Aliens in the Attic

In ‘Aliens in the Attic,’ players take on the role of the Zirkonians, small knee-high aliens from outer space who have invaded a family’s vacation home with the goal of conquering Earth. The game is an action-adventure platformer based on the movie of the same name, featuring 15 levels set in various areas of the house, such as the attic, vents, living room, and basement. Players can switch between four different aliens, each with unique abilities like double jumping or throwing grenades, and collect parts to craft customizable weapons. The game includes special attacks like the Fingernail Slash Combo and Ground Pound, with four difficulty levels to choose from.

Aliens in the Attic: A Retrospective on a Forgotten Family Adventure

Introduction: The Attic That Time Forgot

In the pantheon of early 2000s family entertainment, Aliens in the Attic (2009) occupies a peculiar niche—a film that was neither a blockbuster nor a flop, but a modestly budgeted, modestly received sci-fi comedy that spawned an equally modest video game adaptation. Released during the twilight of the PlayStation 2 and Wii era, the game, developed by Revistronic and published by Playlogic, attempted to capitalize on the film’s premise of knee-high extraterrestrials wreaking havoc in a suburban vacation home. Yet, despite its ambitious scope and the involvement of seasoned developers, Aliens in the Attic (the game) has largely faded into obscurity, remembered only by those who stumbled upon it in bargain bins or as a rental curiosity.

This review seeks to exhume Aliens in the Attic from the dusty corners of gaming history, examining its development, narrative fidelity, gameplay mechanics, and the broader context of its release. Was it a victim of its era’s technological limitations, or did it suffer from deeper design flaws? How did it compare to other licensed games of its time, and what, if any, legacy does it leave behind? By dissecting the game’s strengths and weaknesses, we can better understand its place in the annals of video game history.

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Development History & Context: A Game Born from Hollywood

The Studio and the Vision

Aliens in the Attic was developed by Revistronic, a studio with a mixed track record in licensed games. Known for titles like Fairytale Fights and Obscure: The Aftermath, Revistronic was no stranger to the challenges of adapting cinematic properties into interactive experiences. The game’s development was overseen by a team of 92 individuals, including producers like Ryan Rothenberger and Maurice van der Boor, who were tasked with translating the film’s chaotic energy into a playable format.

The vision for the game was clear: to offer players a chance to experience the film’s events from the perspective of the invading Zirkonians, the diminutive aliens with grand ambitions of Earth domination. Unlike the film, which focused on the Pearson children’s efforts to thwart the invasion, the game flipped the script, allowing players to embody the aliens themselves. This narrative inversion was a bold choice, one that sought to differentiate the game from the film while retaining its core themes of mischief and mayhem.

Technological Constraints and the Gaming Landscape

The game’s development coincided with a transitional period in the gaming industry. The PlayStation 2, though nearing the end of its lifecycle, remained a dominant platform, particularly for family-friendly titles. The Wii, with its motion controls, offered new possibilities for interactive gameplay, while the Nintendo DS provided a portable alternative. Aliens in the Attic was designed to cater to all three platforms, each with its own unique control schemes and technical limitations.

For the PlayStation 2 and Wii versions, the game adopted a third-person action-platformer format, a genre that was well-established but increasingly overshadowed by more ambitious open-world and first-person titles. The DS version, developed by Engine Software, took a different approach, focusing on a side-scrolling run-and-gun style reminiscent of Contra. This divergence in design highlights the challenges of adapting a single property across multiple platforms, each with its own audience expectations.

The gaming landscape of 2009 was crowded with licensed titles, many of which were rushed to market to coincide with film releases. Aliens in the Attic was no exception, with its August 4, 2009, release date aligning closely with the film’s theatrical run. This timing, while strategically sound for marketing purposes, often resulted in games that were underdeveloped or plagued by technical issues. As we’ll explore later, Aliens in the Attic was not immune to these pitfalls.

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Narrative & Thematic Deep Dive: A Tale of Two Perspectives

Plot and Characters: From Film to Game

The film Aliens in the Attic follows the Pearson family as they embark on a summer vacation, only to discover that their rental home has been infiltrated by a group of knee-high aliens known as Zirkonians. Led by the ruthless Skip (voiced by J.K. Simmons), the aliens seek to activate a device called the Sizematron, which will allow them to grow to human size and conquer Earth. The children of the family—Tom, Bethany, Hannah, Jake, Art, and Lee—must band together to stop the invasion while keeping their parents oblivious to the chaos unfolding around them.

