Area51 - PC Game - Free - Full Version - 1.9GB

[Phoenixx]

Did you know that the PC-Version of the FirstPersonShooter Area51 can be downloaded for free?

Nope, its not a late april fools joke, go here and check it out.

Doesnt cost you a penny except for your internet connection,...courtesy of the United States Air Force.

Caution: German downloaders will need a patch in order to run the game!

Alternative Download Location: >Click Me<

Other alternative download locations via google.

 

[Isaac Sauvage]

very cool, although wow... looks completely different from the arcade version.

 

[Phoenixx]

I think they merely happen to have the name in common, meaning its not the same 'Area51',...

(EDIT: They probably said 'PC-Version' because it is available for console too. Dont think they meant 'PC' as opposed to 'arcade'.)

 

[Phoenixx]

Heres the link to the Patch for Non-US-Users.

>CLICK<

Dont know why they made it so complicated even though the game is free anyway, but then what the heck, the patch should be installed anyway,...

 

[Phoenixx]

Important Notice regarding the Patch!

When you start the game, and a window pops up that tells you something like "Connect to the Internet to enjoy AdSupported Play", even though you have already installed the patch, then you have most likely unpacked the patch into the wrong directory! This mistake is easily made because the path suggested by the patchs UnZIP window is not the games actual installation path!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Path suggested by Patch-Unzipper: C:\Program Files\Midway Games\Area 51

Actual Game Path: C:\Program Files\Midway Home Entertainment\AREA-51
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

So make sure to browse to the actual gamedir before you press UnZIP or the patch will not be applied and the "Connect to Internet" window wont go away.

 

[Phoenixx]

First Impression:

The game runs fine. Perfectly actually, it framesyncs perfectly to 85FPS at 1600x1200@85Hz. The graphics are very nice and the intro is definitely one of the best cinematic game intros i have seen to date. The game is very well controllable even with mouse/keyboard, (im actually more the gamepad fan), and the sound is very good too. Normally the first thing i do is turn off the music but in this case it was a good idea to check it out first. Sounds more like the background music from an Alien or other SciFi movie actually and thats perfectly O.K. with me.

The only 'negative' so far is that i cant seem to activate any AntiAliasing. Since the game runs 100% fluidly at 85FPS my gut tells me that the graca could actually easily handle 16xAA plus 16xAF, but it doesnt seem to work, the game itself has no such options and when i do it via the driver it just has no effect. May be just the crappy nVidia card again though, it gave me problems with the AntiAliasing before. One reason why i will get an HD4770 as soon as my dealer has some again.

But other than that, fine game. So far ive played the first mission and a bit of the second and i thought it was rather good. I particularly like that scanner gadget which lets you find secrets and other extras. Cant say that im disappointed at all, and at $0.00, what can you say anyway? I think it was worth the 1.93GB of bandwidth in any case,...

 

[Phoenixx]

BTW nic, perhaps theres some correlation to the arcade game after all.

Check out this screenshot:

 

[TheMcD]

I'll have to admit: I would have preffered the arcade version, but only for the fond memories, going dual-wield on Free Play... good times.

Ehhh... this looks kinda decent, but just coming off Fallout 3 with a bad taste in my mouth (blame the ending) which might conflict my usual tendencies towards Sci-Fi/FPS (which were neutral before), I might not like it. 1.9 gig... 200kb/sek... 2.6 hours of downloading. Yeah, I'll check this out tomorrow. If I don't like it I can still go back to Duke Nukem 3D. So instead of this mindless rambling, expect a better post tomorrow.

The McD

 

[Phoenixx]

Yeah, trying it out cant hurt.

BTW, the above screenshot is not very good, it doesnt remotely show how good the game actually looks. Here are three better ones; ingame resolution as mentioned was 1600x1200, pix later downscaled to half size and .jpg'ed with IrfanView.

Nice glass and light/shadow effects, not?

 

[Isaac Sauvage]

BTW nic, perhaps theres some correlation to the arcade game after all.

Check out this screenshot:

that's cool.

at one time i was thinking of tracking down the DAPHNE collection for area 51, but these fast-action, pressure-filled games are a bit too much for me now that i've gotten older. maybe if i rediscover my youth sometime i'll get back into them. :)

 

[TheMcD]

God damn. The Gamershell servers are fine for downloading smaller patches, but for this? Download died at 30% with 10 hours remaining. The other mirror is much better. Constant at about 190/200 kb/sek.

The McD

 

[GravitaR]

Great game at a great price, keep em coming!

 

[Phoenixx]

The Gamershell servers are fine for downloading smaller patches, but for this?

Truer words were never spoken, i myself took the 4players server too.

