Strategy Overview
By Ben Barker
The new Xbox® version of Area 51 from Midway and developer Inevitable Entertainment is an excellent mix of old-school and new-school shooters. It combines panic-driven shoot-everything-that-moves battles with cleverly designed puzzles in a tight, action-driven single-player plot.
To help you on your way into your investigation of the conspiracy and secrets beneath Area 51, we've figured out a few of the trickier early puzzles and have some strategies for taking on those never-ending mutant hordes.
Your HAZMAT team—don't get used to 'em.
Mysteries Wrapped Within Enigmas
As if the overall mystery of Area 51 isn't deep enough, the game's many puzzle sections never hold your hand and guide you through them step by step. When you come to a point where progress seems impossible, start experimenting and make sure you poke your nose into every possible corner. For example …
Just like jumping (lethal) rope.
Electro Therapy
One of the very first such challenges takes place in an area we've informally dubbed the "electroshock room." You need to get between a set of malfunctioning generators that are spewing raw lightning and get them under control. But, how do that and still survive? Even a HAZMAT suit is not proof against 90,000 volts.
As perfectly fits the style of the game, you'll need to use good timing. Hang a right from you’re A.I. teammate and grab the ammo and health in the corner. Then, turn left (and stop for a sec) at the middle causeway where electric bolts are flickering with a regular pattern. Follow the bolt that slides along the floor as it snaps back toward the direction you want to go, and do tap-jumps when new bolts appear in your path.
It's like jumping rope, except here the rope will fry you like calamari. Once you're through, hit the ladder and get that switch. Then, the lightning gets bottled, and you can move around freely.
No, that's not your hand. Ew!
That %#&@! LR1 Security Card
Later, the LR1 Security card that Crispy needs can be very tricky, again because there's nothing in the way of instruction. But, no need to worry. We've got your back.
To prevent controller-tossing frustration, here's the scoop: Head up the stairs to the side of the second floor, opposite where your buddies are shooting at mutant-alien freakazoids. You'll find a security station with two handprint security-type things that are too far apart for one guy to hit at the same time (unless he's Mr. Fantastic or the mom from The Incredibles).
Turn around and head through the mutant-infested fire-strewn ruins and pick up some med kits (as needed) and the severed arm of the security guard (press X to interact with the environment, which hopefully you've figured out by now). Use the arm on the left pad, then quickly (before the arm falls off the pad) run over and hit the other one with your own hand.
Instead of getting that maddening failure message, this somewhat gross method will unlock the door and give you:
- A tough mutant that's chewing on a soldier inside the armory.
- Ammo and med packs—it's the armory, remember?
- The LR1 security card.
Grab it and head back to Crispy so he can unlock the hangar doors.
When they're this close, just smack. Don't reload.
General Strategies
Here are a few more tips we put together to help you along the way.
Get ready to reload.
And by that, we mean you must reload constantly, a reflex that countless hours of Halo® 2 has probably already pounded into your psyche. But we also mean you should expect to reload certain fights many times until you figure out the right tactic.
This isn't as frustrating as it sounds, though. The game is littered with frequent checkpoints, and the A.I. is so crafty that trying different strategies is a blast, even if they don't always work.
Contrarily, never reload in a melee.
Once an enemy closes in on you—and mutants are great jumpers that can cover distances quickly—you can either empty the clip or quite possibly run out of ammo. If you try to reload when a mutant is on you, you're as good as dead, so start clicking the right thumbstick to melee. And, not to spoil anything, but eventually you will gain an even better, albeit temporary, melee attack that can toss enemies across the room.
Use all 360 degrees of your vision.
Like any great survival-horror game, Area 51 features loads of enemies that can appear from literally anywhere. Any time you have a second between enemies coming in one direction, whip around and make sure you don't have more coming from another.
The game's excellent sound design also helps. Mutants growl and slobber noisily when they're getting ready to attack. If you hear 'em and don't see 'em, pop on that flashlight and start searching.
A green reticule means it's scannable.
The environment is not indestructible.
The walls, pillars, barrels, and other pieces of the landscape in Area 51 react dynamically to bullets, explosions, and melee attacks. Many windows are breakable (but if you see that shatter-proof mesh, they're not) and some types of cover will wear down over time as your foes pour bullets and energy blasts into them.
You can also set up makeshift barricades with some moveable objects like barrels. And, of course, it wouldn’t be a shooter without explosive versions of the same. Oxygen tanks, when struck, will spew clouds that obscure enemy aim, while fire extinguishers can sometimes be shot to put fires out and give you access to hidden areas.
Ammo is the last of your worries.
When you're in one of Area 51's massive firefights, don't let ammunition be a concern. You can always find more ammo, but med packs are a lot harder to come by.
Midway's update of the arcade classic is in stores now and offers hours of alien-blasting fun—and that's the truth. You can trust us, even if you can trust no one else …
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