Alien on the Run

Game Info

The DS has always been a favorite of mine, as they’ve always had an eclectic range of games available, especially from their eShop, with a little something for everyone. Japanese studio G-Style’s fun and bizarrely addictive action/escape puzzler ALIEN ON THE RUN is no different. With 17 different zones, each with different play styles, and over 80 levels, ranging in difficulty anywhere from super simple, to snap your 3DS in half hard. You play as Delude, an alien abducted by a UFO, set with the task to make it to the end of each level as quickly as possible, before the timer counts down while avoiding traps.

The play style consists of you making your way in each level from point-A to point-B, with one main ability at your disposal, called the Fever Action. You must use your Fever Action ability, a dashing slide of sorts, which is always accompanied by a hilarious WarioWare-esque freeze frame pose by Delude , by holding down the B-button and then releasing it. The traps are easy to avoid (i.e., slippery ice tiles or electric shock tiles, neither of which will hurt you, just make you lose time). Instead of having traditional enemies blocking your way, you have… TRACTOR BEAMS. There are two different types of tractor beams, both which will suck you up and end the level early if you’re not careful, yet they both serve a purpose and can either help or hinder you along the way. There are the orange tractor beams which if you pull off your Fever Action inside the radius of the beam, you will gain time on the ever ticking timer in the level, or there are the nasty purple tractor beams which serve no purpose other than to slow you down and attempt to end you. Topped off at the end of each zone, is a level where you must collect a certain number of hot sauce bottles littered throughout the level, which will complete the zone and unlock a new color to customize Delude with as well as a new ‘zone’. Occasionally throughout the levels you’ll encounter little roadblocks, like a red alien you hit like a punching bag by hitting the B-button three times as a power bar moves back and forth, tempting you to hit it at just the right time, or a gate which you must unlock by pressing the buttons it displays on the screen as quickly as possible.

The game is broken into multiple play styles or ‘zones’, which are themed around a certain trap. Zones available include (but are not limited to):

• Icy (Where the walkways are made slippery by frozen icy tiles)
• Speedwalk (Where there are constant people-mover walkways going in different directions)
• Punch (Where a combination of the former two will make it hard for you to avoid certain tiles that will ‘Punch’ you back to an earlier starting point)
• Launch (Where to make it through the levels as quickly as possible you’ll have to make use of a timed button press on a swinging hand that will ‘Launch’ you further in the level)
• Labyrinth (A mixture of all the traps, including shock, icy, punch, and speedwalk tiles, which littler the level between you and your exit with multiple paths to take)

The 3D graphics are colorful and silly, reminding me of something from a Saturday morning cartoon, with Delude being rendered in a cel-shaded style, while everything else is rendered in a more traditional 3D cartoon style. The soundtrack is a nice touch as well, as a funky electronica meets game show soundtrack guides you through the game. The game does start to show some repetitiveness through level design and there really isn’t anything new once you play for an hour, just different layouts to each level, which you can preview at the beginning of each level, by scrolling through it with the thumb pad.

The Recommendation

Even with all the different play styles available, the gameplay does start to feel a little repetitive after a bit, albeit fun and somewhat addicting, as I found myself getting frustrated over and over at certain levels and found myself switching to a different ‘zone’. The nice thing is there’s always a different way to play, bringing a different difficulty. I enjoyed my time with ALIEN ON THE RUN, though it did take a little coercion on my part to start enjoying the game, but once I got going, I found it difficult to put down. Don’t be afraid to try the free demo on the eShop.

I’d recommend this game to someone who enjoys the action or puzzle genre an is looking for a bit of a challenge in a game they won’t beat right away, as just when you think you’ve got it down, it throws another curve at you.