Gearbox has released the Aliens: Colonial Marines demo it showed off at E3, now with a voice-over by studio president Randy Pitchford. Randy's a bit of an Aliens fanboy, as you may recall from Jonty's whopping roundtable interview; fortunately he's able to keep his adulation sufficiently in check for the odd game dialogue snippet to filter through.
Co-op play, automatic turrets, QTE sequences and several classic weapon types are shown. The Alien Queen pays a visit, too. Let us know what you think of things - our only real concern, right now, is that the bog-standard aliens feel more like cannon fodder than indefatigable terrors.
Gearbox has promised a mix of old and new elements, with new Alien types joining old mainstays like the facehuggers, drones and Queens. The game is said to be "a very accessible experience" with no brainy subsystems like squad control or resource management.
The humans bring powerloaders, motion trackers and flame throwers to the fight (plus a shotgun or two for close encounters). We're hoping that's not all Pitchford and co have leeched from the Ridley Scott/James Cameron franchise - here are 10 movie moments we'd like to see in-game.
4 comments so far...
Rob606 on 3 Oct '11 said:
looking goooooooooooooood
Skipstream on 4 Oct '11 said:
Well, kind of looking good - looks like it needs a lot more polish yet but it's fairly early days.
I would see it's a "looking good" rather than a "must buy" right now if we are going OXM on it!
I think they need to do something with the alien blood - it kind of looked crappy animation for that. Basically - I just think it looks a little rough around the edges. The gameplay looked good though and I love the idea of 4 player co-op.
Looking forward to seeing how this one shapes up. The 2nd film was always my favourite.
bamozzy on 6 Oct '11 said:
Looking good!
What happened to the Alien 'ACID' blood? Doesn't appear to be doing any damage
Its also very 'green' looks almost like 'predator' blood!
It's the one aspect that is common in ALL alien games so far - they do not have (very) acidic blood. Even in AvP, the alien blood is a little acidic (deals damage briefly if you are close enough but short duration). In the film, a little drop eats through MANY floors before its toxicity runs out.
In the clip above, the blood appears to do nothing!!! Especially in the 'close encounter' part. If that had happened in any of the films, the character would be rapidly trying to remove his body armour before the acid eats through it and would certainly require medical assisstance!!! (a la 'Aliens' - when Ripley pulls the squad out of the nest with the tank, one gets 'sprayed' with blood due to being in close proximity when an alien is shot)
Its such a fundamental thing about the Aliens themselves - they have ACID for Blood. I am sure that it is impossible to represent the full destructive nature of the alien blood (eating through walls, body armour and pathways etc) but it should at least be part of the game. Its almost like making a predator game without the chameleon ability or shoulder cannon.
I would also like to see Aliens suddenly start moving on the walls after sitting motionless and camouflaged (like in Aliens when the squad enter the nest) Not detectable by motion sensors until they start moving around you.
I know its still a long way off from being completed but if they can recreate the 'Aliens' tension, fear and feel then this is certainly going to be one of the games to get in 2012.
TJ Doc on 6 Oct '11 said:
That's a pretty weak shotgun.
N33dz MOAR GOAR