# Alien Front Online

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Alien_Front_Online
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Alien_Front_Online.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alien_Front_Online
> Source revision: 1356517848
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

***Alien Front Online*** is a 2001 video game released for the [Dreamcast](/source/Dreamcast). It is an online version of the arcade game ***Alien Front***, where it was bundled with the [Microphone accessory](/source/Dreamcast#Accessories). It was only released in North America.

The game was brought back online by fans through private servers in 2016.[4][5][6][7]

## Gameplay

In the game, players use armored vehicles to fight battles staged in arenas. Players can choose which side to fight for; the Triclops or the military. Players can also choose one of three different vehicles, each having its own advantages and disadvantages. Although the game is fully playable for one person, it was primarily designed as an [online game](/source/Online_game) in which up to 8 players (up to 4 on each side) can play. Players move around the arena attempting to shoot each other, while also looking for power-ups for their vehicles. The game is played for a set number of minutes, after which the team with the most kills are declared the winners.

## Development

Art director Gerardo Sprigg was working at [Acclaim](/source/Acclaim_Entertainment)'s struggling coin-op division on *[Magic: The Gathering: Armageddon](/source/Magic:_The_Gathering_video_games#Magic:_The_Gathering:_Armageddon),* and before the studio closed, Sega employees paid a visit looking to buy arcade projects or people to recruit. Several months passed, when Sprigg received an email from [Makoto Uchida](/source/Makoto_Uchida), who had a small Japanese development team that were living in the US and working at Sega of America. Uchida's boss had mandated him to find some Americans to work with, with the idea to make their titles feel more American. Sprigg and Uchida met, where it was decided that the old Acclaim art team would reunite and join Wow Entertainment in the US to work on a new project that would appeal to American audiences. Uchida was a big fan of *[Tokyo Wars](/source/Tokyo_Wars)* which was popular in arcades, and wanted to create a vehicle game as he noticed that people enjoyed cabinets with steering wheels and pedals. In contrast to *Tokyo Wars*, Uchida was adamant on including [destructible environments](/source/Destructible_environment). During development, someone had suggested a premise of the US military fighting off an alien invasion, which the Americans liked but the Japanese were somewhat sceptical. Once a functional demo was running, testing for the *Alien Front* arcade game began in several California locations, and the game was brought to [E3 2000](/source/E3_2000), where it appeared to be fairly popular, despite being in the back corner of the Sega booth. Following the success of the cabinet, a home port was planned. New levels were added to the Dreamcast version, and online connectivity between the arcade and Dreamcast versions was even considered, but because the arcade never released outside Japan, the feature was scrapped.[8][9]

## Release

*Alien Front* was released exclusively in Japanese arcades on January 23, 2001, and *Alien Front Online* was released on the Dreamcast exclusively in North America August 7, 2001. It was originally slated for release in Japan, but was cancelled.[10] Copies of *Alien Front Online* were packaged with the Microphone accessory due to poor sales of *[Seaman](/source/Seaman_(video_game))*.[8] A related game, simply titled *Alien Front*, was announced by Sega for the [N-Gage](/source/N-Gage_(device)) in 2004, but was eventually cancelled.[11] A prototype [ROM image](/source/ROM_image) of the N-Gage version was leaked [online](/source/Online) in 2019.[12][better source needed]

## Reception

The game received "generally favorable reviews" according to the [review aggregation](/source/Review_aggregator) website [Metacritic](/source/Metacritic).[13] Rob Smolka of *[Next Generation](/source/Next_Generation_(magazine))* said that the game was "not terribly original, but the basics are solid enough to make it fun, especially when you can taunt your foes and coordinate your attack with teammates online".[14]

## References

1. Akagi, Masumi (October 13, 2006). [*アーケードTVゲームリスト国内•海外編(1971-2005)*](https://archive.org/details/ArcadeGameList1971-2005/page/n133/mode/2up) [Arcade TV Game List: Domestic • Overseas Edition (1971-2005)] (in Japanese). Japan: Amusement News Agency. p. 132. ISBN 978-4990251215.

1. Akagi, Masumi (October 13, 2006). [*アーケードTVゲームリスト国内•海外編(1971-2005)*](https://archive.org/details/ArcadeGameList1971-2005/page/n39/mode/2up) [Arcade TV Game List: Domestic • Overseas Edition (1971-2005)] (in Japanese). Japan: Amusement News Agency. p. 39. ISBN 978-4990251215.