The game, however, adopts a radically different perspective. Players assume the role of the Zirkonians themselves, tasked with navigating the Pearson family’s home to locate and activate the Sizematron. This narrative shift is both the game’s most intriguing and most problematic aspect. On one hand, it offers a fresh take on the source material, allowing players to experience the invasion from the aliens’ point of view. On the other, it strips away much of the film’s charm, particularly the dynamic between the children and their unlikely ally, Sparks (voiced by Josh Peck), the only Zirkonian who opposes the invasion.

The game’s cast of playable characters includes four distinct aliens, each with unique abilities:
– Skip: The leader, capable of stunning humans with a mind-control device.
– Tazer (renamed “Spike” in the game): A brute who can throw grenades.
– Razor: A nimble fighter with sharp claws.
– Sparks: The engineer, who can double jump and interact with alien technology.

While the film’s narrative is driven by the children’s resourcefulness and camaraderie, the game’s story is more mechanical, focusing on the aliens’ mission to overcome obstacles and defeat the human resistance. This shift in perspective fundamentally alters the tone of the experience, transforming a lighthearted family adventure into a more conventional action-platformer.

Themes: Invasion, Control, and the Subversion of Expectations

At its core, Aliens in the Attic (both film and game) explores themes of invasion, control, and the subversion of expectations. The film’s central conflict revolves around the children’s struggle to protect their family from an unseen threat, a metaphor for the challenges of growing up and assuming responsibility. The game, by contrast, inverts this dynamic, casting the players as the invaders and the humans as the obstacles to be overcome.

This inversion raises interesting questions about agency and perspective. In the film, the aliens are the antagonists, their actions driven by a desire for conquest. In the game, however, the aliens become the protagonists, their motives reframed as a quest for survival and dominance. This shift is not without its ethical implications, as players are tasked with mind-controlling humans and sabotaging their defenses. While the game’s tone remains lighthearted, the underlying themes of control and manipulation are more pronounced than in the film.

The game’s narrative is also notable for its lack of depth. Unlike the film, which takes the time to develop its characters and their relationships, the game’s story is largely incidental, serving as a backdrop for the action. Dialogue is minimal, and the aliens’ motivations are reduced to a series of objectives. This lack of narrative cohesion is a common pitfall of licensed games, where the emphasis is often placed on gameplay mechanics rather than storytelling.

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Gameplay Mechanics & Systems: A Mixed Bag of Innovation and Frustration

Core Gameplay Loop: Platforming and Combat

Aliens in the Attic is, at its heart, an action-platformer, with a core gameplay loop that revolves around exploration, combat, and puzzle-solving. Players navigate through 15 levels set across various locations within and around the Pearson family’s home, including the attic, vents, living room, garden, and basement. Each level is designed to test the player’s mastery of the aliens’ unique abilities, with obstacles that require specific characters to overcome.

The game’s combat system is straightforward but lacks depth. Players can perform basic attacks, such as scratching, punching, and throwing grenades, as well as special moves like the “Fingernail Slash Combo” and “Ground Pound.” The Wii version incorporates motion controls, allowing players to shake the Wii Remote to execute these attacks. While this adds a layer of interactivity, the controls are often unresponsive, leading to frustration during critical moments.

One of the game’s most touted features is the ability to switch between the four aliens on the fly. This mechanic is central to the gameplay, as each alien’s abilities are required to progress through the levels. For example, Sparks’ double jump is essential for reaching high platforms, while Tazer’s grenades are necessary for destroying obstacles. In theory, this system encourages strategic thinking and experimentation. In practice, however, the frequent switching can feel cumbersome, particularly when the game fails to clearly indicate which alien is needed for a given task.

Character Progression and Customization

The game includes a rudimentary progression system, allowing players to collect parts and bolts to upgrade their weapons. These upgrades range from increased firepower to new abilities, such as the ability to stun enemies or manipulate gravity. While this system adds a layer of customization, it is underdeveloped, with limited options and little impact on the overall gameplay experience.

The Wii version also includes a feature that allows players to customize their weapons using the Wii Remote. This mechanic, while innovative, is poorly implemented, with unclear instructions and limited functionality. The result is a system that feels more like a gimmick than a meaningful addition to the gameplay.

