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Mysterious action plot at the infamous and alienated military installation, Area 51 brings game players to explore the confines of it through a small Hazardous Materials Unit of the U.S. Army led by the specialist Ethan Cole. He has been sent in Area 51 to investigate a viral outbreak that shut down the research facility.
The special division discovers a deadly mutagenic side effect of the virus that controls the minds of those infected, as well as an ancient alien colony buried beneath the facility.
Chilling conspiracies such as the extraterrestrial crash at Roswell and the staged lunar landing, are investigated in order to solve the enigma of Area 51 before the viral mutagen is released and irrevocably mutates all life on Earth.
On PlayStation 2, Area 51 stands out as the single greatest achievement in first-person shooting technology. It features incredibly detailed textures at close ranges, truly high-resolution graphics, vivid colors, and an astonishing assortment of mesmerizing graphical wizardry and sparkling particle effects.
When the singleplayer does eventually stop, the multiplayer begins. Using its personal brand of mutant powers, Area 51 creates a few multiplayer modes that revolve around the transition from dude to freak to capitalize off enemy weaknesses. Like singleplayer, the real enjoyable meat of this type of gaming is still gunplay, however.
All of these tricks and treats translate to the Xbox well enough and benefit from a better framerate, but when weighed and measured against the current crop of that system's offerings, the Area 51 eye candy might be found a bit wanting. Back on PS2, where first-person shooting begins at Red Faction and ends at Future Perfect , Area 51 is a graphical godsend.
The sound effects are also quite impressive. Weapon sounds are brutally loud and echo off the walls of the base in pretty fierce fashion. In fact, during the chaos of battle, it's pretty hard not to get lost in the din of gunfire and enemy growls. In contrast, The soundtrack consists of mostly minimalist beats and tracks that are barely even noticeable, let alone memorable, and the voice acting is pretty uneven all around. Name talents like David Duchovny, Powers Boothe, and Marilyn Manson lend their voices to the game, but none does much with his role.
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