When it comes to first person shooters, if it isn't Nazis you're mowing down left and right with your automatic, it's those pesky aliens from another planet. You know, it'd be nice if just once aliens would come down to Earth and party or chill, not try and take the world over. But then again, where would the fun in that be? BlackSite: Area 51 is the newest alien shooter heading your way, and if the very brief preview is any indicator, it could just be the thing those alien hating shooters are looking for.

The control scheme is pretty much typical of a first person shooter, with your right trigger being used to fire your weapons, though leaning towards the Call of Duty scheme when it comes to the left trigger, as the left trigger zooms your weapon in instead of throwing grenades. Instead, grenades are controlled with the left bumper. As for the right bumper, you'll use it to issue commands to your two-man squad helping you out in the field, as all you need to do is point, click the bumper, and your guys will go running there, to either simply get out of the way or duck behind cover. The right bumper commands are also context sensitive, so if you put at cover, they'll take cover, and if you click on a door they'll go to it and interact with it, such as breaking it down for you so you can advance. Other abilities include reloading, being able to jump, and giving the old melee attack upside the head when the action gets a little too close for comfort.

In the all too brief encounter, you stumble upon a gas station, which is suddenly besieged by aliens, advancing in taller striders and more human-esque looking soldiers. The action is quick and intense, as aliens seem to be coming from everywhere, meanwhile you're trying to duck behind cover, send your team to take cover too, fighting during an advance, and then retreating to safety and cover so you can rest, get your wits about you, and heal up for another onslaught. The most beautiful thing about the action is how destructible the environment is, because cement pillars take damage and fall away as bullets pop them full of holes, and since gas is flammable, of course hitting the tanks and dispensers is going to cause some big explosions, which are all extremely visceral and engaging.

The enemies are quite intelligent from the preview, because though the bigger guys like to get in your face since they can take so much damage, the more human soldiers tended to like to stay back and use cover. Now, not saying they are geniuses when it comes to battle, but they aren't complete morons either. Overall, with their sheer amount of numbers at points and the limited ammo, going up against them can be quite challenging at times. Even the giant head walkers like to scurry at you and overcome you, leading to the death of your squad quickly. And those big strider guys, well they like to play dead, detach their bodies, then crawl toward you and explode – always tricky.

The game is also very cinematic, because minus the opening cutscene to get you into the level, everything else takes place during actual gameplay, such as busting down a door and seeing outside that someone in a car is being attacked – soon you are fighting that same creature. Other moments come from walking around, seeing helicopters flying around, and the next thing you know a shockwave is rippling around you, and some hulking behemoth has just emerged. The preview also looked and sounded excellent, from the gritty, blackness of an attacked town come nightfall, to the rain falling all around you and even pattering on your gun. Gunfire, explosions, and human screams all resounded well throughout the environments of the preview, and really pulled you in.

With the flood of first person shooters on the market, some slip through the cracks and don't get the attention they deserve, but then again, some slip through the cracks and didn't even deserve any in the first place. I must admit, BlackSite: Area 51 wasn't on my radar after hearing the title and learning it was a sequel to the past Area 51 game. But after playing it some and seeing it in action, things have changed. Hopefully the final game will be as good as the preview, and deliver on some pure, unadulterated alien killing.