Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Alien Swarm Can Be Played As a Terrifying FPS

Posted by timothy on from the sounds-icky dept.

AndrewGOO9 writes "With a few simple commands from the developer console, Alien Swarm can go from being played as an isometric top-down shooter to a first-person perspective. Surprisingly easy, it does make the game, which was released for free via Steam earlier this week, a lot more terrifying. But, anyone who is at home playing games like Modern Warfare or Halo should have no problem slaughtering their way through wave after wave of creatures. In fact, it poses the potential to make the game easier for people who would've otherwise struggled with the overhead view."

5 of 157 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Or.. by Yvan256 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Not everyone likes 3rd person view for all games. I think it sucks for when you control a walking/running character and need to aim. That's the job of 1st person view.

  2. Terrifying?? Try System Shock 2, Doom 3, Undying by Xaximus · · Score: 5, Insightful

    All of which were 100 times more terrifying than what I saw in the video.

  3. Re:the kids seem to like top down by morari · · Score: 5, Insightful

    And it does suck. The aliens spawn too far out to react to your increased visibility, the hacking screens don't seem to respond, and the graphics are low-poly and blurry when viewed up close. The game is very atmospheric with the overhead view. The controls do take a few minutes to become comfortable with, but they work well enough. There's no need to turn the game into something it's not. There are already enough FPS on the market, leave Alien Swarm alone. :P

    --
    "He who can destroy a thing, controls a thing." --Paul Atreides, Dune
  4. Re:Or.. by pclminion · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Ahh, yes. That's why they released the source code. To make sure that nobody could ever modify it. And that's why they added a developer's console along with a command to switch to first-person view. To make sure that nobody could ever possibly activate that. And that's why the first person perspective was implemented in the first place. Because developers have nothing better to do than waste their time on features they hate and never want anyone to use.

  5. Re:not for the mac (yet?) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Left 4 Dead still isn't available as a Mac title...and now this. Which is completely bizarre, because Alien Swarm was originally available for the Mac; it's based on UT2004...available for, oh, you know, 6 years?

    Buy a real computer and you can play games. Buy the $400 more expensive hipster "computer" and you can do what Jobs thinks you should be doing.