Story: Rock Gunar is the last man standing, as an alien invasion has been unleashed and all of his fellow soldiers have been killed. While he is alive, he has an imposing task ahead of him, thousands upon thousands of aliens, all headed toward him with plans to turn him into a red smear. If he falls to the alien hordes, not only is Rock dead, but he likely dooms all of mankind in the process. The pressure is immense, but Rock is kind of a bad ass and a masterful gunner. So he spools up his turret with ammo and aims down at the incoming waves of aliens, laying waste to a never ending stream of vicious enemies. But no matter how many he mows down, more arrive, but Rock doesn’t mind, so let them come.

Entertainment Value: A lone hero, outnumbered but steadfast, holding off the invadin g forces until either he finally falls or reinforcements arrive just in the nick of time. The valiant last stand is the inspiration for Let Them Come, which throws you into a space station that is overrun with aliens. The task is a simple one, just kill all the aliens before they kill you, but of course, they will indeed kill you, likely numerous times over. But the good news is, you rise from the grave and with even greater power, spending the loot you’ve earned to make your next life more potent. The punishment for failure is minimal, you simply do the last wave over again and sometimes this is useful just to pile up points to use on upgrades. After a number of waves have been conquered, a big bad boss arrives and really tests your mettle. If you’re able to turn the boss into a pile of alien bile, then you drag your turret to the next checkpoint. The hordes can be overwhelming, especially when certain waves aim to check your progress and ensure you’ve put some points into your upgrades. But if a wave hits you like a hurricane, just regroup, put some points into upgrades or new tools, then try again. The game can be tough at times, but it is also fair and gives you all you need to succeed.

The upgrade system is what drives Let Them Come, letting you earn faster fire rate, more health, melee weapons such as chainsaws or shock batons, and explosives that include a dark matter grenade. I mean, why just shoot the aliens when you can burn them to death or suck them into a dark matter vortex, right? The upgrades are numerous, but you can equip only four passive perks, one melee weapon, one explosive, and one alternate type of ammo. You also need to restock your alternate ammo and explosives, so make sure to keep spare points to stay topped off. I found that mixing up the upgrades allowed for faster progress, as different elements work better on different enemies. Some are slow, so ice based ammo is a waste, while fast aliens are likely to zip right past explosives, so perhaps a long lasting grenade is more efficient. Throw on extra armor to protect yourself when enemies hurl projectiles, then swap out for faster fire rate when the waves flood you with enemies. The visuals here are old school and super fun, making you feel like you’re in the middle of an 80s/90s sci/fi action movie. Fans of Aliens and Starship Troopers will feel right at home and to me, this approach added a lot of fun to the experience. Let Them Come can be repetitive, but it is a quick, brisk game that offers a lot of fun, so it is well recommended.