User Summary
The Alien 3 games are side-scrolling platformers loosely based on the third movie in the Alien Franchise. In all versions of the game you play Lt Ripley after she crash lands on the prison planet Fury 161, and must rescue prisoners and escape, destroying the Aliens in the process.
Despite some similarities to the movie all versions of Alien 3 share much more in common with the second film Aliens. For example, all versions have multitudes of Aliens (rather then just one as in the film) and Ripley has a Flame Thrower & Pulse Rifle as seen in the movie Aliens (unlike in the movie Alien 3 where she has no weapons at all).
Though the Alien 3 games were chiefly designed for the SNES and Sega Genesis, they were also ported to several other consoles as well. Due to the wide range of processing capability between the consoles several different versions of the game were made, some of which differ greatly from other versions.
Alien 3 (SNES/Released 1993)
This version of Alien 3 is the most advanced in terms of graphics & sound, and also features the most complicated game play.
In this version the player must accomplish various missions across each of 6 different levels. Each level consists of a central hub area of ducts and corridors with several doors leading off to other areas of the level. The player uses terminals found in this initial area to view and attempt missions. There are various tasks to undertake, including rescuing prisoners, repairing damaged systems, welding doors shut, destroying nests and killing Alien Queens. Each time a mission is completed the player must return back to the terminal to choose another. Players get passwords between completed levels so that they can continue from the same point each game.