Unfortunately last year we saw a much-loved and popular franchise get battered and almost damaged beyond repair:Aliens. Recently some details and footage have emerged about a new game called Alien: Isolation, but can this attempt at a new title sweeten the horrible taste that Aliens: Colonial Marines left in our mouths?
Aliens: Colonial Marines made just about every worst games of 2013 list and that’s all down to the fact it delivered on almost nothing it promised, and was visually terrible with its non-atmospheric graphics and lighting. The fact you fight humans most of the time makes it feel like a cheap Call of Duty knock-off instead of an Alien game, and poorly programmed AI meant that the Xenomorphs seemed as if they didn’t know where you were. All that unpleasantness aside though, the announcement of Alien: Isolation came at a perfect time; if it knocks its predecessor out of the park we might just be able to forget about last year’s rubbish while reinstating faith in the series.
Isolation is a first-person survival-horror stealth game developed by The Creative Assembly and published by Sega. It’s set in 2137, fifteen years after the events of Alien and forty-two years before those in the sequel Aliens. It focuses on Ellen Ripley’s daughter Amanda who, while in search for her mother, goes to space station Sevastopol, unaware that the Xenomorphs have already infested the place. This sounds like it’s going to be a fantastic story because the first Alien film (and I may get a lot of abuse for this) is my personal favourite series because it built up slowly with an amazing amount of tension, and the first time you get to see a face-hugger in action is truly terrifying.
Combat in Isolation generally ends with you dead. The alien is bigger than you — over nine feet tall (and in reality there is no way you could defeat it), able to climb through vents, and designed to react and learn from player behaviour. A flash light aimed at full blast, running, or even breathing too loudly can trigger the monster stalking you. Lockers and desks are the only true defensive methods, and while item crafting and other abilities will turn up later on, it will eventually learn to defend itself against them. This dynamic will keep you on your toes force you to change your play-style throughout the game – and for me, that’s an exciting concept.
So far the title looks amazing with Amanda Ripley looking exactly like her mother and the atmosphere feeling as if you’re watching the original film. I do hope that Alien: Isolation isn’t going down the same path as Colonial Marines, where all the promo material looked fantastic but the final product fell well short of the mark. But I have a feeling we won’t be disappointed because let’s face it, would you dare release a bad game so close to the last one?
