Yet another free game being reviewed here on, newly retitled, Super Dope Gaming. Alien Swarm comes from "a group of talented designers at Valve who were hired from the Mod community," which means this is a game made by Valve gamers, for Valve gamers. Fitting. This downloadable game is a 4 player cooperative, online, top-down action game, and as you can guess, not too many other games fall into that specific set of genres, making Alien Swarm stand out among the few.
You play one of eight characters, from one of four classes: Medic, Engineer, Heavy, or Soldier. Probably not the official names for the classes, but at least people who play Team Fortress 2, one of Valve's other online games, will get the idea. In fact, every gamer will most likely know what those classes are, even if they just guessed. That's the beauty of the class system. Anyway, each character also has three things to hold: two are usually weapons and the third is some tool to aid the mission. Whether that third slot is taken by a health pack, ammo pack, or door welder depends on your class and how you want to arrange your set up. People who have played TF2 will no doubt find familiarity in both the controls and load out screen. But, for those unsure of their shooting prowess, there is a way to practice offline.
There is no story here. While Privates attempted to create a story through dialog during breaks between battles, and Team Fortress 2 has enough of a fan base for Valve to make comics explaining the history behind Red and Blue, Alien Swarm starts with a simple plot. "There are aliens attacking the base. Escape." Which lets the player get right into the action, but denies them any meaningful experience. Of course this game isn't trying to be the next Half Life, just an action-oriented and fast-paced shooter. On this point, the game excels. If you're confident enough to venture to the online play, you'll likely end up in a game of "who can get to the end the fastest." I don't think that was the idea the creators had. The point of playing with a team is using teamwork, isn't it? This isn't the fault of the game or creators, of course, but the online community, where the motto is usually All for one.
That's unfair though, since I routinely play without taking the time to ensure the safety of my teammates. For Alien Swarm, I can imagine the most fun and cohesive gaming experience to come from a group of four friends playing it during a LAN party. Also, the aliens seem to never stop coming, which makes the idea of running past the monsters to the goal much more appealing and, honestly, smarter than staying around to make sure every area is cleared.
This game does not represent Valve's finest work, but it is a lot of fun to play. Once you get to know who your favorite character is and spend more time playing in online bouts, you'll be running through the levels as if you were running through each level. Like anything that's free to play, you might as well give it a try. I was impressed with how much fun it was to play and the game's overall quality. You can tell how much time the people from the "Mod community" put into Alien Swarm and how much they wanted others to enjoy their gaming experience. For that, I can't see any reason to lower the score other than it's lack of story -- seemingly not that important for shooters anyway -- and the simple, Team Fortress-esque gameplay, which can also be seen as a plus. Valve has made another game where the key points are the experience of the audience, the enjoyment while playing, and has given the added bonus of zero cost. Download this game, have fun, thank Valve.
4/5 Near Perfect Score! Super Good!
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