DESCRIPTION

Fans of the movie Aliens will find this game's setting familiar. A platoon of space marines has been dispatched to a remote colonial planet to investigate why the colonists have ceased communications. You are one of the space marines, and you must blast your way through the hostile alien creatures to rid the colony of its alien infestation.

Aliens, for the most part, is a two-player side-scrolling shooter, but it also contains many other modes of play, including a vehicle shooter stage and a level that involves crawling through tunnels with a motion sensor. You cannot jump, but you have two shoot buttons that do different things depending on your current mode. In most situations the two buttons are for shooting high and low, but while riding the armored personnel carrier, the second button will shoot the vehicle's cannon.

You can find a variety of power-ups to enhance your fighting ability, including flame guns, rocket launchers, and screen clearing bombs. When you collect weapon upgrades they remain in use until you die, but if you pass through a level you cannot take your upgraded weapon with you. You begin the game with several health points. Each time you're hit by an alien creature you lose one point of health; when you lose all your health you lose a life. If all your lives are gone, the game is over. ~ Kyle Knight, All Game Guide