A gang of crazed aliens burst out of our postbag with all manner of evil alien weapons blazing. We just pointed them in Andy Smith's direction.

This is it - possibly the most important game release for the Amiga this year, and possibly our last, best hope for a decent Doom clone. The plot follows on from the first Alien Breed game, so I'm not even going to start getting into the storyline here. Also, as you complete each of the 16 levels in this game you're given a screen or two of text which fills you in with exactly what's going on anyway.

Besides, the last thing I want to do is ruin the fun you're going to have when you buy the game and start to discover what's going on for yourself. Suffice to say this game's got a cohesive storyline running all the way through it that adds to the atmosphere and excitement. So what am I going to tell you about this game? I'm going to tell you what it's like to play Alien Breed 3D II. But first, a couple of lines of background: it's a Doom clone on the Amiga. It's you versus a whole bunch of flying, running, crawling - but all tough - alien monsters. Or, in two player mode, it's you versus a mate in a pure Deathmatch battle (c'mon chaps, good though the A1200 is, it's not going to handle the data flying between two linked Amiga's fast enough to have monsters running around in there as well) .

Collect 'n' Kill

Rush around the levels, shoot pretty much anything that moves, collect ammo, collect medikits, collect security keys and passcards that allow you access to otherwise inaccessible parts of the level, collect 'n' kill. In a nutshell.

It's 2am. You're a 19 year old bloke. It's Saturday night and the clubs are kicking out - that includes you. You have spent the night chasing this gorgeous girl in the club, the kind of girl that encapsulates everything you could ever wish for in a young woman. It wasn't until you'd bought her her second drink that her gorilla/thug of a boyfriend made his presence known and made it clear that he wasn't impressed with you giving his young lady your attentions.

You know she doesn't like him as much as she likes you (hey, you're 19 after all), but you also know that you don't want a broken nose. It's definitely time to find your mates.

They've all left. You stand in the drizzle outside the club for a few minutes before deciding they've probably all left and it's time to head for home. Forgoing the burger van you head for the shortcut through the park to your side of town. Watching your feet...

A situation you'll find yourself in a lot. Down there it's a bit dark and scary. Instead of just pelting down there blind...

...try lighting the place up first! Pump a shot down the corridor and any potential hazards will be highlighted. You've got to have spare ammo for this though.

And just to show you how much those big weapons can hinder your vision. Here's the same shot as the last two, but with a bloody great rocket launcher taking up most of the screen.

as you walk along - amazed how they just seem to run on autopilot - they just keep going one in front of the other! Incredibl e! You don't even have to think about walking as you amble from one side of the pavement to the other but still going vaguely forward. Anyway you're mind's on something else. Someone else.

Pounding

You remove the cigarette dangling from your mouth as you reach the alleyway that is the shortcut. You look up and your heart drops. Up ahead is gorilla/thug and three of his mates. They're stood around, laughing. They spot you a second after you spot them. Your heart's pounding. Gorilla/thug stops laughing when he recognises you. He pushes himself up from the railings he's been leaning against. His mates stop laughing as they first look at him and then follow his gaze to you. Your heart is absolutely pounding.

To achieve the same effect, turn the lights off, plug your A1200 into the stereo, shut all the doors and start playing Alien Breed 3D II. Yes really.

And how's this feeling achieved? Through a combination of several factors, so let's take 'em one by one (c'mon then! C'MON THE N!).

Factor one: lighting. Dark and eerie for the most part but with excellent highlighting throughout - you just feel that the lights you see up ahead are

real. Likewise, the dark tunnel up ahead could contain anything - you fire a plasma bolt down the tunnel and watch the light the plasma bolt emanates to see if anything shows up. You watch as the plasma bolt impacts on the wall at the end of the tunnel - lighting up the area around the impact for a few brief seconds. Tremendous stuff.

Factor two: weapon variety - you know all about this really, how it's best to use some weapons in some situations and others in er, others. Like lobbing grenades into areas thick with baddi es and saving the big lasers for the big baddies. Common sense really. One thing that must be mentioned is the explosions - Tremendous stuff.

Factor three: enemies. Loads of 'em. Loads of different kinds and yes, they do have some semblance of intelligence in the way they gang up on you and move around so it's harder for you to hit 'em. And they only track you by sight, so if you're a good ducker and weaver, you can surprise them. One point here though - I found it bloody difficult to shoot at things in the air - especially when you have two or three baddies on the ground as well. Your shots tend to go for the ground targets first which tends to give the airborn baddies a free hand at your energy level. The thing to do is run around (if possible) until you can get 'em separated (but that does usually mean you running around into a new bunch of baddies).

Find your way

Factor four: auto-map. This superimposed map is a Godsend. Use it often. You don't end up playing off the map because it be comes too confusing to look at both, but when you've got a spare moment to call the thing up it's mighty handy.

Factor five: sound. Spooky. Extremely good attempt to make sound cues a vital part of the gaming experience and they work too. Some of the sounds are crap though - the levels with metallic floors are a pain

because your tin shoes clatter along them constantly. The "monster-dying" sounds also grated on me. But maybe that's just me. Overall the way sound's been used in this game is a great example of how sound, when used well, can really enhance the playing experience - and I'm not talking about jolly little ditties that spark the action up, I'm talking the eerie sounds of monsters-in-a-room-not-too-far-away.

All the other factors: level design - varied, challenging, including areas you don't have to go if you don't want to. Difficulty curve: starts out bloody hard and gets bloodier and harder.

Put that lot t ogether and you have a formidable combination that is fun and exciting to play. Apparently, the game's full of secrets to discover as well (we all know the first one was full of secret areas to find) and I have to come clean here and tell you I didn't find any (the only thing you can ever find is a pint at the end of your arm - Ed). I don't doubt that there are loads, but I'm a more kinda progress player - all I want to do is find whatever it is I need to get me onto the next level. I dare say that some day I'll go back to look around for secrets and stuff - especially on the levels I'd got to know like the back of my hand.

The Best

But surely 16 levels isn't going to last? For a start, yes it is. These levels are tough! You'll be crying they're too tough at some points and I'd probably have to agree with you. The most noticeably difficult ones are when the level starts with you facing half a dozen monsters who are in the air and another half a dozen lumbering their way towards you on the gro und.

But there's the level designer included with the game. Now you can make up your own levels, swap 'em with mates or even upload them to Team 17's Web site (well the good ones anyway). You can even use your own textures and graphics. Blimey! The fun just never stops!

It's unoriginal. It's been done to death, as a gaming genre, and even the Amiga has had it's fair share of games of this type, but that doesn't stop the enjoyment. This game is a joy to play. No, it's still not as polished as Doom II or Quake, but then you don't have to spend 2,000 on a machine that will enable you to play one of those games. What you get is a bloody good approximation of

Publisher - Team 17

Price - 25.99

Versions - AGA Amigas

System requirements - 2Mb (more RAM and accelerator recommended)

Release date - Out now

VERDICT

Graphics

Very varied, very smooth, very well implemented but not th e best ever.

Sound

Mostly used brilliantly but some of the effects detract from the overall gaming experience.

Addiction

Hooks you and keeps you. The difficulty just ups your determination to succeed.

Playability

Joystick, mouse and keyboard are covered.

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