Review: Aliens Colonial Marines (New Gamer Nation)

The legacy of the iconic and instantly recognizable movie Aliens is both a gift and a curse to the game Aliens: Colonial Marines. The premise is so video game ready – the look and attitude of the original Space Marines (don’t try to argue the case of the “Starship Troopers” book here), scary monsters, imaginative technology and settings, the insidious schemes of an evil corporation. Think of how many games feature one, more, or even all of these elements. The richness of the source material is a double-edged sword, however. There’s pressure on the game to deliver settings, story, sounds, scares, tension, dialogue, and thrills that match a certain Aliens sort of tone.

[darthv72]

some gameplay footage on youtube last night. I will say that the game looked similar to doom 3 and possibly had the same play mechanics but from a presentation POV it didnt look 'bad'.

Now that is just from watching about 30 minutes of the game and not playing it for myself. The many reviews seem to peg it as a very typical FPS but with the aliens.

Its definitely no halo or killzone killer but it could be worse.

[juandren]

Trust me, it's bad. One of the worst games I've played in years. My brother pre-ordered it (he is easily fooled by trailers) and I honestly don't know why Gearbox messed up so badly

[MysticStrummer]

No, trust me, it's not that bad. It could and should have been better but it's certainly not as bad as most reviews say it is. Check out Blacklight: Area 51 if you want to see an fps that deserves the kind of scores A:CM has gotten. It's easy to see why the game fell short if you look at it's history.

[Pintheshadows]

I was watching someone play it on a decent PC earlier. The Pulse rifle sounds good. Sadly that's the only positive I found watching. Actually playing it was far worse. If anyone here remembers Turning Point then I can say it's on a par with that. And that game was awful.

[EbeneezerGoode]

Can't agree with comparing it to turning point, which was truly crap. This game isn't great, it's got flaws it's not even that 'fun' but it's more solid than many better rated games and if you love aliens you'll enjoy just being in this game for a while regardless of sub-par gunplay and annoying NPC.

[MysticStrummer]

Yeah the way I see it, it's a very average shooter in many ways, and below average in others, but the Aliens atmosphere is mostly there. I'm talking about the sound, music, and lighting, not the tension because there are very few tense moments in the campaign. The campaign is most enjoyable playing co-op. Some of the online modes, especially Escape, do convey that Aliens tension. Overall I enjoy A:CM much more than watching Aliens Resurrection, and it's place in the Aliens universe is about even with Aliens 3 in my opinion, since A3 had questionable AI, subpar CGI aliens, bad dialogue, and a bad story too.

[Toolster]

It's not bad, it's a generic FPS and does have issues but turn out lights pump up the surround sound and GET AWAY FROM HER YOU BITCH

[EbeneezerGoode]

It's not great, but if you like aliens it's not as bad as these reviewers are making out. I've seen FAR worse games than this getting 9/10!

[newgamernation]

A lot of what made this game bad is based on expectation. If this was called anything other than Aliens Colonial Marines, it would be a sub par shooter. It isn't unplayable but the controversy comes from what was promised compared to what was delivered. They promised a beautiful, dynamic world and instead we got a boilerplate, unfinished world. Take it for what you will, either way whether pro or anti Aliens franchise, there are better games to play than this.

[EbeneezerGoode]

Been playing more of it tonight (PS3) and frankly it looks beautiful in places, very good art direction. Human enemies offer decent tactical gunplay (it's not a run and gun). YOu can really take your time with this game which I like.

Defintely better than it's reviewed. Expectations and aliens name has made it be judged more harshly. It's a 'fine' game and I feel bad for the devs now because in places you can see they put in a LOT of effort where other games don't. Texturing and level design for example are top notch, as is lighting, atmosphere and spot effects.

I think this game in a few years will actually come be more appreciated than it is now (once the expectations died down along with the disappointment of the most demanding aliens/FPS fans).

I would play this through again for the ride, some great immersion, good effects. Play it in 3D (as in glasses) if you can (fake it with your TV), that truly opens the game up and makes the graphics 10x better for some reason.

Shame there wasn't a full 3D mode included.