Alien Syndrome is not a new game. I feel the need to state that right now. An old Sega System 16 arcade title from the days of Golden Axe and Shinobi, Alien Syndrome was a top down shooter in the same vein as Smash TV. The original was all about swarms of enemies from all directions, a mass of power ups and big boss battles. It mightn't be the most memorable of arcade titles from the era, but it was a fun title and classic Sega.

Now I love retro arcade gaming personally. I've been collecting arcade games and cabinets for a few years now and have always held a soft spot for Sega. I was quite excited then to see Alien Syndrome turn up on my desk. Dusting off the Wii, I couldn't think of anything better than kicking back and reliving Sega's glory days.

For those of you unfamiliar with the arcade original (I'd imagine this applies to the majority of readers), I have to point out that connections to the Sega classic are few and far between. Yes, you are still fending off swarms of alien scum with a range of weaponry, but no longer are you simply rushing against the clock to save survivors and escape and face the big ol' boss at the end of the stage. To expand the game from its arcade roots into a fully-fledged title, developer Totally Games have transformed the title into a story driven shooter with RPG elements.

Revolving around a generic story set in the distant future in outer space, you venture to a space station when communications are lost only to discover, surprise surprise, the space station is over run with aliens. Story has never been the high point of the shooter genre. It is the RPG elements that make this title interesting. As you progress you gain items and resource points from fallen enemies. As you journey through the game, you are accompanied by a robotic escort called SCARAB which acts as a mobile merchant and item crafter. The SCARAB supplies you with new weapons and items in exchange for resource points, but can only craft them at a certain rate, forcing you to mix up your arsenal and combat styles.

Naturally, Alien Syndrome features the ever essential multiplayer options any shooter needs, allowing up to four players to take part and blast through the entire story. Ideally this is how any shooter should be played and it works solid enough. It is just odd though that while you can select one of five character types, each with their own stats and specialties, all are the same character. With four players on screen, the game can be a fun romp, bringing back memories of the glory days of the shooter genre, fighting over items and arguing who leads and who follows. With three mates and a carton of beer, there's some light hearted fun to be had.

Playing through the game on my lonesome, it didn't take long for a mass of significant flaws to break my rose tinted glasses.

While arguments about whether the Wii is a true next generation console rages in forums the world over, both sides I'm sure would be willing to put down their keyboard and agree that Alien Syndrome is far from pretty by any standards. Hell it would hardly be considered an attractive game if it was featured on the Nintendo 64. Entering the character selection screen, the flat, bland textures brought back fond memories of the days of Johanna Dark. It is understandable that the developers may have sacrificed visuals to ensure that the game lives up to the necessary chaos of the original, but even with such low level graphics, the game is still hit by slowdown as the screen begins to fill with enemies and fire-fight. With Alien Syndrome being simultaneously released on PSP and Wii, it's obvious to see where things went wrong.

As you progress in the game, enemies start to amp up to the chaotic frenzy of old. This is all well and good, but part of its charm is that you should feel in a position where you are overpowered. After a couple hours of play, I just gave up shooting almost entirely except where required to pass a mission objective and began passing mission after mission, far quicker than I had done so previously. The enemies just seem to pose such little threat and use such predictable and basic artificial intelligence. It's not a good sign if you can't even be bothered shooting in a shooter.

Fortunately big boss-type characters are still present. Unfortunately they feel entirely under-whelming from the strategy based battles of the arcade and are normally defeated with some simple circle strafing.

Whilst Nintendo try to push the intuitive nature of the Wii's control system, third party developers by and large have attempted to maximise the use of the Wii's functionality and in turn either overcomplicated the controls or made them into a gimmick. Sadly Alien Syndrome does both. While it does feel nice and fluid to move and aim using the motion controls, rotating the camera (by rotation of the nunchuk) and melee combat (by swings of Wii remote) feel delayed, unreliable and in the case of camera, nauseating. Mini-games, which appear entirely designed with the Wii in mind, end up feeling overly and unnecessarily complicated. Not to say Wii controls aren't suited to this game, but they would work much better if you only had to worry about moving, aiming and shooting.

With epic games such as Metal Gear Solid 3 and Bioshock setting new standards in story-telling within video games in recent years, anything sub par truly shows. Whilst Alien Syndrome utilises cut scenes of still comic style art to introduce the story, it simply feels unnecessary for this type of game. It's a top down shooter, I just want to kill people!

In conjunction with the story, the games tries to create an overall dark and moody atmosphere which just makes the game feel boring and depressing. It seems unnecessary and unsuitable for this type of game. By upgrading into role playing format, you now specify what character type you want to specialise in, such as flame type or demolitions, each with their own weapon proficiencies and starting weapon. To change weapons you need to upgrade your proficiencies and then purchase a new weapon. It's a slow process that means you won't find yourself constantly changing weapons, making gameplay become stale very early into the game.

This is not the first time Alien Syndrome has undergone the 3D treatment, receiving a 3D update in Japan and North America as a part of the Sega Ages and Sega Classics Collection. That time around, we saw a relatively bland and low budget resurrection that stayed true to the simplicity of the original and in that sense, it was a successful upgrade of classic gameplay. Like many arcade games, Alien Syndrome worked well for its simplicity. The biggest problem with the Wii upgrade of Alien Syndrome is that it has, in all areas, over complicated what is, at its heart, a very simplistic game.

If you're a die hard top down shooter fan, it might be worth a go, if only to test the experience with Wii controls, which work quite well for basic running, aiming and shooting. The original Alien Syndrome wasn't the best title in arcades, but I can honestly say that I would rather play the original than the Wii remake. I am a huge fan of arcade gaming and Sega is my personal favourite brand, but I certainly wouldn't have any intention of playing this game further and can not justify the price tag, This title belongs on Xbox Live Arcade, not on store shelves with a price tag of $100.

Sega, I love you, but you need to stop over complicating classic games and making them something they're not.

I just hope one day someone creates a decent remake of Zombies Ate My Neighbours...