Aliens : Colonial Marines

Gbear

Aliens is currently at number 1 on the Steam charts.

Lulz.

An awful lot of pissed off people to be found in the next few days.

Meirleach

Kinda weird the backpeddling gearbox are doing on this. Super hype before hand, and then once the harsh harsh reviews start coming out, it gets strangely leaked that other game studios were doing most of the work on it.

Anyone heard how the multiplayer is yet? Seems like the singleplayer experience is a right dog.

Sephiroth_dude

Oh am I glad now I didn't waste my Gamestop voucher on this .

SB2013

I have a theory on why it took so long. They may have made the game five years ago and lost it only to find it on some discarded memory key when they were cleaning out an office or something. The marketing was probably solely based on their memories of playing the game long ago and we all know what nostalgia does to memory. It would explain the out of date graphics and the delay too. I mean the levels are pretty much ripped form the movies aren't they so there obviously wasn't much in the way of level design needed. The art required zero originality or concept work. i can think of no other plausable explanation for the amount of time taken to produce such a outdated game.

klose

Ive been looking forward to this game for ages and the reviews are all too condemning to even consider buying it, might rent it. Really let down

Duggy747

On the 3rd mission after an hour (out of 11? Shìte , I'll be done in no time :pac:)

Yeah, the AI is piss poor. The Xenos are glitchy as hell, especially when they're climbing surfaces. One second you have them in your sights as they climb the wall and the next they pop up in front of you. This tends to happen when they sometimes just run off down a hallway ignoring you and then instantly pop up in front of you.

My very first Xeno encounter glitched out where it stared at the wall, vanished, and then appeared around a corner stuck in an animation loop. I was able to walk up to it and have a good look at the model :pac:

They're quite slow and like to stand up straight and hiss at you instead of leaping at you, giving you plenty of time to shoot them. Melee makes them stumble which, considering they're Xenomorphs, doesn't seem right............they're supposed to be agile and very strong.

You'll see them glitch out against the enviornment lots as they get mangled in the walls and whatnot.

Your AI comrades are useless as it's one of those games where it's You Vs. The World where everyone ignores them and come straight for you.

This is what you'll see AI doing mostly :P


Sound-wise, it's good. Can't fault it since the soundtrack keeps with Aliens as well as the sound effects.

Graphically, it's definitely got an early 360 / PS3 gen feel to it. Animations are too noticeably jerky.

Not a complete disaster, and since I'm still early I can't give a definite answer on it. But if you were hoping for a good, scary Aliens game then you'll be disappointed.

Still the best Aliens game, I think, is AVP2.

ShadowHearth

Well gearbox has amazing marketing team, I'll give them that. And they got one fella who can sell piece of coal as a diamond...

Beefy78

I've got a couple of friends who've played it and have said that it's buggy and graphically poor but very enjoyable. I can definitely see me picking it up a few months down the line when the price has halved.

um7y1h83ge06nx

gizmo wrote: »

For **** sake. Can you imagine trying that in the original AvP games? You'd have your face ripped off within bloody seconds.

Note this video was taken on the Hardened difficulty level.

Source.

Jesus, that is shocking, unforgivable. I love the Alien films and had this on my list of games to consider for the last few months.

um7y1h83ge06nx

I think this was the attitude that the Development team had!

stateofflux

bug fix update

http://support.gearboxsoftware.com/categories/20092407-Aliens-Colonial-Marines

like rearranging titanic deckchairs i would guess

Agricola

Im just hoping that in 6 months to a year plenty of patches will have sorted out the really unforgivable stuff. If they can just make it borderline decent mechanically, I'll spend a fiver on it in a future Steam sale!

ShadowHearth

Funny enough I got 2 buddies who preordered and were playing it last night. The were very happy with it, actually really loved it. Both are proper gamers and big alien fanboys.

I am wondering if they just don't want admit wasting money on it, or people are just a bit too much critical on it?
From what I have see so far it looks like they just don't want to admit...

Beefy78

ShadowHearth wrote: »

Funny enough I got 2 buddies who preordered and were playing it last night. The were very happy with it, actually really loved it. Both are proper gamers and big alien fanboys.

I am wondering if they just don't want admit wasting money on it, or people are just a bit too much critical on it?
From what I have see so far it looks like they just don't want to admit...

I don't know. If the game is fun and nails the atmosphere right (which the people I know who have played this say that it does) then I'd guess a lot of people will forgive it for graphical limitations, glitches and piss-poor AI.

I don't mind playing 20 quid for a poor game which I enjoy. I think I'd feel very let down had I bought this full-price, by the looks of things.

Myrddin

Beefy78 wrote: »

I don't know. If the game is fun and nails the atmosphere right (which the people I know who have played this say that it does) then I'd guess a lot of people will forgive it for graphical limitations, glitches and piss-poor AI.

But by all accounts its neither fun nor has the atmosphere anywhere near what it was in the film. The game looks appalling

Beefy78

EnterNow wrote: »

But by all accounts its neither fun nor has the atmosphere anywhere near what it was in the film. The game looks appalling

Not all accounts. As I said, the only two people I know who have actually played it say that it's tremendous fun. The only two people that Shadowhearth knows who have played it say that they loved it.

I'm keeping an open mind.

Myrddin

Beefy78 wrote: »

Not all accounts. As I said, the only two people I know who have actually played it say that it's tremendous fun. The only two people that Shadowhearth knows who have played it say that they loved it.

