the fact that you’ll have some more powerful weapons at your disposal.

The game offers a few massive battles here and there (mostly at the beginning of the game) which pit waves of mutants versus you and about four of your comrades. These battles offer some excitement, but grow tiring after a while, mostly due in part that the mutants you face at the beginning of the game are pretty much replaced with the soldiers of the Illuminati from the middle of the game all the way to the end. These soldiers range from the run-of-the-mill black ops to the cloaked, predator-like elites. Okay, so there are only two types really, and fighting them gets old, especially in later levels where they gain superhuman aim and attack on sight. Mutants and Illuminati alike exhibit some great AI as the mutants will attempt to dodge your fire and leap when they’re close enough. Illuminati troops will also attempt to fight you in groups and will hunt you down through a number of rooms to try to get a piece of you.

Though Area 51 gives you plenty of creepy environments to explore, the game works on an objective system that frequently makes you backtrack or stay in one area for an extended amount of time. There are some points of the game where an entire chapter will be focused on one area of the base with objectives ranging from “hold off the mutants” to “get ammo for turrets” and “hold of mutants from the turret”. It all seems like filler to make the game longer and isn’t too satisfying.

There are some great perks to exploration, once you get the chance to do so that is. Scattered throughout levels you’ll find computers, specimens, and documents that you can scan that will fill you in on the research being done at Area 51 as well as unlock movies, such as video diaries, that you can view from the game’s main menu. These really add to the exploration, if you’re into the story in any way at all. You’ll find yourself scouring every corner of a room trying to find these documents and unlockable content. It might be worth replaying the game just to unlock everything to get these little snippets of info, but chances are you’ll probably be done with the game after the first time through and an hour in the multiplayer. You might also have a good time scanning dead bodies just to see what they’re carrying on them, or maybe that’s just me. You never know what those guys might have.

In addition to the single player game, Area 51 boasts a no frills multiplayer mode as well. All the normal game modes are here such as capture the flag, team deathmatch, and normal deathmatch. There’s also an exclusive multiplayer mode called infection which has marines going against one mutated player. Multiplayer maps aren’t unique and use levels from the single player game.

The visuals of Area 51 do a great job of creating some really creepy environments. Levels are mostly dark and give the feeling that anything can jump out at any time; luckily you have a dim flashlight that can help to some extent. Unlike Doom 3, levels have some variety in them despite the fact that you’re in the same military base for most of the game which is a nice little surprise.

The miscellaneous mutants and soldiers you’ll encounter, though not widely varied, all look really good. Same goes for the guys on your team as well as the other military personnel and scientists scattered throughout the base.

There are a bunch of neat effects that you’ll come across as well. You’ll see a constant reflection of what you’re looking at through your sniper scope while you’re walking around, which is a neat touch. You’ll also have sparks flying from consoles and screens when they’re hit by fire and of course, the Halo-esque glowing bright blue blood of the Illuminati all over the walls when they’re killed. Weapon effects are also well done, especially the alien weapons. Explosions all look great and are accompanied by flying rubble and some great smoke effects.

Area 51 got an impressive crew to fill out the game’s voice acting with David Duchovny (after his wonderful work in XIII – note the sarcasm) voicing Ethan, Marilyn Manson voicing the ever-so-optimistic alien Edgar, and Powers Boothe as Major Douglas Bridges. Duchovny does a decent job of sounding like a lone soldier with no hope left – then again, he also sounds like he hadn’t slept in days. Marilyn Manson also does a good job of voicing the alien, though he sounds just like he normally does, albeit with some distortion thrown over his voice for good measure.

The great looking environments are also accompanied by a lot of ambient noise which does a good job of adding to the creeps. You will have some miscellaneous music tracks, mostly of the electronic variety, that play during some moments in the game. They’re not annoying in any way, but are easily forgettable in the end.

Though Area 51 isn’t revolutionary by any means, it’s a great game for a console gamer looking for a FPS fix. The game isn’t too long and can be beaten in about ten hours if you’re not looking to unlock anything, but it’ll be great for a weekend as there isn’t much longevity in the multiplayer aspect. To sum it all up, Area 51 isn’t a great place to have a career, but it’s nice to visit for a weekend.

- Brad Hicks (Dr. Swank), SwankWorld Media