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After the End |
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Developer: Kraisoft Publisher: Kraisoft Genre: Action > General Released: Dec 06, 2004 Players: 1 |
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After the End is a high-octane isometric shooter. Following in the likes of Crusader, Theseus, or more recently,
Alien Shooter, After the End gives gamers non-stop action with great visuals. The game offers players 73 campaigns across a variety of intricate maps. The story has players venturing around finding certain objects to escape from a planet full of alien mutants. There's also 40 Firing Range stages, in addition to the 73 missions. The Firing Range is a mix between Campaign mode and Survival. Players must defeat a certain amount of enemies in Firing Range mode, and as the stages progress more enemies keep getting added to the mix. Unlike Campaign mode, though, players won't be able to upgrade their stats, which requires a lot of skill in some Firing Range stages. There's also a Survival mode, and while it's intense it's not quite up to par with the one from
Alien Shooter. That doesn't mean the Survival mode isn't cool, as players can choose from around a dozen different stages to duke it out with ugly mutants. Certain stages contain certain weapons and players have to skillfully use their surroundings in order survive. In one stage, there's a train that goes back and forth across some tracks; conveniently, players can use the train to run over enemies.
Speaking of enemies, the alien mutants in this game range from mutant crawlies to zombies, to hulking beasts with proximity mines strapped to their backs. There's also flying enemies and turret-guns to contend with. Some stages, though, will help players via an electric grid that will zap approaching mutants. Still, the best tool to defeat an alien mutant, is to blast it in the face with a big gun. The weapon cache on After the End ranges from pistols, miniguns, shotguns, and rocket launchers, to outrageously cool weapons like the blade thrower or the "Cannon". In addition to the 10 stock weapons, there's auxiliary equipment to help out in a tough bind. Some of the items include things like air support, a sentry gun, or a collection of standard and auto-remote spider-mines.
The biggest difference between Alien Shooter and After the End, is that Alien Shooter puts players in the very midst of deadly aliens. Where the shooting is intense and the stages are cramped, so players are forced to kill fast or die hard. After the End takes a more strategic approach to fighting hordes, as the weapons' firing-rates are slightly slower and players must reload in After the End. It's not necessarily a bad thing that the pace of the gameplay is a bit slower. It does make the game a little less on the arcade side, and a bit more on the simulation side. The stage designs are another thing that differs greatly in the two shooter games. Players who enjoy the Doom style shootouts--where you're backed into a corner desperately trying to blast your way out--will easily enjoy Alien Shooter. The game captures that feeling in a zoomed-in isometric atmosphere. In After the End, however, the camera is more zoomed out and the stages are spacious enough to see where all approaching enemies are coming from. Hence, it gives players more anticipation for the encounters, rather than the in-your-face style shooting present in Alien Shooter. There's also more outdoor environments, giving players more civil obstacles to undertake like farmlands, ruined cities, and out-of-control trains.
One thing, for sure, that After the End does better than it's popular rival, is the way power-ups are used in the game. The bullet-time effect from a slow-motion power-up gave After the End some extra gusto in the shootouts. Acceleration, double damage, and a couple of other bonuses appear during gameplay as well, which mixes up the action quite a bit. The only problem is that despite the power-ups being cool, there never really seems to be any immanent danger from the hordes of alien mutants. In this way,
Alien Shooter and After the End are quite opposite; players looking for frantic danger might enjoy the shootouts in
Alien Shooter. Whereas players who enjoy paced battles without moist palms and a sweaty forehead might do better with a game like After the End.
Players can also receive upgrades during level progressions, including upgrading one's health, armor and ammo capacity. Acquiring new weapons happens during stages, and unlike Alien Shooter weapons and items cannot be purchased, but rather, they must be found. It definitely makes players cautious about how they use ammo and in what way they use their weapons. Again, After the End takes a more strategic approach to the real-time combat. The game forces players to think about how they approach a situation rather than relying on the quantity of arms. It's an amazing game, and Kraisoft deserves props for keeping everything solid and well designed.
Graphics:
The 3D environments are an amazing feast for the eyes. Gamers will be sure to look upon After the End with an awe of appreciation. The special effects are great, and while the gibs aren't quite as detailed as
Alien Shooter, this game does a decent job of handling so many monsters on screen at once. The stages, however, may cause some slower computers to drag on a little, as they are rich with detail and in very high resolution. Another cool thing, while minor, is that when using the shotgun he actually pumps it when ejecting the empty shells. It may not seem important, but small things like that add an extra flair to the overall quality of the game.
Sound:
The sound was good and some of the music was kind of catchy. The only problem is that no matter how loud I turned up the sound effect volume, I could never properly hear the gun effects. Had the volume for the weapons and effects been a bit louder, the audio would have been excellent.
Gameplay:
The game has its own flavor of action. The hordes of enemies and the 3D environments that can be used to change the pace of their approach is really cool. The enemies needed to be just a bit more aggressive, in a relentless way (like Alien Shooter) and it would have been all set. Still, the gameplay is very solid whether in Campaign, Survival or Firing Range mode.
Concept:
After the End is a good shooter built on a couple of unique ideas. Reloading, some neat auxiliary weapons, 3D environments, and hordes of enemies was a concept Kraisoft didn't go wrong with. The gameplay was executed well, and while there was a paper thin plot, this game was all about intense non-stop action.
