As a very young child I have grown up watching the Alien movies, so being an avid fan of the alien series I have been expecting great things from the gaming industry. There are some titles worthy of the alien franchise such as Alien Trilogy and Alien Resurrection for the Sony PlayStation; unfortunately these classic 3D titles are the closest things to the movies you will get. There are a few spin-offs that looked quite promising, but ultimately failed to meet standards that the hardcore alien fans expected.
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| Alien Trilogy Alien Resurrection |
This means you can enjoy non pixelated textures up close, unlike Colonial Marines where you don’t even have to get close to tell the textures were never really upgraded since the original PlayStation 2 version. This showed us that they were lazy or ran out of time, which considering they had almost 10 years to make the game leads me to believe it was the former.
The controls are much more personal than other Alien games, in the sense that they work well with the first person perspective, making you feel as if you are actually there. With the great use of depth perception, peering round corners or looking at your motion tracker enforces a unique claustrophobic atmosphere. Luckily instead of having to put away your motion tracker, you can creep around and focus in on the foreground ahead of you, allowing you to see if the alien is visible ahead giving you a more immersive experience.
For the first time in an Alien game, the Aliens AI isn't scripted which means it will never act the same way or follow predictable set paths which leads to unpredictable behaviour. The Alien itself will act differently every game, which leads to the Alien getting smarter over time with it backtracking and double checking hiding spots, or patrolling the same corridor that you need to pass through to complete that section of the level. You can distract the attention of the alien by making some noise to draw away the creature so you may pass. This is a huge risk however as it can backfire if used multiple times; the Alien will adapt to the diversion and not leave the area.
One thing that may be an issue to those who wish to replay certain areas of the game, is that at certain checkpoints the Alien will spawn in predetermined areas, which may allow players to predict the AI easily. This unfortunately creates a feeling of “nothing new here”, which coupled with the slow paced gameplay (where you have to creep around a lot and wait for safe passage) can get boring. This is especially true if you have died a few times, as it can often lead to frustration over a short period of time.
The games difficulty depends on the path of the alien, and whether it takes an intelligent approach to your gaming style. If you use the same tactics to get through the game, are not used to taking risks, making tactical decisions, or are taking too much of a docile approach, then the game can punish you in the most brutal ways. All it takes is one tiny slip up to be savaged by the Alien, so it seems patience and careful planning in this game pays off quite well.
It seems a large advantage is gained from a decent sound system, such as surround sound speakers and headphones, as the game was made with these gadgets in mind. It really pays to hear the footsteps of death gaining on you, so much so that you feel like it’s actually there in the room with you breathing down your neck.
I only got to play the demo at Rezzed 2014 in Birmingham last week, so its early days yet, but I can see a lot of potential for the game as long as they don’t change the direction they are going in. If they can stay true to the franchise they simply can’t fail.
I'd personally like to see more references to the original Alien movie, maybe the alien chasing you through the vents with it catching up to you, just like the classic scene where Dallas (Tom Skerritt) is chased in the vent shaft and killed.
I feel that it would give the gameplay more substance if the alien took more advantage of its environment to catch you unaware, like in the scene in the directors cut where the alien is hanging above Brett (Harry Dean Stanton) swaying in the chains, delivering silent death from the shadows.
To conclude I hope they don’t decide to take the path of Colonial Marines and screw things up as it's looking very promising, so it would be a shame if it turns out to be a repetitive level grinding experience like most Alien games.
Variance is the key to success in this franchise, which is why I'm so excited that this game breaks from the mould of previous attempts.
The current PC build of the game was disappointing, with the demo at Rezzed using Xbox 360 controllers because the developers hadn't yet finished the implementation of key bindings. Other issues that the PC demo suffered from were a lack of graphical options (so few that the exhibitors had to press Alt+Enter to full screen the game) and a multitude of crashes. From what I played it seems the PC version will be a straight port of the console versions, which with Sega's track record probably won't be a good thing.
The game will be available on the Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS3, PS4 and PC with the PS4, Xbox One and PC being the most visually pleasing (naturally).
Hopefully developers Creative Assembly will show us what Gearbox did wrong, so don’t cry about it because in space no one can hear you scream.
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| Its the difference between eye cataracts and eye surgery!! |
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| Mind your head! |
One thing that may be an issue to those who wish to replay certain areas of the game, is that at certain checkpoints the Alien will spawn in predetermined areas, which may allow players to predict the AI easily. This unfortunately creates a feeling of “nothing new here”, which coupled with the slow paced gameplay (where you have to creep around a lot and wait for safe passage) can get boring. This is especially true if you have died a few times, as it can often lead to frustration over a short period of time.
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| Awesome movie quality environments. |
It seems a large advantage is gained from a decent sound system, such as surround sound speakers and headphones, as the game was made with these gadgets in mind. It really pays to hear the footsteps of death gaining on you, so much so that you feel like it’s actually there in the room with you breathing down your neck.
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| Guess who's behind you! |
I'd personally like to see more references to the original Alien movie, maybe the alien chasing you through the vents with it catching up to you, just like the classic scene where Dallas (Tom Skerritt) is chased in the vent shaft and killed.
I feel that it would give the gameplay more substance if the alien took more advantage of its environment to catch you unaware, like in the scene in the directors cut where the alien is hanging above Brett (Harry Dean Stanton) swaying in the chains, delivering silent death from the shadows.
 |
| Gimme a hug!! |
Variance is the key to success in this franchise, which is why I'm so excited that this game breaks from the mould of previous attempts.
The current PC build of the game was disappointing, with the demo at Rezzed using Xbox 360 controllers because the developers hadn't yet finished the implementation of key bindings. Other issues that the PC demo suffered from were a lack of graphical options (so few that the exhibitors had to press Alt+Enter to full screen the game) and a multitude of crashes. From what I played it seems the PC version will be a straight port of the console versions, which with Sega's track record probably won't be a good thing.
The game will be available on the Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS3, PS4 and PC with the PS4, Xbox One and PC being the most visually pleasing (naturally).
Hopefully developers Creative Assembly will show us what Gearbox did wrong, so don’t cry about it because in space no one can hear you scream.
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