A welcome infestation
The DS has a funny habit of making me look like a dumbass on public transport. From tapping frantically on the screen like I’m attempting morse code to warn others of the guy who farted next to me, to blowing into the microphone in order to control whirlwinds, I’ve slowly been socially cattle prodded into the corner of any train or bus. Aliens: Infestation certainly doesn’t help, forcing me to jump up out of my seat as innocent commuters attempt Sudoku’s with decorum. 
Fan of Scott’s infamous film series or not, it’s pretty easy to see what calamities are going to unfold in Aliens: Infestation. As a team of four Marines, you’re sent to investigate the USS Surgaco which is, low and behold, housing a bunch of chest-bursting critters just waiting for some more fleshy puppets to penetrate. It’s the conventional cliché horror movie concept which should leave you high and mighty over the extraterrestrial terrors…yet Aliens: Infestation plays out to make you feel like one of the daft stereotypes that occupy the vessel. Taking inspiration from other retro 2D side-scrolling shooters such as Metroid, Aliens:Infestation adds its own dastardly quirks to add that same horror movie feeling that we should all be rolling our eyes at. Four marines enter the game, but four marines won’t necessarily come out. Each member of the team resembles a life for the player, and once they’re gone, they’re gone for good. As such, you start ranking your team members in orders of annoyance, sending out the arrogant tossers and cowards first, before being forced to send in ‘the likeables’. The characters certainly won’t open up to reveal layers of depth behind their personas, but the imminent threat of wiping out your preferable warriors forever starts to add some sweat to your brow. The reason to fear for your teams lives is obvious. When Xenomorphs start descending upon you, the crafty buggers prove to be a challenge to duel with. Once you stare down the sights at one of the slimy critters, they’re fast to dart straight past and claw at your back. The damn cowards scrawl across the walls and dodge fire in all manners possible, and you soon realise it’s not just your trigger finger that must be primed for survival. If you can’t keep your wits about you with ninja like reflexes, you’ll quickly find yourself skewered, and there’s something about tactical cowardice to evade enemy scrapes that adds to the experience.
Aliens: Infestation has fashionably bided its time in air vents only to spring out and unexpectedly become an excellent title
Each map is of impressive size with plenty of nooks and crannies to explore, but the stalking threats give you reason to dwell on whether you should explore each levels darkest recesses. Heading down hidden corridors leads to secret weapons and handy upgrades, but each carries a heavy fine of risk vs. reward, a gamble that gets worse and worse as your numbers dwindle. The better the prize, the larger the extra-terrestrial army that’ll lie in wait. Still, the rewards that are scattered in darkened corridors are worth the dangers…there’s just an overwhelming feeling of dread whenever you attempt to grab them. It’s pretty easy to run away like a little girl or be a proper Marine and blast Xenomorphs away. The control system suits the DS pretty well, as well as conveniently placing the sprint button on the right trigger for easy acts of cowardice. More annoying, are the constant transitions you’ll have to make from standard controls to touch screen selections. To switch to another weapon, bring out the handy map or unwield locked doors, you have to pull out the stylus and tap on your preferred option. I usually find juggling between buttons and touch screen a frustration, but when you’re in the midst of an alien scrap, it can be incredibly aggravating to organise your way through survival. It’s good that Aliens: Infestation creates a feeling of absolute dread within its atmosphere, as the DS’s graphical limitations make it incredibly difficult for a title on the portable to be a visually horrifying experience. Then again, the game doesn’t try to be over-ambitious and rather revels in its retro blueprint. The sprite animations of your soldiers are very nicely animated, holding the heavy pixel textures firmly tongue in cheek. Backgrounds are well rendered and your attempts to avoid a nasty pain through the heart are backed-up with a superb retro soundtrack. The nostalgic flairs of the title shine through without making the whole game feel decrepit, and makes it an awesome throwback. 
Although I complain for the cleanliness of my boxers about conflicts with aliens, they certainly keep me on my toes in the midst of battle….much unlike more humanoid enemies. You can barely see when they’re firing at you leading to some very dubious injuries and they have a horrible habit of respawning should the screen move away from their corpses. I now finally know how frustrating it is for enemy A.I whenever they think they’ve downed me only for me to respawn a second later and coat them in bullets. It’s a rule the game seems to just spring on you like many an unwelcome corpse, and it does take a while for you to get used to the bizarre revival methods. Get used to juggling in and out of the touch screen and adapting to the laws of zombie robots that rise when you turn away, however, and you have a pretty damn enjoyable side-scrolling shooter that oozes retro charms whilst still feeling like a very fresh title. I thought there was little hope this year for the DS thanks to its eye popping counterpart stealing the limelight, however Aliens: Infestation has fashionably bided its time in air vents only to spring out and unexpectedly become an excellent title for the portable. If you’re looking for an additively simple shooter with some truly unexpected depth to it, this is certainly a title that won’t disappoint.
The Bad: Frustrating enemies who respawn instantly once your back is turned, Frenzied juggling between button and touch screen controls
Silver Y Award