1. ["*Alien Front Online*"](http://sega.com/games/dreamcast/post_dreamcastgame.jhtml?PRODID=802). *[sega.com](/source/Sega)*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20020204071217/http://sega.com/games/dreamcast/post_dreamcastgame.jhtml?PRODID=802) February 4, 2002 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved December 29, 2023.

1. pcwzrd13 (November 6, 2016). ["Alien Front Online Resurrected!"](https://web.archive.org/web/20171109025102/http://www.dreamcastlive.net/blogs/post/Alien-Front-Online-Resurrected/). *Dreamcast Live*. Archived from [the original](http://www.dreamcastlive.net/blogs/post/Alien-Front-Online-Resurrected/) on November 9, 2017. Retrieved November 8, 2017.

1. pcwzrd13 (December 12, 2016). ["Game Night Highlights: Alien Front Online 12/7/2016"](https://web.archive.org/web/20171109024835/http://www.dreamcastlive.net/blogs/post/Game-Night-Highlights-Alien-Front-Online-12-7-2016/). *Dreamcast Live*. Archived from [the original](http://www.dreamcastlive.net/blogs/post/Game-Night-Highlights-Alien-Front-Online-12-7-2016/) on November 9, 2017. Retrieved November 8, 2017.

1. petter3k (November 6, 2016). ["Game resurrected – Alien Front Online"](http://www.dcserv.org/?p=348). *dcserv.org*

1. ["Alien Front Online"](http://segaretro.org/Alien_Front_Online). *SegaRetro.org*. September 2022. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20171109023030/http://segaretro.org/Alien_Front_Online) 2017-11-09 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2017-11-08.

1. Wallace, Mitch (July 2017). "The Making Of: Alien Front Online". *[Retro Gamer](/source/Retro_Gamer)*. No. 169. Jones, Darran (ed.). Future. pp. 86–89.

1. ["Alien Front Online E3 2000 Impressions"](https://www.gamespot.com/articles/alien-front-online-e3-2000-impressions/1100-2571640/). *GameSpot*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20210926004646/https://www.gamespot.com/articles/alien-front-online-e3-2000-impressions/1100-2571640/) 2021-09-26 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2021-09-26.

1. Ahmed, Shahed (June 29, 2001). ["Sega cancels two Dreamcast games in Japan"](https://www.gamespot.com/articles/sega-cancels-two-dreamcast-games-in-japan/1100-2781615/). *[GameSpot](/source/GameSpot)*. [CBS Interactive](/source/CBS_Interactive). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20140312231918/http://www.gamespot.com/articles/sega-cancels-two-dreamcast-games-in-japan/1100-2781615/) March 12, 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved January 5, 2014.

1. IGN staff (February 9, 2004). ["Two New Sega Titles"](https://www.ign.com/articles/2004/02/09/two-new-sega-titles). *[IGN](/source/IGN)*. [Ziff Davis](/source/Ziff_Davis). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20140223050228/http://www.ign.com/articles/2004/02/09/two-new-sega-titles) February 23, 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved January 5, 2014.

1. ["Alien Front (found cancelled Nokia N-Gage port of action game; 2004) - The Lost Media Wiki"](https://www.lostmediawiki.com/Alien_Front_(found_cancelled_Nokia_N-Gage_port_of_action_game;_2004)). *lostmediawiki.com*. 2019. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20200122104054/https://www.lostmediawiki.com/Alien_Front_(found_cancelled_Nokia_N-Gage_port_of_action_game;_2004)) 2020-01-22 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2020-01-22.

1. ["Alien Front Online for Dreamcast Reviews"](https://www.metacritic.com/game/alien-front-online/critic-reviews/?platform=dreamcast). *[Metacritic](/source/Metacritic)*. CBS Interactive. Retrieved May 27, 2020.

1. Smolka, Rob (October 2001). ["Alien Front Online"](https://archive.org/details/NextGen82Oct2001/page/n81/mode/2up). *[Next Generation](/source/Next_Generation_(magazine))*. No. 82. [Imagine Media](/source/Future_US). p. 80. Retrieved May 27, 2020.

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Alien Front Online](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alien_Front_Online) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alien_Front_Online?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.