UI and Technical Issues

The game’s user interface is functional but unremarkable, with a minimalist design that fails to convey important information effectively. Health and weapon status are displayed in a small corner of the screen, making it difficult to monitor during intense combat sequences. The game’s camera system is particularly problematic, with frequent issues related to perspective and collision detection. Players often find themselves falling through walls or getting stuck in geometry, a testament to the game’s rushed development.

Technical issues plague the game across all platforms, with the PlayStation 2 and Wii versions suffering from frequent glitches and long loading times. The DS version, while more stable, is hampered by its limited hardware, resulting in simplistic graphics and repetitive gameplay. These issues are compounded by the game’s short length, with most players completing it in under five hours.

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World-Building, Art & Sound: A House Divided

Setting and Atmosphere

Aliens in the Attic is set within the confines of the Pearson family’s vacation home, a sprawling structure that serves as both a battleground and a playground for the invading aliens. The game’s levels are designed to reflect the film’s setting, with areas such as the attic, vents, and garden rendered in a cartoonish, exaggerated style. While the environments are visually distinct, they lack the detail and immersion of more polished platformers.

The game’s atmosphere is lighthearted and whimsical, with a focus on humor and slapstick comedy. The aliens’ diminutive size and exaggerated movements contribute to this tone, as does the game’s use of bright colors and exaggerated physics. However, the lack of narrative depth and character development undermines the game’s attempts to create a cohesive world. The Pearson family’s home feels more like a series of disconnected obstacles than a lived-in space.

Visual Direction and Sound Design

The game’s visual direction is functional but uninspired, with character models and environments that are serviceable but lack the polish of contemporary titles. The aliens’ designs are faithful to the film, with Skip’s menacing demeanor and Sparks’ friendly appearance translated effectively into the game. However, the human characters are less detailed, with stiff animations and minimal facial expressions.

The sound design is similarly underwhelming, with a forgettable soundtrack and repetitive sound effects. The game’s voice acting is limited to brief, muffled exclamations, a far cry from the film’s star-studded cast. The absence of meaningful dialogue further detracts from the game’s narrative cohesion, leaving players with little to engage with beyond the gameplay mechanics.

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Reception & Legacy: A Forgotten Footnote

Critical and Commercial Reception

Aliens in the Attic was met with a lukewarm reception from critics and players alike. On Metacritic, the DS version holds a score of 58, indicating “mixed or average” reviews. Critics praised the game’s accessibility and family-friendly tone but criticized its repetitive gameplay, technical issues, and lack of innovation. Common Sense Media awarded the game a 3 out of 5, noting its “spotty gameplay” and frustrating controls. Cheat Code Central was particularly harsh, describing the game as “broken” and advising players to “leave it on the shelf.”

Commercially, the game performed poorly, failing to make a significant impact in a market dominated by more established franchises. Its lack of multiplayer modes and short length further limited its appeal, particularly among older gamers. The game’s legacy is one of obscurity, with few players or critics remembering it fondly.

Influence and Industry Impact

Aliens in the Attic is a product of its time, reflecting the challenges and limitations of licensed games in the late 2000s. Its failure to resonate with audiences underscores the difficulties of adapting cinematic properties into interactive experiences, particularly when the development cycle is rushed to coincide with a film’s release. The game’s technical issues and lack of polish serve as a cautionary tale for future licensed titles, highlighting the importance of quality assurance and player feedback.

While Aliens in the Attic did not influence the broader gaming industry, it remains a curiosity for those interested in the evolution of licensed games. Its attempt to invert the narrative perspective of its source material is an interesting experiment, one that could have been more successful with additional time and resources. Ultimately, the game’s legacy is one of missed potential, a reminder of the challenges inherent in translating Hollywood spectacle into interactive entertainment.

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Conclusion: A Game That Could Have Been

Aliens in the Attic is a flawed but fascinating artifact of its era. Its bold narrative inversion and ambitious gameplay mechanics are undermined by technical issues, rushed development, and a lack of narrative depth. While it offers moments of genuine fun, particularly in its multi-character gameplay and whimsical setting, these strengths are overshadowed by its many shortcomings.

In the grand tapestry of video game history, Aliens in the Attic occupies a minor role, a footnote in the annals of licensed games. It is neither a classic nor a catastrophe, but a modest experiment that ultimately failed to capture the magic of its source material. For those willing to overlook its flaws, it remains a curious relic, a testament to the challenges and rewards of adapting Hollywood spectacle into interactive entertainment.

Final Verdict: 5/10 – A forgotten family adventure with moments of fun, but ultimately held back by its technical and narrative limitations.