Released in 1990, Konami’s Aliens was not the first videogame based on James Cameron’s hit 1986 movie. In the four years prior, Activision had released two separate tie-ins for 8-bit computers, while Square had created its own take for the Japanese MSX.
In fact, the 1990 coin-op was not even Konami’s first game. Well, officially it was, but the series had already plundered the movie for ideas and imagery. The first game featured two alien bosses that were clearly inspired by HR Giger’s famous creature design, while featured hundreds of ‘Warrior’ aliens running amok in a familiar looking ‘hive’. This begs the question: why did Konami go to the expense of acquiring the official licence in 1990 when it could have carried on churning out games? Especially
