I'm quite enjoying the first Alien Shooter. The first time I used the magma gun was one of those moments of pure unbridled giddy joy unique to this medium.

The freeze ray, though, doesn't seem so useful.

It takes too many shots to freeze any enemy who presents a significant threat.

Is this weapon context specific? In what circumstances could it possibly be of use?

It does work very well against the flying gargoyle / bat things. With some weapons it can be tough to aim at the right spot to hit those flyers, but the freeze ray allows for a 'spray and pray' approach. It might also work well against those fast crab thingies. Against others the result appears mixed.

A bit disappointed that the grenade launcher doesn't allow for bouncing around obstacles and off walls.