Had full DSL 3000 downspeed @ ~350-380kB/s, (at night), took roughly 2 hours.

But im sure there are many more good dl-locations for this, after all this is linked by so many sites.

 

[Phoenixx]

Great game at a great price, keep em coming!

Frankly i dont think that there will be many more offers like this, but should i happen to come across one, ill be spreading the word. :)

 

[TheMcD]

First impression: Kinda reminds me of Resident Evil turned FPS. Instead of "Holy crap! A zombie! *runs away and hides*" we have "Holy crap! Five mutants! *mows them down* More mutants! *mows them down*". Seriously, how many people were working down there? I thought I shot down the entire staff of Area 51 after the second chapter.

All in all, it's fun for what it's worth. A good to mediocre FPS, nothing outstanding. But it DOES have some moments where it pisses me off already. "Holy crap! Tons of ammo! "Can't take Shotgun Ammo because you don't have a Shotgun." FUCK!" I could have been mowing down mutants with a shotgun, but I'm still stuck with the awkward SMG that dual-wields every once in a while but goes back when I reload.

I'll have to play some more.

The McD

 

[Phoenixx]

Yeah, if you played one FPS then you pretty much played them all. Area51 is no different here.

Anyhow, i found out that nic was entirely correct. It is in deed a sequel to the Arcade A51. Thats surprising, but then i never played the Arcade one so i couldnt really know. Its just that the game didnt strike me as something that was based on an Arcade title. Although the game IS rather 'Arcady', actually. In any case, next time i better read first and talk later. :)

(Sorry nic.)

Read all about it in >This Review<

 

[TheMcD]

Honestly, the arcade version was a LOT different. Starting with the fact that there's only one or two people fighting for the good side, not four, and those two only have regular pistols. The monsters are a lot more un-realistic and cartoon-like. There are hostages/civilians you can't shoot or you lose a life. Lose 3 and you're gone. There's no walking, the game does that for you. No way to take cover, shoot everything before it can hit you.

Basically, it's target practice with lightguns and targets that fight back, but it's fun as all hell. That would be a short review of the arcade version.

The McD

 

[mrschultz]

Wow, haven't tried a game like this in a long time, probably Tomb Raider III, 10 years ago. When did the controls get so complicated? Is it even possible to play this well with keyboard controls?

 

[Phoenixx]

When did the controls get so complicated?

When you found out, let me know. Im asking myself the same question every day,...

Is it even possible to play this well with keyboard controls?

You can play it ONLY with keyboard and mouse. I think this sucks because i would rather be able to use a gamepad,...

 

[mrschultz]

You can play it ONLY with keyboard and mouse. I think this sucks because i would rather be able to use a gamepad,...

Yea, it's the mouse part that messes up play, unless you've got one of those mice that has 5 buttons on it I don't see a way to get all the buttons you need available with one hand on the mouse.

Maybe I'll try one more time at re-assigning the keys and see if there's any way to get the game playable. It's like they designed it so only Zaphod Beeblebrox could play it...

 

[Phoenixx]

Yea, it's the mouse part that messes up play, unless you've got one of those mice that has 5 buttons on it I don't see a way to get all the buttons you need available with one hand on the mouse.

Well i have a mouse with 5 buttons, but A51 is one of those games that wont let you use the extra buttons.

(Now THATS something that REALLY sucks!)


Anyhow, heres how i have it. (UserInputConfig.ini)

Perhaps it helps,...im getting along with it quite well and im not a mouse/keyboard player at all,...

Move_Forward = "MOUSE_BTN_R";
Move_Backward = "S";
Strafe_Left = "Z";
Strafe_Right = "X";
Jump = "LSHIFT";
Lean_Left = "Q";
Lean_Right = "E";
Crouch = "LCONTROL";
Toggle_Walk_Mode = "CAPITAL";
Use = "MOUSE_BTN_C";
Toggle_Flashlight = "F";
Show_Objective = "O";
Primary = "MOUSE_BTN_L";
Secondary = "LMENU";
Melee_attack = "C";
Toggle_Mutation = "M";
Reload = "SPACE";
Throw_a_grenade = "G";
Cycle_Weapons_Left = "V";
Cycle_Weapons_Right = "B";
Switch_to_Scanner = "TAB";
Switch_to_Pistol = "2";
Switch_to_SMP = "3";
Switch_to_Shotgun = "4";
Switch_to_Sniper_Rifle = "5";
Switch_to_BBG = "6";
Switch_to_Meson_Cannon = "7";
Vote_Menu_Toggle = "F1";
Vote_Yes = "F2";
Vote_No = "F3";
Vote_Abstain = "F4";
Drop_Flag = "N";
Chat = "T";
Team_Chat = "Y";
Screen_Shot = "F12";