Value:
70+ Missions and 40 additional Firing Range levels are enough to keep an action-gamer busy for a long time. The replay is certainly intact and the game's overall quality makes it of very good value.
Recommendation:
I do have some minor nitpicks, and that's with the lack of a multiplayer (something Alien Shooter 2 delivered), and an assault rifle. Other than that, this game offers up the total package for action gamers looking for some 3/4 view shooting. This game is definitely worth trying with intent to buy.
Speaking of enemies, the alien mutants in this game range from mutant crawlies to zombies, to hulking beasts with proximity mines strapped to their backs. There's also flying enemies and turret-guns to contend with. Some stages, though, will help players via an electric grid that will zap approaching mutants. Still, the best tool to defeat an alien mutant, is to blast it in the face with a big gun. The weapon cache on After the End ranges from pistols, miniguns, shotguns, and rocket launchers, to outrageously cool weapons like the blade thrower or the "Cannon". In addition to the 10 stock weapons, there's auxiliary equipment to help out in a tough bind. Some of the items include things like air support, a sentry gun, or a collection of standard and auto-remote spider-mines.
The biggest difference between Alien Shooter and After the End, is that Alien Shooter puts players in the very midst of deadly aliens. Where the shooting is intense and the stages are cramped, so players are forced to kill fast or die hard. After the End takes a more strategic approach to fighting hordes, as the weapons' firing-rates are slightly slower and players must reload in After the End. It's not necessarily a bad thing that the pace of the gameplay is a bit slower. It does make the game a little less on the arcade side, and a bit more on the simulation side. The stage designs are another thing that differs greatly in the two shooter games. Players who enjoy the Doom style shootouts--where you're backed into a corner desperately trying to blast your way out--will easily enjoy Alien Shooter. The game captures that feeling in a zoomed-in isometric atmosphere. In After the End, however, the camera is more zoomed out and the stages are spacious enough to see where all approaching enemies are coming from. Hence, it gives players more anticipation for the encounters, rather than the in-your-face style shooting present in Alien Shooter. There's also more outdoor environments, giving players more civil obstacles to undertake like farmlands, ruined cities, and out-of-control trains.
One thing, for sure, that After the End does better than it's popular rival, is the way power-ups are used in the game. The bullet-time effect from a slow-motion power-up gave After the End some extra gusto in the shootouts. Acceleration, double damage, and a couple of other bonuses appear during gameplay as well, which mixes up the action quite a bit. The only problem is that despite the power-ups being cool, there never really seems to be any immanent danger from the hordes of alien mutants. In this way,
Alien Shooter and After the End are quite opposite; players looking for frantic danger might enjoy the shootouts in
Alien Shooter. Whereas players who enjoy paced battles without moist palms and a sweaty forehead might do better with a game like After the End.
Players can also receive upgrades during level progressions, including upgrading one's health, armor and ammo capacity. Acquiring new weapons happens during stages, and unlike Alien Shooter weapons and items cannot be purchased, but rather, they must be found. It definitely makes players cautious about how they use ammo and in what way they use their weapons. Again, After the End takes a more strategic approach to the real-time combat. The game forces players to think about how they approach a situation rather than relying on the quantity of arms. It's an amazing game, and Kraisoft deserves props for keeping everything solid and well designed.
Graphics:
The 3D environments are an amazing feast for the eyes. Gamers will be sure to look upon After the End with an awe of appreciation. The special effects are great, and while the gibs aren't quite as detailed as
Alien Shooter, this game does a decent job of handling so many monsters on screen at once. The stages, however, may cause some slower computers to drag on a little, as they are rich with detail and in very high resolution. Another cool thing, while minor, is that when using the shotgun he actually pumps it when ejecting the empty shells. It may not seem important, but small things like that add an extra flair to the overall quality of the game.
Sound:
The sound was good and some of the music was kind of catchy. The only problem is that no matter how loud I turned up the sound effect volume, I could never properly hear the gun effects. Had the volume for the weapons and effects been a bit louder, the audio would have been excellent.
Gameplay:
The game has its own flavor of action. The hordes of enemies and the 3D environments that can be used to change the pace of their approach is really cool. The enemies needed to be just a bit more aggressive, in a relentless way (like Alien Shooter) and it would have been all set. Still, the gameplay is very solid whether in Campaign, Survival or Firing Range mode.
Concept:
After the End is a good shooter built on a couple of unique ideas. Reloading, some neat auxiliary weapons, 3D environments, and hordes of enemies was a concept Kraisoft didn't go wrong with. The gameplay was executed well, and while there was a paper thin plot, this game was all about intense non-stop action.
Value:
70+ Missions and 40 additional Firing Range levels are enough to keep an action-gamer busy for a long time. The replay is certainly intact and the game's overall quality makes it of very good value.
Recommendation:
I do have some minor nitpicks, and that's with the lack of a multiplayer (something Alien Shooter 2 delivered), and an assault rifle. Other than that, this game offers up the total package for action gamers looking for some 3/4 view shooting. This game is definitely worth trying with intent to buy.
By: William Usher
Posted: Friday August 25, 2006
Posted: Friday August 25, 2006
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