It is peculiar and actually a bit undeserved that this game is listed as a single title here on IMDb, because there were a whopping eight versions released for as many systems. And although there were a lot of similarities between many of those versions, no two were completely the same, and some couldn't be more different from one another. Sometimes you wonder where a work of art stops being an 'alternate version' and actually becomes a different title altogether. For example, the Assembly Cut of the movie Alien 3 comes to mind, and I also feel that this game adaptation would merit different title pages for each of its versions; but I guess that is a discussion for another time and place.

Admittedly, I have only ever owned and played the game on the SNES, so I have no experience with the other versions. This review will thus be exclusively about the SNES game. But by comparing descriptions and watching youtube clips, I'd say that the SNES and GameBoy versions were most unique in their design, graphics and gameplay, and that the SNES version would appeal to me best. The other six versions were based on the same sort of template, basically the standard side-scrolling shoot-'m-up that most licence games were known for at the time: controlling characters who fight their way through hordes of monsters in linear fashion, with ample ammunition and some scenery loosely based on the eponymous movie. Alien 3 SNES, however, did things quite differently.

I got introduced to this game almost eight years after its release, in a time when the SNES had run its course, but I vividly remember being impressed with how well the developers had used the game licence, not just in appearance but also in content. The very atmospheric introduction nicely recaps the movie's beginning, and the rest of the game features locations and backgrounds that almost look like they were taken directly from the movie. The austere prison interiors, leadworks and even the barren exteriors (complete with dual sunset) are very recognizable from the movie, made even more moody with mist and rain effects. There are even areas that wouldn't be seen in the film until the longer Assembly Cut was released. The graphics are very adequate for the system at the time, especially the mother Aliens look very much like the creature from the movie. The sound effects are of lesser quality, especially alien screeches sound a bit poor, but the animations of exploding Aliens and Facehuggers are satisfying enough to make up for that. The music, often reminiscent of Aliens, also helps.

Alien 3 SNES also has a narrative that goes beyond the gung-ho shooting in most of the other versions. Much has been said about the decision to feature Aliens-type firepower and creature infestation, but it's probably for the best (no one would have appreciated a game where all you do is run away from a single Alien, I guess). It certainly is commendable that there is strategy involved in the choice of how to play each level. There are six different levels in the game, and each has its own unique lay-out and set of missions that have to be completed. The use of computer terminals and blueprints is vital in the decision as to which route to take (choosing to enter certain areas because they contain ammo or health, or avoid them due to heavy concentrations of Aliens ) and in what order to do the missions (when to close off certain areas, or which challenges to tackle first). This makes the game much less straight-forward than most licence games of the era. The limitations also create a hearty challenge: Ripley can defend herself with a pulse rifle, flame thrower and grenade launcher, but ammo is sparse and the Alien resistance is menacing, so you have to shoot wisely, rely closely on your motion tracker, and re-stock periodically. But making it out of such situations alive is part of the great gaming experience.

There are some shortcomings. After six levels, there is not much variation in area lay-out anymore, and also the type of missions comes down to much the same (clean out areas of eggs, weld down doors, kill the mother Aliens, etc.). Although the game is not without its difficulties, these come more from the sheer amount of Aliens and Facehuggers coming at you than from their individual lethality. It is also unfortunate that there is no real final level with a big climax, even though it is alluded to in the end with a cinematic. Chances are that there was simply not enough development time to turn it into a playable level, but that may have been the price of the awesome level design and graphics of the preceding stages. Fact (or opinion) is that Akklaim and Probe delivered one of the best game adaptations of the time, one that retrospectively seems to have been an omen that licence games would one day become masterpieces in their own right, rather than dull and linear cash-cows to extend the box office run of a movie.