Aliens is one of the most ripped-off franchises in videogame history, but Rebellion's admirable crossovers aside, the industry has yet to produce a game that does the films justice. Aliens: Colonial Marines could be that game, a gruesomely authentic FPS homage that's been knocking around Gearbox Software's hivemind since 2008.
In the first of our "12 for 2012" previews - comprehensive looks at a few of next year's most promising games - we go through the new shooter in digestible Q&A format: plot, gameplay, release date, multiplayer, technology, the works. Go fetch your motion trackers. Another beautiful day in the Corps is about to dawn...
Quite. The inspiration here is James Cameron's panicky action movie, rather than the decidedly creepier Ridley Scott original. Think adrenal overkill rather than spine-tingling build-up, blasts in the cargo hold rather than bumps in the night.
Is Ellen Ripley Colonial Marines' lead character?
Afraid not, as the plot takes place after the events of Aliens 3. Instead you'll play a Colonial Marine. Surprising, right? His name is Winters.
Tell us about the Alien: Colonial Marines story.
Happy to. Here's the premise in five bite-sized morsels. (1) Ripley, Newt and Bishop abandon the cruiser USS Sulaco at the beginning of Aliens 3 (2) corporate overlords Weyland-Yutani discover the hulk after the film's finale, and (3) send it back to planet LV-426 in hopes of harvesting a few Aliens for the usual bio-weapon research purposes. Predictably (4) everything goes to hell in a hand-basket and (5) you and your Colonial Marines squad are flown in to clean up the mess. Lucky you. Battlestar Galactica writers Bradley Thompson and David Weddle are doing the script.
So which fascinating flavour of Marine are we? The stubble-headed kind who swears a lot, or the completely bald kind who swears a lot?
Don't worry - you may be a rowdy, gung ho man-child with more bullets than free-standing follicles, but you'll still have a personality. Or so Gearbox assures us. Each member of your squad - Cruz, O'Neal, Bella, Reid and Monday are a few of the names in the teaser trailer - has a distinct look and backstory. One carries a pack of cards wedged into the brim of his helmet; another sports a prosthetic leg. There will be "redshirts" - characters destined to die - but nobody outright looks like they're expendable.
I know, we were saddened by that too, but there are some compelling reasons. One is that the game needs to be accessible - yeah, really, it does - or the millions who dig Aliens but don't understand flanking tactics will pass on by with looks of cryo-frozen incomprehension. Another is that it's not actually practical to issue orders while (deep breath) THEY'RE COMING OUT OF THE GODDAMN WALLS. Xenomorphs aren't Nazis - they're fast, they're quiet, they like dark corners and they're not particularly bothered about cover. "Nuke from orbit" is about as scientific as you can get. Randy Pitchford sums it up nicely: "there's no manoeuvring on an alien."
Is Colonial Marines more of a traditional first-person shooter, then?
Yes, but it's not a generic corridor crawl or spawn-fest. The E3 trailer showed off some of the high intensity stuff, but you'll also get survival horror bits, and neat scripted encounters like facehuggers in jars that are somewhat, shall we say, "eager to make your acquaintance". Remember Gorman's banks of helmet cam monitors from the Marine APC? They'll show up in some capacity, letting you experience a few first-person deaths at a staticky remove.
16 comments so far...
Mr Brutal XD on 8 Dec '11 said:
I'd love to see a horde mode in this. Horde mode is made for this type of game.
golliwoza on 8 Dec '11 said:
There was a horde style mode in AVP but not a very good one, tiny maps only able to stay in one spot really.
Plamsa wing on 8 Dec '11 said:
No mention of Timegate studios also working on the game?
bamozzy on 9 Dec '11 said:
I loved the look of this game when they did an 11min demo of the first level but was very disappointed by the 'alien' blood. in the movie it was very acidic but the demo it was more like the 'predators' - fluorescent green. In one scene the main character gets jumped on by an alien and shotgun blasts it whilst it was on top of him spraying him in bright green blood which just disappeared and caused no damage. The scenery looked authentic as did the aliens but the blood was all wrong - a little thing like this will break the game unless they fix it. I understand the need for inventing 'new' alien creatures but they also need to get the basics right first.
Assuming this is addressed though - It certainly could be one to look out for.
I also think a Horde/survival mode would be an excellent addition too
Thos. on 9 Dec '11 said:
That's absolutely incredible. Ask anyone "What are the characteristics of the aliens in the Alien films?", and 9 times out of 10 the first thing they will say is "They've got acid for blood".
Honestly, it's like a game about {Iconic Movie Character}, without {Primary Characteristic}*
*Insert simile here.
Evil Monkey on 9 Dec '11 said:
So I understand there is no squad play, but is there going to be co-op?
golliwoza on 9 Dec '11 said:
Yes it says so in the article on the multiplayer point.
Evil Monkey on 9 Dec '11 said:
Ooops. Didnt realise there was more than one page to the article. Stupid me! But thanks!
golliwoza on 9 Dec '11 said:
Np I cant wait for the co-op and I missed it the first time I read the article.
HLLivingLoco on 9 Dec '11 said:
I think Gearbox will address any outstanding issues that remain. They're competent and have so far consulted every historical document and resource when it comes to recreating the feel and atmosphere of Aliens.
Decent_Jam on 9 Dec '11 said:
It's all sounding good to me, the fact that they name-checked Left 4 Dead suggests to me that the multi at least could well be a spiritual successor, which would be cool, particularly if there are some new ideas in there.
After watching the OXM report on this it definitely got me interested, the coop aspect is a big plus for me, it can really make a game for me as a gamer because I enjoy that sort of gaming.
Dowgle on 11 Dec '11 said:
Guy narrating the playthrough couldnt sound any less enthused haha.
In terms of the game, agree with the blood comments, that needs sorting. The shotgun didnt look weighty or realistic and the combat in general looked a bit off.
Work in progress though. I'll reserve full judgement until the final product. Im interested, I will say that.
SidTheSloth on 11 Dec '11 said:
Seeing as anything with aliens is awesome by default i should be looking forward to this, but the deep rooted scars from playing alien trilogy on the saturn (yes, i was the one of the ten who had one) prevent me mounting any sort of enthusiasm at all...
>reminisces< I can hear it...... It's over there.... But it's not...... Shit.... Where is it....? I can still hear it..... Is that it....? No...... But whaAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGHHHHH Holy f****** jesus, the sneaky little wall climbing shit!!! Oh, I've poohed.
>sigh< memories
Chameleon on 12 Dec '11 said:
"Everything you need to know..." they says. How about "Is it in 3D?" Will OXM ever tell me if a game has 3D?
Ninja Squirrel on 14 Dec '11 said:
I seem to have been waiting for this game for to long I really hope it doesn't turn out to be a pile of smeg like AvP.
Well fingers crossed for 2012
GHOSTY05 on 19 Jan '12 said:
To be honest AVP online was bloody good fun.
Alien trilogy on the ps1 was amazing at the time, hell i would be happy if they remade Alien trilogy for the 360 with HD textures! i loved that game, very scary and lots to do.
Lets hope they do a good job of this as we need a decent Alien game.