''Alien Nations'' (german: Die Völker) is a

real-time strategy Real-time strategy (RTS) is a Video game genre, subgenre of strategy video games that do not progress incrementally in turn-based game, turns, but allow all players to play simultaneously, in "real time". By contrast, in Turn-based strategy, turn ...

video game developed by

Neo Software Rockstar Productions GmbH (trade name: Rockstar Vienna; formerly Neo Software Produktions GmbH) was an Austrian video game developer and a studio of Rockstar Games based in Vienna. Peter Baustädter, Niki Laber, and Hannes Seifert founded the ...

and published by

JoWooD Productions JoWooD Entertainment AG (formerly JoWooD Productions Software AG, commonly referred to as JoWooD) was an Austrian video game publisher that was founded in 1995. JoWooD went into administration in 2011 and all assets were purchased by Nordic Games ...

for

Microsoft Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...

in 1999. It was re-released on

GOG.com GOG.com (formerly Good Old Games) is a digital distribution platform for video games and films. It is operated by GOG sp. z o.o., a wholly owned subsidiary of CD Projekt based in Warsaw, Poland. GOG.com delivers DRM-free video games through it ...

in 2009. A sequel, '' The Nations'', was published in 2001. ''Alien Nations'' was a commercial hit in the German market, and ultimately sold close to 1 million units worldwide.

Gameplay

''Alien Nations'' is a real-time strategy game based on building a nation and conquering others. The player may choose from 3 races – the Pimmons, the Amazons and the Sajkhi. In single-player mode, there are three gameplay modes: Introduction, Campaigns, and Never-ending Game.

Reception

Sales

''Alien Nations'' was a commercial hit in the German market. ''

Der Spiegel ''Der Spiegel'' (, lit. ''"The Mirror"'') is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. With a weekly circulation of 695,100 copies, it was the largest such publication in Europe in 2011. It was founded in 1947 by John Seymour Chaloner ...

''s Frank Patalong noted that it was one of the

construction and management simulation Construction and management simulation (CMS), sometimes also called management sim or building sim, is a subgenre of simulation game in which players build, expand or manage fictional communities or projects with limited resources. Strategy vide ...

s that "dominated the German sales charts for years", alongside ''

Anno 1602 ''Anno 1602: Creation of a New World'', entitled ''1602 A.D.'' in North America, is a 1998 construction and management video game developed by Max Design and published by Sunflowers Interactive. Set in the early modern period, it requires the p ...

'' and the ''

Settlers A settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established a permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. A settler who migrates to an area previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited may be described as a pioneer. Settle ...

'' series. In German-speaking countries, it sold 150,000 units after two months on shelves, according to the game's Russian publisher Snowball Studios. It was also a success in Russia, with sales of 80,000 units by April 2001. ''Alien Nations'' ultimately sold "just under a million copies" by 2016, reported Micharl Furtenbach of

Red Bull Red Bull is a brand of energy drinks of Austria, Austrian company Red Bull GmbH. With 38% market share, it is the most popular energy drink brand as of 2019. Since its launch in 1987, more than 100 billion cans of Red Bull have been sold worldwid ...

Critical reviews

Oleg Hazhinskiy of Game.EXE gave the game 4.1/5 and noted its strong similarities with ''

The Settlers ''The Settlers'' (german: Die Siedler) is a City-building game, city-building and real-time strategy video game series created by Volker Wertich. The The Settlers (1993 video game), original game was released on the Commodore Amiga in 1993, wit ...

'' series. Among differences, he praised the marketing system, but also mentioned lacking combat.

References

External links