It’s easy to forget just how many Aliens games have been made over the years. You’d be forgiven for wondering whether there are actually enough to warrant an entire book, but at 176 pages, Mike Diver’s Aliens: The Video Games covers just about everything, from an unlicensed 1981 Commodore PET title right up to the anticipated release of Alien: Isolation 2. Yes, Fireteam Elite 2 is missing, but it was announced long after the book’s completion. You can’t have everything.

Much like Perfect Organism from Andy Kelly (who provides the foreword for this one), Diver’s authority and high regard for the franchise is clear. His knowledge of the games shines on every page, and he demonstrates a keen eye for research, with relevant quotes from developers to add welcome texture.

Publisher Pen and Sword Books leans on its tried-and-tested formula seen in other works like The History of Pokemon Games and The Most Relaxing Video Games, so expect lots of images throughout and clean breaks between each game.

Rather than present all of the games in release order, Diver wisely splits the book into chapters, with the first three focusing on games based on Alien, Aliens, and Alien 3 respectively. The fourth looks at more miscellaneous movie tie-ins, and the fifth dives into completely original games. Further chapters examine AvP and Predator titles, Xenomorph appearances in different franchises, and series inspired by Alien, like Metroid, Halo, and Contra.

This structure — for me, at least — made for a more engaging read, with a nice mix of retro and modern games throughout. I suspect it will appeal to those perhaps less familiar with the franchise at large, too. So if you want to see which games were based specifically on Alien 3, you know where to go.

Speaking of which, 1992’s Alien 3 gets a good deal of attention, and for good reason. Diver looks into how the developers at the time went about adapting a film that essentially went back to basics after James Cameron’s explosive sequel, with a sole Xenomorph and no guns (spoiler alert: they just ignored much of the movie altogether).

There’s also some fascinating commentary around the differences between the Mega Drive and SNES variants of the game, along with a look at what might be the unsung hero of the adaptations: the arcade classic Alien 3: The Gun.

Naturally, some of the more popular titles are given more attention than others. Creative Assembly’s Alien: Isolation gets several pages’ worth of history and commentary, as does Aliens: Infestation for the DS (which is great for me, since it’s still up there as one of my favourites).