An official review by:
Rando Commando
....AKA: Randy McCoy

What is this game anyway?


Alien Crush is one of the few Pinball games that are available for the Turbo Duo or Turbo Grafx 16. There are at last count only three good pinball games for the system. They are (in no order) Time Cruise, Devils Crush, and Alien Crush.

This pinball game has a very strange name. But it is relevant to the game. In this one you have to smash, bash, and destroy and entire alien horde of creatures. There are many things that happen and can be done, as with most other pinball games. Alien Crush has two sections of the board. Both with two paddles and several targets and such. All alien like! What makes this game unique among some of the others is of course the environment and all the interesting things that happen to your ball.

The other neat things that this game offers is that you can select the speed of the ball and what
tune you would like to listen to during play. I would suggest that you play the game on the fast mode. It is
more realistic and is of course more of a challenge. On the slow mode it
is easier to watch the ball, but it isn't as much fun and exciting. Both
tunes that you can choose from are very cool.

Some point accumulators
Both sections of the board have point accumulators. That is that you can keep getting score multipliers and get a higher overall score when your ball is eaten by one of the score multipliers. The one at the top section of the board is the creature with the tentacles. When you hit certain posts in the upper section, lights around the tentacles will brighten. If all are lit and that creature eats you ball then you will get a really high score. For ever light that is on you get your bonus doubled. The one on the bottom level is the "thing" in the center of the screen. The creature with all the eyes. When you hit the aliens on the side of the board on this level you will make the counter go up on this point accumulator and when the alien opens it's mouth you can get your points added up.
A lot of the time the creatures on the sides and around the field will try to eat your ball or hit it around of course. The top section has the most alien mouths. The top section of the board is also the best place to get points. Here are some of the things that occur when you hit certain things on the board. It is hard to explain what everything looks like I'll try to give them descriptive names.

These are on the TOP section of the board


Bones 2 This becomes an entrance to a bonus level when open.


Upper gate When all 4 lamps are lit you can win a bonus by getting the ball in the tentacle alien.


Brain When the ball hits this ten times, aliens will hatch out of it. Very hard to do, but very cool to watch!

Bones 1 When the ball passes through here, the bonus in the upper screen increases.

Eye When hit, this will change the positions of the bumpers and increase the bonus.

Slime When all the slime are killed the goal post goes up.

Bonus counter Lights up and records bonus when ball goes through area with green lamp lit.

Bones 3 Another bonus round entrance!

Claw one Opens when the bonus lamp is filled.

This is the LOWER section of the board.


Bumper Alien hatches out when this is hit ten times. Also very fun to watch!

Claw two Opens when all 3 right targets are hit.


Left targets Increases rate of bonus when all three are knocked over.


Mouth Trap Opens when all the left and right targets have been knocked over. You receive a bonus if you get the ball in.

Bonus counter One lights up each time an egg is hit by the ball. 9
lamps in all.


Claw three Opens when all 3 left targets are hit.


Bonus Rounds
In Alien Crush there are 4 bonus rounds in addition to the main play area. The way to get to them is through the mouths in the upper section of the board. I referred to these as Bones 1,2,3,etc. When the alien mouth appears to be open and a yellow arrow is pointing to it then you can get to a bonus round if you get the ball in that mouth. Here are the conditions for entering the bonus rounds and what to do in each one.

Bonus round #1

Entry: Get a ball in Bones 1 when the bonus multiplier factor is an even number.

Goal: Repeatedly hit the colored eyeballs near the bumpers and open them all up.

Bonus round #2

Entry: Get the ball in Bones 2 when the bonus multiplier factor is an odd number.

Goal: Destroy the centipede heads and body, there are eight of them in all.

Bonus round #3

Entry: Get the ball in Bones 3 when the bonus multiplier is an even number.

Goal: Destroy all the aliens on the screen. Aim for the small aliens

that circle the big ones, before destroying the bosses.

Bonus round #4

Entry: Get a ball in any Bones Lock when the bonus multiplier is an even number.

Goal: Hit the aliens and the skulls repeatedly to drop them in the holes.

Some playing tips!
One of the best things to do is try to keep the ball in the upper section of the board. This is the only place where you can get to bonus rounds and if you let the ball fall it goes to the lower level. So try to keep it up in the top of the pinball field. Also the best bonus accumulator is up in the top section. It is the best way to get a high score! You will win an extra ball if you complete a bonus round, get to a certain score, or win the last chance game. The bonus rounds are pretty tough to beat. If you do all that is required then you will get an extra ball and sent back to the main field with more points. Or you could win the Last Chance game! After your last ball goes down the drain you have a chance to get an extra by matching the last three digits in your score to a three digit number that spins really fast. When you push button 1 on the controller the number will stop and if it matches the last three digits in your score you will get an extra ball. This is very difficult to do. If you can keep doing it, you could play forever. It's not very likely however.

Overall
If you like pinball games this is definitely one to get. It has a lot of action, a lot of aliens, and a lot of surprises. The unfortunate thing about this game is that the main goal is to get a high score. And unfortunately the high score list is not saved after you are done playing.

The high score list looks really cool though. But if you work really hard to get a high score you won't be able to show your friends unless you leave it on all day. Other than that this is one really fun pinball game. It has excellent graphics for a Turbo Chip. And the music is really perfect for the environment. I like being able to choose the music to listen to also. You can even do that good old trick of shaking the board in this game. Watch out for Tilt though. There are not many pinball games for the Turbo Grafx and Duo but this one is certainly a winner! This is definitely one great Turbo Chip game! Check it out some time!

Review by Randy McCoy. Layout, graphics, and design by Bob Frasure. Send e-mail regarding this page to [email protected].