Aliens: Colonial Marines
I’ve just gotta start out by saying that I really do like this game. I mean, sure, not in the same way that I like (the original) Borderlands, GTA: San Andreas or TNMT: Turtles in Space. But, I really do like it; it easily makes my Top 10 all time favourite modern console games. It has taken a serious beating in the last two weeks, but it stormed the charts in it’s opening week, and managed to fight off Dead Space 3 for the top spot. That’s gotta count for something, right?
Okay, so straight off the bat, I should present my disclaimer: I have only played through about half of the game so far. That said, I do believe that has given me good enough grounding to comment on pretty much every aspect of the game, except perhaps for the ending…
The storyline is pretty solid, and conforms pretty closely to the standard for your classic “abandoned forbidden-xeno-experiment facility”. It has a good sense of narrative, with a rich cast of characters - despite the small pool of possible archetypes - and a background with enough substance to carry the gameplay. On the whole, it does enough to remain canonically true, whilst still establishing itself as a recognised chapter of the franchise. It can leave one too many questions unanswered at times, but it does a pretty good job of eventually getting around to answering them all.
The graphics are… okay. I mean, they are no more than I expect from a Gearbox game. Being an ardent fan of the Borderlands series, I’ve come to expect dicey aesthetics, but this has actually defined the iconic series, and defined a niche pixelated goodness. But, for the established Alien franchise, I’m not too sure the graphics quite cut it. They are serviceable, but sometimes found to be lacking, when trying to create a tangible sense of terror through grimy, dank and dark surroundings.
Probably the most hammered part of the game, is the NPC and enemy AI. All the naysayers are wrong. There is really no more to it than that. It has it’s shaky moments, but on the whole is some of the best I’ve seen - at least on the part of the Bugs. Unlike most imbecilic, insipid enemies, the xenos attack with animal instinct and cunning, swarming towards you; through the floor, across the ceiling, out of vents. They put you in an imaginably real situation, make you tense and have to really battle to survive. The most commonly criticised piece of AI is actually one of the more flavourful pieces of background writing in the genealogy of the eponymous Alien. There is this one moment, in some sewer tunnels, where you cross this certain sub-species of alien, who are pretty much oblivious to the player’s presence. Videos are plastered all over the internet, labelling this as “the worst AI ever seen in a game”. To which, I would usually agree. That is, until you consider the background. They are runts; bugs who suffer from stunted sensory impairment. As a result, their eyesight is practically non-existent. Move too quick though, and they’ll rip you a new one. Please bare the story in mind, when viewing any of those misinformed online videos…
The gameplay is pretty standard for a FPS, with Gearbox’s familiar level-up system. The weapons are beautifully canonical, and generally useful. My only wish was for a more effective melee attack.
All in all, a fantastic addition to the genre, and a superb homage to the Alien franchise. 8.5/10
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