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Housemarque specialises in creating arcade action titles, with Alienation the latest in a long line of frenetic shooters backed up by a remarkable suite of technology. Conceptually, it's similar in nature to the firm's PS3/PS4 title, Dead Nation, but the sci-fi focus opens the door to a new gameplay focus, along with a radical revamp in visual effects work.However, just like Dead Nation, the push for state-of-the-art visuals comes with a compromise. Alienation run at 30 frames per second, and not the signature 60fps that helped to make Super Stardust HD and Resogun feel so good to play. The knock on effect is that motion isn't quite as smooth as we would like, while the controls lack the crisp response found in arcade titles. However, by targeting 30fps, Housemarque has double the rendering time per frame to play with - the result being some impressive effects work that adds a new layer of realism to the game's arcade roots.
As expected the game runs at native 1080p with post-process anti-aliasing, presenting the action with ample clarity. Sub-pixel elements and long edges sometimes exhibit artefacts, but nothing beyond the kind of shimmering that is now part and parcel of most triple-A titles. However, what really stands out is the way in which characters and environmental objects are displayed. A physically-based rendering set-up allows for different surfaces to react realistically to various lighting conditions, so materials such as metals, snow, rubber and glass appear quite natural despite the game's stylised presentation. This adds a more authentic look to these elements, helping to better immerse the player in the locations on offer.
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