As was said before, Area-51 was a light-gun game with a paper-thin plot and hilariously corny graphics. Wanting to update the franchise for new audiences, Midway made Area-51 and released it in 2005. They later updated it (again) into BlackSite: Area 51. However, much like The Suffering, Midway decided to release the original as ad-supported freeware for all to play. And much like The Suffering, it's definitely worth playing.

Area-51 is dated, but certainly not ugly. The art style and animation are both well done, and it never feels sluggish or poor. Nothing feels out of place. The audio, while not amazing, fits and never breaks your immersion from the game. Both sounds (like gunfire) and music sound good. The best part, though, is the voice talent associated with the game. The protagonist is voiced by David Duchovney, and the head alien by Marilyn Manson. The voices are never stilted or unnatural, and they fit both the characters and dialogue extremely well.

The story takes place in (brace yourself) Area 51. After the outbreak of a strange mutagenic virus, you descend into the underground part of the base, uncovering the truth behind what is going on while killing hordes of crazed mutants. It's very corny and stereotypical, but nothing is done incorrectly. Presentation, immersion, and relevance are all very much present. There's even extra stuff lying around that adds more information to your Database and secrets areas, revealing more of the backstory behind the game.

The gameplay is very straightforward. You shoot things until they die! There's your standard weapons (pistol, SMG, shotgun) as well as a few unusual ones. You can also bash people with your weapons by pressing the melee key. As you progress through the game, you also unlock the ability to mutate, which makes you very strong and fast for a short period of time.

Throughout the levels you will inevitably need to find keys and bring them somewhere, protect people, or do other normal FPS tasks. For most of the game you are working with a team that protects you. Interestingly enough, these teammates are invincible in most cases, making it easy to just let them do most of the work and conserve your ammo. You will also run across other, random soldiers fighting against the mutants. You can either help them, in which case they will guard the area, or let them die. There's not much of a difference between the two, so it doesn't really matter. It is a neat detail, however.

Area-51 is not a very complicated game. It's simply a well-made FPS game. If you want to have fun blasting away some enemies with some cool weapons, good art design, and adequate story, you can do a lot worse than Area-51. You can download the full, ad-supported game right here on Big Download.

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