Aliens: Colonial Marines

Just like the other games that we have been discussing, Aliens: Colonial Marines is also centered around a movie, Alien in this case. Although this game is much newer as it was made in 2013 which the Alien movie was first released in 1979. So they certainly took their time in this case to develop the video game and make sure that it did a good job to represent the movie that so many people had loved in the years before. With that background information we will not discuss the content of the game more heavily. Enjoy!

What Kind of Game is This?

As with many alien video games, this game was a first person shooter. Since it was in 2013 the consoles that it came out on included PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC. What made this game special was that there was a wide variety of game modes that you could play from both cooperative and single player campaign modes as well as a multiplayer mode which allowed you to compete against other players online. It is also important to note that the game was developed over a six year period which means that no shortcuts were taken like the video game Coraline. On top of the general content for the game from the initial release, even extra downloadable content was created which includes a brand new campaign mode which is quite rare as well as a new cooperative mode and of course more multiplayer maps.

Was This Game a Big Hit?

The game sold quickly, over a million copies within the first few days and weeks following the release, but even after a long development period the initial reviews were not so great. A large number of the comments included that the graphics were much lower than initially expected and that the AI enemies were very bad and not smart at all. These problems were so large that two players sued the Gearbox Software company for false advertising of graphics. After that a modder got into the game and noticed a simple error in the code that when corrected made the AI much better for everyone involved. This simply goes to show you that no matter how long a game has been developed, there is still room for error and certainly nothing is perfect especially on the first try.

Final Verdict

After these corrections were made, the game became much more popular and fun for everyone involved. It still went on to be an excellent continuation of the series that it was trying so hard to recreate.

Pros:

• Good Job of Recreating the Movie
• Fun First Person Shooter
• More Time in Development

Cons:

• Needed to be Fixed by Fans
• Poor Reviews at First
• Lots of DLC to Fix the Original Game

Details On Gearbox's squad-based Aliens shooter are thin on the ground, but it's safe to declare an official comeback for the shiny black xenomorphs and their facehugging chums in 2009. Between Colonial Marines and the mysterious RPG Obsidian is developing, publisher Sega will have the monopoly on shitting you up next year.

Gearbox are going for the authentic Aliens experience with Aliens: Colonial Marines, trying their best to remain loyal to the sources and attain the immaculate standards of the movies. You'll be able to do your best Ripley impression as you progress through the game, plagued by both monsters and quick-time events, hammering the keyboard to peel off a facehugger as it constricts your head.

Colonial Marines' main feature will be its four-player co-op mode, designed with each player holding down a specific role. Your squad will likely take the form of the typical soldier/medic/heavy/tech combination, rounded off with that all-important Aliens-veneer. The single-player will use a similar squad mechanic, though it won't be the one employed in the Brothers In Arms games - the xenomorphs don't tend to hide behind hedges you see. Though they will flank you to bits.

In the single-player game a context-sensitive menu system lets you order the squad to deploy traps, sentry guns and all sorts, most likely while you hide at the back hoping they get eaten first instead of you. We're hoping the interface follows the SWAT4 model, which will make the game a delight to play. Although this may not work during an alien rush.

The prospect of playing with other human comrades has probably already raised the Left 4 Dead flag in your mind. Certainly, we can picture how an alien surge will be similar to a zombie one. There will be significant differences - the motion detector, facehuggers and so on - so don't go running away saying said Colonial Marines was an L4D clone. While we don't know enough about Colonial Marine's single-player game to get too excited, the prospect of co-op play in Aliens is stirring some embarrassing feelings of hot anticipation in the PC.