How to play Alien Brigade online
- Light gun mode: aim with the mouse and click to shoot. The emulator stands in for Atari’s XG-1 light gun. Clicking a Weapons box on the status bar changes the weapon shown in it.
- Joystick mode: move the target sight with the arrow keys. Z fires the weapon shown in the left Weapons box, X fires the one in the right box.
- Change weapon (joystick): move the sight under a Weapons box and press Z
- Throw a grenade (joystick): show the grenade in the left Weapons box, aim at the target and press X
- Choose a difficulty level: F2 (Select) or the arrow keys on the title screen, then Z or a click to start
- Pause: F4. Back to the title screen: F3 (Reset)
Gameplay
Invaders from another dimension have brainwashed soldiers into armed zombies, and some aliens have moved into the bodies of soldiers and civilians. The view is first-person and scrolls left and right as people, creatures and vehicles cross the screen. The catch is that real humans walk among them. Possessed people move more slowly than normal ones, and shooting an innocent person costs you points.
There are five missions: a jungle camp where you blow open a hut and cover the freed prisoners as they run to a helicopter, a river resort overrun by aliens, an underwater research lab, a cave base full of machines that fuse humans with aliens, and the main mountain base with the alien spacecraft and the egg-laying Queen-Mother. A flashing transceiver box on the status bar gives you each mission’s objective when you shoot it.
You start with a pistol, a five-shot machine gun, eight grenades and six extra lives, shown as soldier icons. Shooting small objects can uncover ammunition clips, grenade boxes, food canisters (which add lives) and stronger weapons such as the flamethrower or a bazooka. You can carry four weapons at a time. Underwater you automatically get a dart gun, the only weapon that works there, and the final mission hands you a laser. There are four difficulty levels: Novice, Standard, Advanced and Expert. Higher levels bring more and faster enemies.
| Target (selection) | Points |
|---|---|
| Soldier | 100 |
| Alien | 500 |
| Small alien | 700 |
| Tank or helicopter | 1,000 |
| Mind Bender or satellite dish | 5,000 |
| Mother Alien | 10,000 |
| Civilian | -500 |
| Panther or mermaid | -1,000 |
Tips
- Watch how people walk. A slow walker is a possessed human and a fair target. A fast one is a real person you should leave alone.
- Shoot the scenery. Small objects can hide clips, grenades and food.
- Save ammunition. Stronger weapons use it faster than the pistol, so switch back for single targets.
- Think before taking the bazooka. Once you pick it up, rockets replace your grenades for good.
The story behind Alien Brigade
Alien Brigade was programmed by Ken Grant at Atari Corporation, and its manual is dated 1990. It came out in the last batch of games Atari released for the 7800 that year, together with titles such as Planet Smashers, Motor Psycho and Scrapyard Dog. It is often compared with the arcade game Operation Wolf, and it is one of five 7800 games made for the XG-1 light gun.
Even this late in the console’s life, Atari promoted the game more than most of its 7800 releases. Alien Brigade and Planet Smashers advertise each other, and the link between the two games makes little sense in either story. Fans still count it among the best games on the system, and original cartridges are hard to find today.
