Aliens Drive Me Crazy Review

Fairly wacky and varied, Aliens Drive Me Crazy has the right name. It's a game that starts out a little infuriating but soon enough, and with a few upgrades under one's belt, things vastly improve and it turns into quite an entertainingly simple game.

The hero has no name or backstory because, really, who cares about that when there are aliens to fend off? He has a car and a weapon to help him out but nothing more. Aliens Drive Me Crazy is split into two parts. The first part of each level involves driving to an alien base. Controls are of the swipe variety with swipes up or down allowing the hero to bounce along, inflicting damage on aliens and any other obstacles in his way. Coins are gained through this and they're pretty handy later on.

Once the hero reaches the base, he jumps out of his car and players control him running around, kind of like an auto-runner. One can't change his direction, only whether he jumps up or down a platform. Firing is done automatically too, which can make things a little hectic. The sole aim in the base is to work one's way up to the roof, taking out the aliens's defenses, but along the way one can also save various hostages. It's pretty simply done but strangely satisfying.

That one sentence kind of sums up Aliens Drive Me Crazy. It's all a bit odd and sometimes doesn't quite click, but it does make one want to keep playing. After each level, coins gained can be used to buy upgrades and these go a long way to encouraging repeat sessions. Besides boosting weaponry capabilities, it's also possible to buy extra hearts to prolong one's sessions and make the game a bit more forgiving. Something that's certainly needed early on when death feels quite common.

With an interesting mishmash of elements, Aliens Drive Me Crazy doesn't always quite work. Those reduced controls mean that sometimes the player just doesn't feel as in control as they should, leading to a certain amount of randomness. Mostly though, it's still the kind of game to dip into to pass a few minutes. Each level is pretty short so a lot can be done in that time, plus who can really resist a game that offers a robotic dinosaur chasing them down the road?