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Alien: Isolation Confirmed, Embraces The Survival/Horror Bent

Ben-Dutka 13 Comments

We've heard about it via rumors often enough; might as well make it official.

For months, we've been hearing about a new Alien game in development at Creative Assembly. Now, Sega has confirmed the project's existence: Alien: Isolation is in the works for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC, and it's scheduled to release later this year.

The new effort focuses on Ellen Ripley's daughter, Amanda, who is now in her mid-twenties and works for Weyland-Yutani. She arrives on remote station Sevastopol, where she tries to recover the flight recorder of the Nostromo. Of course, lo and behold, there's a xenomorph hiding on the Sevastopol, and that's where the action comes into play. However, this time around, rather than a relatively mindless shooter, it seems we'll be getting a true-blue survival/horror game. Which is perfect for Alien , wouldn't you say?

It's pretty encouraging to check out GameSpot's hands-on preview ; this could be exactly what fans of the iconic movie franchise have been waiting for. No matter how it turns out, it has to be better than last year's epic fail that was Aliens: Colonial Marines .

Related Game(s): Alien: Isolation

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Trademark For Alien: Isolation Spotted

Ben-Dutka 4 Comments

They just keep trying.

Fans of the legendary sci-fi "Alien" franchise have been disappointed with how game developers have handled interactive adaptations. The last effort, Aliens: Colonial Marines , was just a mess.

But according to Siliconera , a new title called "Alien: Isolation" may be in development. A new trademark application from Twentieth Century Fox was filed just last week, and it covers "Computer game and video game software; interactive video game programs; video game discs," etc. There's a chance that this is the name of Creative Assembly's new next-gen "Aliens" project, which was announced back in May 2011.

Sega acquired the franchise license in 2006 and we're hoping that one of these days, we get a great game. It is possible, right?

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Actor Michael Biehn: Aliens: Colonial Marines Felt “Passionless”

Ben-Dutka 5 Comments

One of the reasons we were initially psyched for Aliens: Colonial Marines is because the developers had secured some solid voice acting talent.

For instance, there was accomplished acting veteran Michael Biehn, who played Corporal Hicks in the 1986 film "Aliens." But, like so many other people who worked on Colonial Marines , Biehn called the project "passionless."

In speaking to Game Informer , Biehn had this to say:

"It seemed kind of passionless. I think in movies, television, and the gaming world, you get some people that are really, really passionate, and some people that are just going through the paces.

They think that because they have a brand name they're going to get a hit game or hit movie out of it. That certainly was the situation on [Aliens: Colonial Marines]."

Yeah, the game turned out like crap but if you want to hear Biehn in a cool performance, play Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon . Not only is the game oodles of fun , but Rex "Power" Colt (Biehn's character) is a total bad-ass, and he does an awesome job.

Colonial Marines , on the other hand, was doomed.

Related Game(s): Aliens: Colonial Marines

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Source: Sega Questioned Gearbox’s Commitment To Aliens

Ben-Dutka 16 Comments

Aliens: Colonial Marines is a mess. The fact that it was in development for six years makes it even more absurd.

And as it turns out, there was some dissension in the ranks; specifically, between publisher and developer. According to what one industry source told GameSpot , Sega was concerned that Gearbox was focusing too heavily on their vaunted Borderlands series.

And as a result, that focus meant time taken away from the Aliens game, which was delayed multiple times. The anonymous source stated as follows:

"Sega was very concerned that the bulk of Gearbox's resources/manpower was being spent on Borderlands and that they weren't investing the effort in Colonial Marines that they should have been. …hence it being repeatedly delayed.

Obviously, judging from the end result, that issue was never resolved."

Colonial Marines has been widely panned by critics; it scored a 4.5 at GameSpot, earned a 3 at Eurogamer, a 5 at IGN, and a 3.7 here. On the flip side, last year's Borderlands 2 was one of the best games of the generation. But don't forget that Gearbox evidently didn't create the majority of the campaign; as development was an apparent "train-wreck," it was handed off to TimeGate Studios .

It certainly isn't a warm, fuzzy story. Just disappointing as hell.

Related Game(s): Aliens: Colonial Marines

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Gearbox: Colonial Marines To Capture The Essence Of The Films

Ben-Dutka 7 Comments

If you're thinking about passing on the upcoming Aliens game, you might want to think twice.

Although the footage we've seen hasn't exactly screamed " Uncharted quality" in terms of graphics, we're most interested in the gameplay and atmosphere, which will clearly be the driving forces behind Aliens: Colonial Marines .

The game will launch on February 12 for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC and Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford told VentureBeat that they really wanted to capture the "gnarly bad-assery" of the colonial marines. In short, they wish to "invoke the legacy" of the films in question:

"To the extent that we’re capturing what was in the movies, it’s really fantasy fulfillment. Every time we saw the colonial marines and thought about how awesome they are, how badass they are, how cool their equipment is, and how gnarly that situation was — and even the specific environments like the Sulaco, and Hadley’s Hope, and the derelict ship from Alien — those were fantasies we wanted to fulfill. Sometimes it’s the script and narrative. Sometimes it’s experiential."

The best part is that in order to fulfill these claims, Aliens: Colonial Marines will have to feature some diverse elements; in this case, both action and horror elements. Heck, there's even a little stealth involved. And that would make sense, considering what the viewer felt when watching the movies. Pitchford explained that sensation as they recreated it in the game:

"The first time I faced off against one of the new species that’s introduced, I felt scared. It’s less about brute force and rushing at you and dying. It’s more a stealthy hunter. And when you first encounter this thing, you’re vulnerable. I did not know where it was, and I could hear my motion tracker pinging. And that sound the motion tracker makes? It’s like, ‘Oh shit!’ I feel I’m one of the guys in the movie."

This is one game that could surprise a lot of people. Me, I'm really hoping for a pretty fantastic Aliens game; we kinda deserve one at this point.

Related Game(s): Aliens: Colonial Marines

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