What I've been playing: Area 51

So I know it's been a while since I posted, but I have a legit reason! I've been playing the hell out of my birthday present from Speeder: a copy of Area 51 for the PS2. I had all but forgotten about this little gem until recently, and as soon as I got back into it and remembered the controls I just couldn't put it down! So I decided that I should review it. Note: as always, spoilers are possible.

Here's the plot: you are Ethan Cole, a member of a HAZMAT team sent into Area 51 to control the outbreak of a bad alien virus. You proceed deep into the underground complex where all hell is breaking loose and must survive after all your team mates are killed (no big surprise there). On top of this, you also become infected with said alien virus and are able to mutate between human form and alien-monster form.

A view of your wrist HAZMAT scanner.

Cool points of this game:
- To begin, David Duchovny voices Ethan Cole. Funny that he decided to do some voice acting in a game that is also centered around aliens. I can't help but giggle to myself about this. He also uses the Mulder voice when he narrates. Definitely a plus for this game.
- The secrets in this game are also interesting and fun to collect. You're given a wrist-mounted HAZMAT scanner, a little device that you can cycle to in your weapons menu and use to scan items. They're usually a random file folder or piece of paper lying on the floor or on furniture.When you find one of these items, you scan it and a little description pops up as to what it is. It is then added to your "Databank" section in the menu where you can actually view it in full. The contents of these little treasures are incredibly entertaining and thought-out. An example: a file about an early experiment with an alien mutant who escapes the lab, is seen by people, and starts the Bigfoot rumor. A lot of the secrets are about various conspiracy theories and rumors and are tied into what Area 51 and it's scientists have been doing for decades. The amount of detail and thought that went into these secrets definitely add to the game's playability.
- For a game that came out very close to the launch of the next generation of consoles, the graphics and game play are very good. Although I feel like this first person shooter was a little more fluid on the X-Box, the PS2 version is still easy to play.
- Being able to switch between human and alien form is definitely an interesting twist and very helpful with some battle situations in the game. You can actually regain your health by using a ranged attack as an alien, so when you're caught in a fire-fight (and when you have enough in your alien power bar) you can use this attack, gain back some life, and then switch back and start shooting at enemies again. It takes some finesse at first but then becomes second nature.
- The story draws you in. It's definitely not the most intricate storyline I've encountered before, but it still makes you want to play through the game. Also, I cannot stress enough how much the secrets add to the quality of the storyline. While you see all sorts of crazy, horrific stuff when you're in Area 51, the secrets shed more and more light on all the other creepy and disturbing stuff that has happened there or otherwise been caused by those running it.

There is one problem though: Area 51 was not chosen to be compatible with X-Box 360 and is not available for purchase on either X-Box 360 or PS3. So if you want to play it, you'll have to have an X-Box or a PS2 and then find a copy. If you have the means though, please play it. It deserves more credit then it was given. It's just sad that it came out so close to the end of the X-Box/PS2's life cycle. I can only imagine what it would be like if it had been made an X-Box 360 or PS3 game. Oh well, I can dream I guess!