The Alien franchise is full of classic moments, quotes, set pieces and most importantly (at least for purposes of this article): weapons. From Corporal Hicks' (Michael Biehn) personal friend, the standard-issue M41A Pulse Rifle to the gargantuan M56 Smartguns wielded by Vasquez (Jenette Goldstein) and Drake (Mark Rolston) in 1986’s Aliens, these just-futuristic-enough military firearms are a core part of the iconography of the franchise.
Among these, the M240 Incinerator Unit—known to the uninitiated as simply "a flamethrower"—stands supreme as the Aliens weapon to beat, a fact game developers seem to recognize as it shows up time and time again. If you’ve ever wondered which game gave players the best feeling of shooting a stream of flammable liquid death at the oncoming alien horde, wonder no more.
7. Alien (1982)
Remember the iconic scene in Aliens where Ripley (Sigourney Weaver), tired of being chased around a blue maze by the aliens, turned the tables on them by popping a power pellet and then eating them? What about when she had to safely make her way across a traffic jam of aliens by leaping into open spaces between them? No? That’s because it didn’t happen. But when you’re looking to make a quick return on your tie-in game for the burgeoning Atari 2600, what better way than by ripping off the wildly successful PAC MAN and Frogger games that were quickly becoming part of the national consciousness.
In a slight twist on the PAC MAN formula, in Alien the player is armed with a limited-use flamethrower that can temporarily stun the ghosts - er, aliens - but its implementation is wholly underwhelming. Just a quick nano-second blip of something that kind of looks like fire shoots out of the player’s hand or torso. Meh.
6. Aliens: Colonial Marines (2013)
Much ink has been spilled about the folly of SEGA's Aliens: Colonial Marines and how its numerous technical issues and less-than-stellar visual presentation disappointed gamers around the world. Add to the list of grievances the treatment of the iconic M240 Incinerator Unit, which can only be used at predetermined points during the campaign and sprays the equivalent of a lighter and hairspray bottle combo. While the screams of your burning victims are appropriately horrific, the undercooked visual and limited use mechanic ensure this one goes down with the Nostromo.
5. Aliens: Infestation (2011)
Originally conceived as tie-in to Aliens: Colonial Marines for the Nintendo DS, Aliens: Infestation wisely pulled a Fleetwood Mac and went its own way, evolving into a side-scrolling Metroidvania with stellar character designs by comic book artist Chris Bachalo. And, while the game did a lot of things right, it's treatment of the flamethrower is not one of them. Dissapointingly underpowered, the flamethrower is really only good for clearing out alien debris, with a woeful TTK against xenomorphs. Props for its tight sound though.
4. Alien Trilogy (1996)
Released on the original Playstation, Sega Saturn and Windows (via DOS!), Alien Trilogy was a strong entry in the videogame franchise, recreating the hostile atmosphere of LV426 with impressive (at the time) graphics and immersive sound design. Remembered for being incredibly challenging, in part due to its weak weapons and limited ammo, Alien Trilogy rose above its DOOM clone origins to provide the player with a sense of lonliness and hopelessness that modern games still struggle to achieve. But how was the flamethrower, you ask? Actually - pretty good! It put out a satisfying stream of pixelated orange stuff, made a great sound, and made enemies squeal as they burned. So, all in all, solid.
3. Aliens (1990)
From the blonde Ellen Ripley to the hot pink aliens and bomb-throwing humanoid mutants, to say this arcade-only side-scroller from the age of quarter-sucking game design took creative liberties with the franchise might be a bit of an understatement. But while it may have been lacking in verisimilitude, its pure unadulterated batshit insanity remains entertaining in a “what did I just see?” kind of way. There’s a flying alien that kidnaps Newt, and some of the aliens have guns, solidifying it as the Resident Evil 5 of Aliens games.
So how does the flamethrower fare? Surprisingly well! In 1990’s Aliens, the flamethrower is available as a power-up, and despite the game’s technical limitations, it does the weapon justice. The flames leap from the gun in a bright burst of orange with a satisfying whoosh, and the enemies seem to momentarily paralyze in agonizing pain as they’re engulfed in flame. Good stuff.
2. Aliens: Fireteam Elite (2021)
Recently released Aliens: Fireteam Elite is one of those welcome surprises in life - a decent Aliens game. Like World War Z, this co-op shooter marries the successful core gameplay loop of games like Left 4 Dead with RPG elements like character classes and upgradable weapons, making for a pretty compelling package.
So here’s the thing about the flamethrower in Aliens: Fireteam Elite - while it is a blast to use, spraying an insane amount of great-looking fire and dealing a satisfying amount of damage to your enemies, it has quickly become the bane of every other member of the fireteam’s existence. The amount of flame coverage is so over-the-top as to make it literally impossible for anyone nearby to see what's happening - something that may be important considering the hordes of xenomorphs, angry synths and pod people that are constantly barraging the players from every angle.
1. Alien: Isolation (2014)
Currently the flag-bearer for best Aliens game in recent memory, Alien: Isolation succeeds by turning up the tension and lowering the firepower, ensuring the player is always aware of their vulnerability. While there are weapons in the game, their primary effectiveness is against the humanoid and synth enemies in the game, while being used mainly as a stalling tactic against the xenomorph.
This goes for the flamethrower, which may sound like a disappointment, but in context it’s actually insanely powerful. You see, up until the point where the player acquires the flamethrower, they really have nothing in their arsenal that can deter the alien, save the occasional molotov cocktail. And though it’s non-lethal, the fact that it changes the power dynamic is enough to make it incredibly satisfying to use.