May 31, 2005 - In the history of the world, there is perhaps only the Holy Grail that has been more analyzed, more speculated upon, more written about and more hotly debated than Area 51 itself. And as with the Grail, we are nowhere near closer to the truth. This is perhaps the reason for our continued fascination with these subjects. If we had even half the facts at our disposal we probably wouldn’t be interested anymore. And what fun would it be to actually believe that Area 51 is simply a test site in the Nevada Desert, 95 short miles north of happy Las Vegas, where the US Government tests its new recon planes and spy technology? Not fun at all! So we add a few alien spaceships, a few clandestine autopsies, probings of one kind or another into the mix and VOILA, Instant Conspiracy. So what if the government’s explanation actually makes sense and that’s why they don’t want us snooping around there? Our version is so much more fun. We can make movies about it, have countless TV shows, sell dolls and figurines, posters, take trips to Groom Dry Lake and sit on lawn chairs with binoculars and pretend that everything we see in our druken-yahoo state is some new spaceship prototype based on alien technology that crashed down here over half a century ago. Our version IS more fun. We have Mulder and Scully and Spock and Roswell and Independence Day and so much more. Area 51 is more than just myth or a fad, it is pop culture, ingrained into our sub-conscience since birth. And so, when a game comes along that takes place within the very confines of this much dreamed about place, it better damn well be all that and a box of foil or it simply won’t cut it. And that is the problem with Midway’s Area 51; it passes for a standard shooter, but the location seems so underutilized that it leaves you feeling like so much potential went to the wayside.

The story is the game’s first misstep. Although the game manual will try to sell you the idea that this shooter’s plot extends thousands of years into the past and that an enormous conspiracy has befallen the earth stringing together conspiracy buzz-words like the Illuminati, Roswell, Insterstellar Wars, Grays, Viral Weapons, etc. what the game really boils down to (if you just put the disk in and play without looking at the manual) is this: There’s something bad a-brewin’ over in Area 51. An initial HazMat Team has already tried to deal with the disruption but gone missing. Now, a second unit is dispatched (this is your unit by the way) to find the first HazMat Team and discover the cause of the problem as well. That’s it! No more, no less. You will still have conspiracy terms thrown at you and have to deal with a Gray named Edgar, but there really is no coherent plot to this game passed the need to get from point A to point B. And this would be fine if the game was just slightly more inspired.

The graphics are top-notch and certainly not the issue. Though Doom 3 may have had a “slicker” shine to it, Area 51 is quite competent in its rendering of weapons, characters and locals. The flashlight, which is needed in a few key areas however, leaves a little to be desired. The beam illuminates well, but it doesn’t project. It feels like you can only see a circle of light about two meters wide a few feet ahead of you. Still, minor annoyance aside, this doesn’t keep the game from being playable. The little fact that there are so few enemy models to dispatch however, is disturbing. This was the perfect opportunity to create loads and loads of various monster-types and alien beings and it simply wasn’t realized. The human characters that we do have are practically identical, and the few aliens that are present seem to all be mutations of the same one. The eyes on almost every alien seem the same; same glow, same shape, same everything. Chalk another one in the “uninspired” column.

The weapons are also an area of missed opportunities. The small number of included weapons feel great when fired. They sound great when fired. But they look so alike in the dark locations that it’s sometimes hard to tell what you’re carrying; a shotgun or an assault rifle? You almost have to look at the ammo stat to tell the difference. And while the game does allow you to carry two weapons at the same time, the game does not let you fire them independently. I’m sure the left trigger’s secondary ability (zoom) could have been mapped to the Y button (or the left thumb-click). As it is, the Y button is used for next weapon while the black button is inexplicably used for previous weapon all-the-while the white button remains unused. Who thought of this? If I’m aloud to dual-wield weapons in this day and age of console gaming, I expect to be able to fire each one independently! Is that really too much to ask?

Admittedly, the game plays very smoothly and has its moments. The overall story arc is essentially split up in two distinct sections: The first half of the game feels very much like a fire-fight simulator. You and your team will frequently be mobbed by an endless stream of aliens (some even toting guns) and it will be your duty to unload clip after clip into their gray little bodies. While it sometimes feels like a gimmick, it’s actually quite satisfying to completely unload into enemy creatures. In an era where one-kill headshots and limb-specific killzones are the norm, it’s refreshing to be able to just throw caution to the wind and shoot. The guns feel so perfect that it never gets old. The second half of the game feels a little bit more like an animal maiming simulator. You’ll understand when you get to it. Again, it may not be as fun as with the weapons, but it is well done and fun nonetheless. The highlight of the game came from being strapped into a turret near the half-way mark. Unfortunately, my turret shooting time was very short, but it was quite memorable.