“Alien Syndrome” brings players aboard spacecraft in the faraway future to wipe out alien slugs that threaten peace and justice in the galaxy. But if the galaxy is this little fun, count me out for space travel.

As token game babe Aileen Harding, you are sent to vessels ravaged by the Alien Syndrome to ward it off with a variety of projectile weapons. The camera assumes a slightly angled bird's eye view, which is not friendly to a third-person shooter like “Alien Syndrome.” Harding's first weapon fires in an arc pattern that can prove tough to aim from an overhead point of view.

Escorting Harding on her interstellar journey is a robot storage facility that carries items from which Harding can synthesize weapons or armor. Special alien DNA stations also allow the player to augment Harding's DNA and heighten attributes such as speed, strength and endurance.

This process takes the form of a mini-game in which players aim the Wiimote at the screen to eliminate attacking molecules and join the augmenting ones with Harding's double helix. But the confusion that builds when trying to learn the significance of each color molecule makes the whole mini-game rather unappealing.

The RPG elements of “Alien Syndrome” represent an admirable attempt to elevate the game play beyond that of a basic shooter. But they may fail to save the game from the boredom of blasting aliens.

The main game consists of pointing the Wiimote at aliens or objects to destroy, selecting a weapon from Harding's eventual arsenal of 80, and firing away. This point-and-shoot interface is fun initially, but the action grows boring quickly because the detached camera really fails to capture any excitement. The camera can be rotated with the Nunchuk, but it requires an awkward turn of the wrist to do so.

The graphics in “Alien Syndrome” are also quite poor. Cut scenes consist of static drawings and voiceover narration, and the in-game environments are sparsely detailed. Harding looks flat and plain, and her alien nemeses are not the least bit intimidating due to their lack of detail. Like the game itself, they are as humdrum as a trip to the moon.

Staff writer David Wilcox reviews video games for The Citizen. He can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 245 or david.wilcox@lee.net

“Alien Syndrome”

Score: D

Parental rating: Teen for fantasy violence and mild suggestive themes

Publisher: Sega

Platform: Wii, PSP

Retail price: $49.99

Features: 1 player

Life span: Approximately 20 hours to complete

The final boss: With poor cameras, game play and graphics, “Alien Syndrome” plays out like a close encounter of the lame kind