Alien Cabal
Encyclopedia
Alien Cabal is a first-person shooter consisting of 10 levels. Its distribution package also contains the "vedit" level editor.
At the start of a new game, the player selects a "Skill" level:
A game can be saved / loaded at any point during game play; Alien Cabal provides six "Save" slots.
Although the player cannot modify Alien Cabals controls, a simple "Help" screen clearly lists the control keys. A "jump" command does not exist. However, in some situations, the character can "walk through the air" from one platform to another platform if 1) the gap is small enough and 2) the character has a running start. By stepping on "half-height" items in the environment, the character can climb up to "full-height" items.
The game environment includes objects (e.g. weapons, ammunition, keys, health kits, armor) that the player can pick up simply by walking over the object.
After the player completes a level, Alien Cabal displays a rudimentary statistics screen:
The game does not include any bosses.
Alien Cabal has a few shortcomings:
Plot
Unfriendly aliens have established a large complex beneath the city. Enter the underground complex, and destroy all alien life encountered.Gameplay
Although designed for DOS, Alien Cabal runs without problems on Windows XP.At the start of a new game, the player selects a "Skill" level:
- Walk in the park
- Let me at 'em
- Death wish
A game can be saved / loaded at any point during game play; Alien Cabal provides six "Save" slots.
Although the player cannot modify Alien Cabals controls, a simple "Help" screen clearly lists the control keys. A "jump" command does not exist. However, in some situations, the character can "walk through the air" from one platform to another platform if 1) the gap is small enough and 2) the character has a running start. By stepping on "half-height" items in the environment, the character can climb up to "full-height" items.
The game environment includes objects (e.g. weapons, ammunition, keys, health kits, armor) that the player can pick up simply by walking over the object.
After the player completes a level, Alien Cabal displays a rudimentary statistics screen:
| Kills | xxx% | percentage of enemies killed |
| Destruction | xxx% | percentage of environment (e.g. windows, etc.) destroyed |
| Items | xxx% | percentage of objects picked up |
| Secrets | xxx% | percentage of secret areas discovered |
The game does not include any bosses.
Alien Cabal has a few shortcomings:
- No crosshairs for aiming. The player must use the "Look up" and "Look down" commands to adjust the weapon to a good position
- "Mouse look" only on the horizontal axis (i.e. the player cannot look up and down with the mouse)
- Very weak "Map Mode"
- Enemies seem to damage the player's character from a further distance than vice versa
- Occasional crashes (but Alien Cabal is very playable)