Monsters vs. Aliens

How to Play

The game with NoDVD has been tested on Windows 7 64-bit and Windows 10, it works fine. You may experience some small troubles when you play the game on modern systems, check our Guide and Notes for details

Install & play guide:

• Mount the disc image. You will need the utility for mounting disc image files, like WinCDEmu, UltraISO, Alcohol 52%/Alcohol 120% or Daemon Tools Lite
• Install the game (if autorun doesn't work - simply launch the installation from Setup.exe inside the disc)
• Also it is recommended to install DirectX 9 from the disc (if you're using Windows 10 - enable DirectPlay, read this or this guide how to do it)
• After you installed the game - install NoDVD, simply copy Game.exe from the archive and put it into game directory, agree to replace original file
• Open the directory with installed game and find Game.exe. Right click on Game.exe - Properties - Compatibility - Set "Run this app in compatibility mode with Windows XP" and "Run as administrator"
• Launch the game and play. If the game doesn't work in compatibility mode with Windows XP - try to launch it in compatibility mode with other version of Windows (Windows 95, 98, Win2000, etc.)

What to do if you have troubles with savegame files:

There's a common bug when the game cannot read savegame files, especially on second and next launches, and you may see error about corrupted or invalid savegame. There's currently no solutions for that, but here's some possible way how to bypass it and not lose your savegames:

1. First make sure that you have installed Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable, and NET Framework (especially NET Framework 3.5). For some users it resolved the problem
2. Check that the savegame folder is not "Read-only". Savegame folder is located in Documents/Activision/Monsters vs. Aliens (TM) directory, open the folder properties and check if it is not "Read-only"
3. If it doesn't work, try this: next time you play the game and finish playing, return to main menu of the game but don't exit the game. Minimize the game window by pressing Windows button or Alt+Tab (or open Task Manager with Ctrl+Alt+Del) and go to Documents/Activision/Monsters vs. Aliens (TM) directory, create back-up of savegame files in some other folder. Next time you play the game - replace files in folder with back-up file, do that every time you play the game to not lose your savegame
4. In addition to this, you can try to "kill" COM Surrogate processes in Task Manager before launch of the game, some users said it helped them. But do that on your own risk

Notes:

• If the installation doesn't start - try to launch Setup.exe in compatibility mode with old version of Windows (98, 2000 or XP)
• NoDVD is required for the launch because the game is using SecuROM DRM protection, which doesn't work correctly on modern systems. That NoDVD "breaks" DRM protection and allows the game to work on modern systems
• It is recommended to install all versions of Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable, and NET Framework for the correct work of the game for the correct work of the game
• Also it is recommended to install RAD Video Tools and K-Lite Codec Pack for the correct work of the game
• The game works on DirectX 9, so if you're using Windows 8, 8.1, 10 or 11 - you need to enable DirectPlay: Go to Control Panel, and select 'Programs'. Select 'Turn Windows features on and off', click on 'Legacy Components' and check the box 'DirectPlay'. Select OK, once the installation is done, restart your computer
• The game supports high and widescreen resolutions up to 4k, also you can play in higher resolutions or in ultra-widescreen by editing of Windows Registry. If you play on 4k resolution or higher - antialiasing will be automatically disabled, it is specific of game's engine. In that case enable antialising in your graphics card's panel
• If you have MSI laptop models with 12th generation Intel processor and has troubles with launch of the game - use MSI DRM Fix Tool
• US version of the game is multilingual, you can select the language during installation or change it in game Options
• If you have troubles with Russian version of the game - check this thread
• Don't forget to check PCGamingWiki if you have troubles