I'm keeping an open mind.

I dunno, to my eye they've made a complete balls of a game that could have been so much better. The video showing you can beat levels without even firing the gun is seriously shocking, it certainly in no way looks 'tremendous fun' nor 'lovable'.

Beefy78

But you haven't played it.

I agree with what you're saying, especially about the non-firing of the gun. It's shocking. However presumably they have patched or are patching that and as I said so far the people I know who have actually played this instead of reading reviews say that they're enjoying it.

CastorTroy

I'm not a multiplayer... um... player, but how is the multiplayer and would that be reason to buy it?

The one thing I wondered about this game was how can they really drag out an Alien game. I mean there are only so many types of Xenomorph.

Myrddin

Beefy78 wrote: »

But you haven't played it.

I've seen the film, I've seen footage of the game, there's a world of difference in the presentation of the two. I also don't need to play Pillow Pets to know I wouldn't like it, I know a bland & dire game when I see it. I know your point though to keep an open mind is a good one, but tbh, from what I've seen this game is just another overhyped movie licence game that fails to deliver - its hardly a new phenomenon.

I agree with what you're saying, especially about the non-firing of the gun. It's shocking. However presumably they have patched or are patching that and as I said so far the people I know who have actually played this instead of reading reviews say that they're enjoying it.

Maybe they're slightly embarrassed about paying full price for it? I fail to see how any big fan of the Alien films could see this game as anything other than a success at cashing in & nothing else. Re bug fixes, the polishing a turd adage springs to mind

Duggy747

ShadowHearth wrote: »

I am wondering if they just don't want admit wasting money on it, or people are just a bit too much critical on it?
From what I have see so far it looks like they just don't want to admit...

I'm a huge Aliens fan. Know everything about it from pointless production details to the whole mythology related to that sole film. Everyone has that one film they know inside out and Aliens is mine :pac:

The nods to the film are novel but the gameplay really lets it down. Can't stress any further on how stupid the AI is. Guns from a distance are useless as you'll pepper everything but the target who's about 30ft away from you.

I'm halfway through it and while it's not a horrible piece of shìt like Duke Nukem Forever was, it's just a disappointing entry given the potential it had (and showed a few years back)

Skerries

definitely a €5 on the Steam summer sale buy for me so

SirLemonhead

Duggy747 wrote: »

I'm a huge Aliens fan. Know everything about it from pointless production details to the whole mythology related to that sole film. Everyone has that one film they know inside out and Aliens is mine :pac:

The nods to the film are novel but the gameplay really lets it down. Can't stress any further on how stupid the AI is. Guns from a distance are useless as you'll pepper everything but the target who's about 30ft away from you.

I'm halfway through it and while it's not a horrible piece of shìt like Duke Nukem Forever was, it's just a disappointing entry given the potential it had (and showed a few years back)

Throw the laser sight on the Pulse Rifle and you'll hit everything long range no bother.

I can't say i've noticed any major bugs at all in the 5 hours or so that I played it last night.

You do end up shooting too many humans and not enough Aliens at certain parts which is a bit ****, and the game does the same thing that every other squad based game does - your NPC partners won't die, won't hit very much and 90% of Aliens will go straight for you rather than them, even if they're the bigger threat.

I wouldn't say at all that it's poor graphically

BizzyC

Reviews I've heard from people have it at a 4/10 at best....

Definitely steering clear of this one.

COYVB

SirLemonhead wrote: »

I wouldn't say at all that it's poor graphically

I see your problem here. Take the used teabags off your eyes and try looking at it again - that should fix it.

TerrorFirmer

From what I'm reading, visually it's OK on the PC but horrible on the consoles.

Will wait till its heavily discounted down the line, very disappointed by the panning it's gotten across the board.

SirLemonhead

COYVB wrote: »

I see your problem here. Take the used teabags off your eyes and try looking at it again - that should fix it.

Eh no - maybe I just care less about "ooh shiny shiny" than some people

SirLemonhead

TerrorFirmer wrote: »

From what I'm reading, visually it's OK on the PC but horrible on the consoles.

Will wait till its heavily discounted down the line, very disappointed by the panning it's gotten across the board.

Yeah it looks awful on the 360 from the videos i've seen - that classic UE3 texture streaming problem where it looks like the lowest level mipmaps have loaded and not the proper detail level. It gets stuck and doesn't load fully. Everything low res and blurry. Happened to Singularity when it came out I think. Maybe they can fix it and it's not a case that the texture on the disk is actually that bad

Spear

Well, I made the mistake of going for this, thinking the Gearbox name and the aliens brand would work out.

The reviews are right, this is simply bad. The graphics are weak and badly outdated, even if this were released 5 years ago. It's short at barely 5 hours for the single player. There's simply nothing new or innovative in there. The story starts out interesting, raises some curious possibilities, yet simply peters out without an ending. Everything about it is utterly pedestrian and bland.

Beefy78

Spear wrote: »

Well, I made the mistake of going for this, thinking the Gearbox name and the aliens brand would work out.

The reviews are right, this is simply bad. The graphics are weak and badly outdated, even if this were released 5 years ago. It's short at barely 5 hours for the single player. There's simply nothing new or innovative in there. The story starts out interesting, raises some curious possibilities, yet simply peters out without an ending. Everything about it is utterly pedestrian and bland.

Have you had a chance to try multiplayer yet?