#1

So February 12th is when it hits and I cannot wait! Check out this link
for an awsome trailer!

#2

Hmmm, I read an article in the latest PC Gamer saying that while the majority of the game looks pretty good, they say the Aliens themselves are not. They state that they move like men in suits and aren't altogether that intelligent.

That's not good news! They do however say that the multiplayer is excellent - which is encouraging at least.

I really do hope they don't screw this one up - I have been looking forward to it for ages. What with the dissapointments of late (Diablo 3 and TOR) I was hoping for at least one of the games I was looking forward to, to actually be good!

Time will tell, as it is just over a month away.

EDIT: A preview from CVG states pretty much the same thing that the article I mention above said:

See, dread is something Aliens: Colonial Marines absolutely needs to succeed. It needs to scare you. It needs to make you feel like you're there. You need to feel like something is at stake and, crucially, you need to feel like those xenomorphs are going to rip you to shreds if you stuff it up. This isn't a technically impressive game - even on a top-end PC running the game at 60fps it didn't look cutting edge by any stretch of the imagination - but it doesn't need to be, so long as it makes your skin crawl.
Which it does, until your first encounter with a xenomorph. Spotting one for the first time after a slow, dreaded crawl through Hadley's is a chilling moment.

But then you shoot it and it dies. Just like that. It goes down like a sack of crap amid billowing green stuff. Then more of them come and you shoot them. Suddenly you feel like a god, which frankly, is a bit disappointing. Obviously you're a marine, but the sense of barely prevailing against insurmountable odds diminishes as soon as you're mowing xenomorphs down with an automatic rifle. It's just not scary anymore.

Aliens: Colonial Marines isn't a survivor horror game. It's a first person shooter with unprecedented license to play with and expand upon its beloved source material. It feels divided between horror and the usual military-shooter power fantasy, but whether it succeeds at either of those is unclear as yet. The best moments of Aliens thus far are the parts where you're doing nothing important.

Last edited 7 Jan 2013 at 13:36.

#3

Uh Oh - it's not looking promising

Clicky me for a review roundup of Aliens: Colonial Marines.

EDIT: I have looked and actually cannot find a good review... anywhere. I would not get too excited.

Last edited 12 Feb 2013 at 14:25.

#4

Great not promising then :(

#5

So Colonial Marines well I played it for about 2 hours last night and I can understand all the reviews I have seen although I think they are a little harsh.

I started playing it on normal mode not easy and the Aliens do die quite easily however saying that if they get on top of you they kill you quite easily and I think later on in the game it might get more challenging.

The game play so far is very linear with only one route to go but that may change as I have only completed the first two missions. The story takes up straight after the film Aliens on board the Saleko with heavy reference to the film I have already found Cpl Hick's pump action shotgun which is nice.

You upgrade and expand your arsenal as you progress in rank and can modify each weapon to a certain degree which is good and you can choose which weapons you want to carry different ones unlocking as you progress.

What lets it down is the graphics they are not brilliant and certainly not ground breaking and so far the game play is not scary which you would expect from an Aliens game. The point of the films is scary suspense boardering on horror and so far the game doesn't give you this.

It looks like and plays like a 2 – 3 year old game but other than that it is ok and I think the coop factor could make it quite fun for us. I haven't seen any of the bugs ( excuse the pun ) a lot of people are on about it seems to run smoothly for me anyway.

So don't expect too much and you might be pleasantly surprised I have certainly found it enjoyable so far but certainly have not been amazed. It looks like when it was delayed for a year or two they just carried on with old technology if it had come out 2 years ago it may have been amazing but not now.

My verdict is its ok but not amazing and not as good as it should have been after the long wait.

Last edited 13 Feb 2013 at 08:29.

#6

My thoughts pretty much echo what you said Maximus. While I also believe the reviews I have read are a bit harsh. I can't argue with some of the many flaws they point out. It is definitely not what we had all hoped and wished for.

I managed to complete the whole campaign in 7 hours on 'Hardened' difficulty level and was very let down at how short it was.

The game itself is okay but it is far from groundbreaking stuff and after all the time that this spent in development I hoped for so much more. So rather than waffle on I will simple list out my opinions:

Pros
- Authentic in every way. Environments and weapons are spot on.
- Sound and music are good.
- For the most part, it's an enjoyable and nostalgic ride through the Aliens universe.
- Erm, I am struggling here. It has aliens in it!

Cons
- Campaign is waaaay to short.
- Enemy AI for the Aliens is crap. They simply run up to you on the ground (and not very quick either).
- Motion Tracker / Welder are severely underdeveloped and utilised - so much more could have been done with them but they end up being useless gadgets.
- You rarely feel threatened or scared. This one is a biggie. It's Aliens after all.
- Graphics are noticeably dated. You can tell this is a game that got cancelled 5 years ago. It almost seems as if nothing was done to the engine since then and they just released it as-is.
- Not very innovative. So much more could have been done with the material. All this game is, is a simple run-and-gun shooter.
- Multiplayer is lacking. Escape mode (by far the most enjoyable mode) only has 2 maps! What the hell is this?
- Not destined for longevity.
- We wanted more! For a game that's been in development as long as it has, it makes you wonder what the hell they spent their time on!
- The recent AvP game is just as good (if not better) than this, so if you played that and didn't like it then you will most definitely not like this.

So to sum up, it's an okay game that will still appeal to Aliens fans (like myself), but even so, it's a big let-down and will not keep you engaged or entertained for long. Poor show Gearbox, poor show.

Last edited 14 Feb 2013 at 08:44.

#7

God bless the PC modding community! Only a week after release they have already started on making poor Colonial Marines a better game. It's not much at the moment, but who knows what might be in store for us...

Clicky me for a DX11 graphics mod.

#8

Bless them it needs all the help it can get!

#9

Read some interesting articles over the last week or so regarding what the hell happened to this game. One says that Gearbox used the money from ACM to develop Borderlands, another says that the Gearbox 'Chief' has started an investigation as to why it's so different to what we were told (and shown) it would be. This one also talks about all the crap that the Gearbox chief is getting over Twitter from rabid fans.

Another interesting article is this one that talks about the way that none of the story actually makes any sense when it is held against the movies.

There is loads of this kind of stuff to be found online. One of those articles above even shows a post on Reddit from a Gearbox developer, explaining how the dren hit the fan, as it were.

Last edited 27 Feb 2013 at 12:38.

#10

Hazaaah! Looks like they are listening and may even be *gasp* improving this game! Clicky me for the latest info on the new patch hitting Steam soon!

#11

OK cool lots of fixes lets hope it will be a bit better after the patch.

But fair play to them for trying to sort it out.

#12

The plot thickens....

Oh, and by the way, I tried A:CM out the other day and to be honest, the patch did nothing to improve the graphics or the AI as claimed... at least not enough to notice!

Last edited 25 Mar 2013 at 15:03.

#13

LOL, after all the hype they put into it, it seems the developers decided to cut their losses and forget this ever existed. The Wii U version has been cancelled.

#14

I am way ahead of them on that score; I forgot it existed after about ten minutes of starting to play it by engaging my patented 'Selective Alzheimer's'. This basically involves half a bottle of whisky and a hammer to the genitals.

#15

I wish I had done the same!

#16

Nothing a bit of explorative brain surgery can't fix Greg.

#17

Me too what a waste of money for 10 hours of below average gaming

#18

And to think they are actually charging people money for DLCs! What a frelling joke!

#19

I am going to purchase all of the DLC……………then again I am that kind of person.

#20

I will buy you some Whiskey and a nice new hammer then.