• Pop Culture
    • Movies
    • Television
    • Comic Books
    • Video Games
    • Toys & Collectibles
  • Features
    • News
    • Reviews
    • Articles and Opinions
    • Interviews
    • Exclusives
    • Flickering Myth Films
    • FMTV
  • About
    • About Flickering Myth
    • Write for Flickering Myth
    • Advertise on Flickering Myth
  • Socials
    • Facebook
    • YouTube
    • Bluesky
    • Instagram
    • Flipboard
    • Linktree
    • X
  • Terms
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy

Flickering Myth

Geek Culture | Movies, TV, Comic Books & Video Games

  • News
  • Reviews
  • Articles & Opinions
  • Write for Us
  • The Baby in the Basket

The Top 100 Your Sinclair ZX Spectrum Games: #21 – Alien

August 7, 2016 by Villordsutch

Pulling over for a while and taking a tea break, as tiredness kills, we park up Chase H.Q. and turn to our next offering in the Your Sinclair Top 100 this next game – at No.#21 – is a classic sci-fi/horror movie tie-in.  We now have in our cassette players the Ellen Ripley-bothering Alien – from Mind Games – and although people in space can’t hear you scream I bet they can hear a ZX Spectrum loading!

Alien was created back in 1984 and it was programmed by Concept Software Ltd, who were in this case John Heaps and Paul Clansey.  John Heaps you’ll recall was responsible for the Ocean Software classic The Great Escape which sits at No.#23 in the Your Sinclair Top 100.  

This version of Alien – on the ZX Spectrum – is a strategy game which changes on each load; the Alien emerges from a different crew member and you are unaware which of you fellow Nostromo occupants is the Android (it may not be Ash).  You need to carefully plot your way around the ship decided on how you wish to handle this situation, do you want to make a break for the escape pod with Jones, perhaps you want to tackle the Xenomorph with brute force or set sneaky trap ejecting it from the airlock; the choices are yours to make.

Alien on its release was described by Your Sinclair as a, “tension-filled strategy game” and I can see this being the case back in 1984, the problem is replaying this in 2016 the tension really isn’t there anymore.  This isn’t a slur on the skills of John or Paul (neither Ringo nor George), unfortunately like a lot of horror films from the 80’s most are chuckled at by today’s youth as…well they’re not really scary anymore.  Here in Alien now my viewing and gaming habits have expanded so much, the “tension” that was once within this cassette has unfortunately been replaced with boredom; I just can’t see anything exciting.  Granted some of the graphics are still impressive, for example when we do get to glimpse the Xenomorph it looks rather impressive, but that’s few and far between.

It is obvious that Alien was clearly both a powerful & scary game, however time has come along and rather brutally neutered it.

@Villordsutch

Filed Under: Articles and Opinions, Video Games, Villordsutch Tagged With: Alien, John Heaps, Mind Games, Paul Clansey, Your Sinclair, zx spectrum

FMTV – Watch Our Latest Video Here

WATCH OUR MOVIE NOW FOR FREE ON PRIME VIDEO!

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:

Psycho at 65: The Story Behind Alfred Hitchcock’s Masterful Horror

The 1990s in Comic Book Movies

Speed: The Story Behind the Pulse-Pounding Action-Thriller

An Exploration of Bro Camp: The Best of Campy Guy Movies

10 Great Forgotten Movie Gems Worth Seeking Out

From Hated to Loved: Did These Movies Deserve Reappraisal?

The Essential Gene Hackman Movies

14 Incredible Sci-Fi Movie Scores

Sirens from Space: Species and Under The Skin

8 Essential Feel-Good British Underdog Movies

Top Stories:

Marisa Abela joins Henry Cavill and Russell Crowe in Highlander remake

Can Edgar Wright conquer America with The Running Man?

6 Great Australian Crime Movies of the 1980s

7 Underrated World War II Romance Movies

Great Tarantino-esque Movies You Need To See

Whatever Happened to the Horror Icon?

The Rise of Paul Thomas Anderson: A Living Legend

Movie Review – Jurassic World Rebirth (2025)

STREAM FREE ON PRIME VIDEO!

FEATURED POSTS:

Is Denis Villeneuve the Best Choice to Direct Bond?

The 10 Best Villains in Sylvester Stallone Movies

The Bourne Difference: The Major Book vs Movie Changes

The Contemporary Queens of Action Cinema

Our Partners

  • Pop Culture
    • Movies
    • Television
    • Comic Books
    • Video Games
    • Toys & Collectibles
  • Features
    • News
    • Reviews
    • Articles and Opinions
    • Interviews
    • Exclusives
    • Flickering Myth Films
    • FMTV
  • About
    • About Flickering Myth
    • Write for Flickering Myth
    • Advertise on Flickering Myth
  • Socials
    • Facebook
    • YouTube
    • Bluesky
    • Instagram
    • Flipboard
    • Linktree
    • X
  • Terms
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy

© Flickering Myth Limited. All rights reserved. The reproduction, modification, distribution, or republication of the content without permission is strictly prohibited. Movie titles, images, etc. are registered trademarks / copyright their respective rights holders. Read our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. If you can read this, you don't need glasses.


 

Flickering MythLogo Header Menu
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Articles & Opinions
  • Write for Us
  • The Baby in the Basket