🎮 AREA 51 (PS2) – REVIEW FILE 51: THEY GOT DAVID DUCHOVNY FOR THIS??

Let’s start by showing y’all the trailers, shall we?

Gameplay Footage – PS2
(Because before we enter the alien shoot-em-up, we need a visual on how peak mid-2000s this game looked.)



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🛸 Non-Spoiler Plot Overview

The story follows Ethan Cole, a HAZMAT operative voiced by David Duchovny (yes, that David Duchovny — straight off The X-Files and into a biohazard suit). He and his team are sent to contain a viral outbreak at the infamous Area 51. Except, surprise surprise — the government’s hiding a hell of a lot more than just germs in jars. What starts as a clean-up mission becomes a chaotic fight for survival involving ancient alien parasites, body horror mutations, and a big fat conspiracy.
Because of course it does. It’s Area 51.


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👨‍🚀 Character Rundown

Ethan Cole (David Duchovny): Your playable character, monotone voice included. He sounds calm, bored, or like he just read the script in one take while drinking coffee. But hey — it is Duchovny.

Crispy & McCann: Your squadmates who either serve as plot devices or alien bait. Not much depth here.

Dr. Cray (voiced by Powers Boothe): A shady scientist with the energy of “I’ve made 47 morally questionable choices and I’d do it again.”

Edgar (voiced by Marilyn Manson): A weird, mutated oracle of exposition. Yes. Really. Marilyn Manson voices a mutant.



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⏱️ Pacing / Episode Flow

The game’s campaign rolls out in a solid 6–8 hours, with a steady drip of escalating weirdness. The pacing stays fairly linear, moving from clean hallways to underground labs to alien-infested nightmares. But the game does suffer from mid-game drag — environments start to blend, and enemy types get repetitive after a while. The only real pacing curveball comes when the tone shifts from military shooter to full-on alien body horror halfway through.


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✅ Pros

ALIENS. CONSPIRACIES. BIOHAZARDS. This is pure mid-2000s energy — think Doom 3 meets X-Files.

David Duchovny’s casting is too perfect even if he sounds sedated. Just knowing Fox Mulder is back in alien territory makes it poetic.

Creepy lore and solid atmosphere. The environmental storytelling? Surprisingly cool. You feel like you’re sneaking through a facility the government doesn’t want you in.

Bio-mutant mechanic. Halfway through you get infected, unlocking mutated powers — so now you’re blasting enemies with both guns and alien biomass. Dual-wield that weirdness.



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❌ Cons

David Duchovny… sounds like he’s recording from a nap. Iconic voice? Yes. Emotional range? Flatline.

Combat is average at best. Feels like a standard FPS wrapped in a more interesting premise. Guns lack punch. AI is dumb.

Enemy variety? Meh. Get used to shooting the same mutant over and over again with slightly different glows.

Visuals aged okay-ish. It’s got that muddy-gray PS2 shooter filter. And when it’s dark? It’s DARK. Like bump-into-walls-for-five-minutes dark.



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🧠 Final Thoughts

Area 51 isn’t groundbreaking. It’s not revolutionary. But it’s got heart — or at least, a really solid alien-infested gallbladder. It rides on the coattails of better sci-fi horror but still delivers enough atmosphere, lore, and “what the hell is THAT?” moments to keep you interested. The voice cast is stacked. The world feels like a crossover between The Thing and Half-Life. It’s a relic of its time… and in some ways, that’s what makes it charming.

Would I replay it for the gameplay? Probably not. Would I replay it for the weird David Duchovny monologue vibes and gooey alien mess? Absolutely.


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🧪 RATING: 7/10

“A flawed but fascinating trip into conspiracy hell with sleepy Mulder as your guide.”


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🚨 Spoiler Warning

Beyond this point, we breach the black site.


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💥 Spoilers

The big twist? You get infected by the alien virus yourself, slowly mutating as you unravel the truth about what’s really happening in Area 51. Turns out this wasn’t just an accident — the government’s been messing with extraterrestrial DNA, and now it’s loose. You start gaining alien abilities, eventually facing off against grotesque bioweapons and a monstrous final boss cooked up in the deepest, dirtiest part of the facility. And then… you nuke it. As one does.

Because when in doubt? Blow it up and never speak of it again.

🦠 TROPE CHECK: “CONGRATS, YOU’VE BEEN INFECTED! NOW YOU’RE A GOD”

Can we please put this trope in quarantine already?

Once again, we’ve got a virus outbreak, and once again… the protagonist gets infected. But wait — instead of, you know, dying horribly or spending the rest of the game vomiting organs, you become ultra powerful.

Why? Because logic doesn’t live here.

It happened in Area 51.
It happened in Dead Island.
It happened in Dead Island 2.
It happened in Dying Light.
It happened in Dying Light 2.

Like clockwork. You sneeze once and suddenly you’ve got Hulk strength, glowing eyes, and a magical parasite whispering cheat codes in your brain.

Viruses in real life: cause fatigue, organ failure, and extreme nausea.
Viruses in games: “Here, have wall hacks and a tentacle arm.”

Jeepers. Enough already. Next time, how about a main character who doesn’t win the bio-lottery? Just once?