Aliens: Colonial Marines: Is it really game over man?

     Aliens: Colonial Marines has been in development for a little over six years and in the gaming world that is usually a bad sign. The game started development late in 2006 and since then has been delayed, outsourced, and gone through changes. After years of waiting the game is finally here. So has it been worth the wait, or should you continue waiting for that perfect Aliens game?

     First off let me talk a little bit about the story of Aliens: Colonial Marines. The game takes place after the events of the awesome film Aliens. You play as Corporal Winters and are tasked with traveling to the U.S.S Sulaco to find out what happened to Ripley and the other marines who went to LV-426. Of course when you arrive there you quickly discover things went to hell and meet up with the lovely Xenomorphs. On top of that you'll have the Weyland-Yutani Corporation to deal with as well. This is one complaint I have. We all know that the Weyland-Yutani Corporation are dicks and it's about fighting against "the man." However, you end up fighting against humans for at least half of the game! Call me crazy, but I want to fight against Xenomorphs in an Aliens game. The campaign story isn't anything amazing but it's okay.

     Now I'm sure you've read all of the negative reviews and hateful comments as far as the game's graphics go. The game is using an older graphics engine from early development and it shows. So yes, the graphics are dated looking. The textures just look unpolished and dull and it's inexcusable in this stage of the consoles or PC's life cycle. From a distance they don't look too bad but as you get closer to environmental objects it becomes very noticeable. The weapons themselves look a little more detailed but not by much. It would be great if developers released a HD texture pack for download. At times the lighting effects look good and work well with creating the right atmosphere for the game. That leads me to my next point.

     To me, the developers nailed the sound and overall atmosphere of the game. The music scores fit right in with the Aliens movie. At times the music will be soft and eerie. Then there will be no music and only ambient sounds. Only then to break into a suspenseful score that gets you going. The iconic sounds from the awesome pulse rifle and motion tracker are spot on. I actually got a grin on my face the first time I fired the pulse rifle and heard the sound. That never gets old! Then hearing the motion tracker blips as enemies close in on you gets your heart thumping. The level designs are great too. Environments are dark with hazard lights illuminating objects. Alien goo drips from the ceiling, steam escapes from vents, and you constantly have that tense, edgy feeling you'd expect from an Aliens game.

     If you're a fan of Aliens there's a lot of Easter eggs to be found. You can tell the developers really wanted to recreate the set pieces of the Sulaco and Hadley's Hope. You can find the lower half of Bishop's body in the hanger, and the lockers of Hudson, Hicks, Vasquez, etc. I loved entering in the med lab where Newt and Ripley were attacked by the face huggers and finding the turned over bed with the orange night light. Even the face hugger that Hudson pinned against the wall with the table is there. Any fan of Aliens should get some enjoyment revisiting these places. Practically all of the achievements or trophies to unlock are phrases from the Aliens movie too. You can even find legendary weapons hidden in levels like Hudson's pulse rifle, Hicks' shotgun, Vasquez's smart gun, etc.

     The campaign also features four player drop in/out co-op which works well and really makes the campaign better for two reasons. One, it's just a blast killing Xenomorphs with your friends. Second, your teammate AI is pretty dumb. There were rare times they would shoot and actually kill an enemy, but most times they would mindlessly shoot and not kill anything. Also, they would be behind me and then suddenly teleport in front of me. The enemy AI is the same way. Sometimes the human enemies take cover or the Xenomorphs climb walls and try to flank you. Then other times they run right into your fire or just stand there and do nothing. I recommend playing on hardened difficulty for solo and ultimate badass difficulty for co-op play.

     After the campaign there are four multiplayer modes that have you playing as either the marines or Xenomorphs. There's team deathmatch, extermination (destroy or defend eggs), survival, and escape. The escape mode is probably the best. A lot of people are comparing it to Left 4 Dead and that makes sense. If you play as the marines you have to move to extraction points and fend off the Xenomorphs who are trying to stop you. It really gives you that sense of tension and scare. You'll also be able to level up your marine seamlessly in both the campaign and multiplayer to unlock weapons, attachments, gear, and perks. You can also level up and unlock new attacks and customizations for the Xenomorph classes too. It does take a little bit to get use to controlling the Xenomorph though. There's a season pass available for four pieces of dlc that will include campaign and multiplayer add-ons. The first dlc is being released in March and is "Bug Hunt", which is basically horde mode. The multiplayer works surprisingly well in this game and can be fun.

     There's been a lot of hate for this game since its release and it's understandable. The final product is not what was shown in previous gameplay demos and that's a shame. It's a case of too much delay, outsourcing, and lack of central focus. There are gamers enjoying the game and I am one of them. Yes the game has flaws and I'm not trying to ignore them. The graphics are dated, there's technical glitches, and the AI is pretty bad. However, the sound design and overall atmosphere of the game feels like an Aliens game. Ultimately what it comes down to is whether or not you had fun playing a game and I can say without a doubt that I did. However, it's hard not to think about what this game could have and should have been.

Final Verdict: 6.5/10

Written by: Alter Ego 83