Aliens: Colonial Marines review: Xenophobia
- Thread starter JournalBot
- Start date
So I'm guessing these were the guys at Gearbox who did Duke Nukem Forever? Kept well apart from the Borderlands guys except on Fridays they have a get-together to exchange jokes about poop and boobs.
Edit: I'm kind of joking, but on the other hand there seems to be a definite B-team. Or more like an F-team.
Edit: I'm kind of joking, but on the other hand there seems to be a definite B-team. Or more like an F-team.
Upvote
45
(46
/
-1)
I second the notionoldtaku":1f1zp2op said:
,because Gearbox are the same people that created Brothers In Arms which actually managed to pair a WW2 shooter with some actual tactics AND an actual plot.. So,they know how to make shooters with a good atmosphere and plot,so.. I guess they left A:CM to the interns
Upvote
14
(15
/
-1)
yoshinatsu":2fqb3d7c said:
A critics job is to be critical, highlight the bad and mention the good!
Upvote
30
(40
/
-10)
yoshinatsu":bz9q3q2q said:
Although certainly not the decade-plus that was Duke Nukem Forever, A:CM was actually in the development stages for a couple years. Gearbox used to blog about their progress and showed off bits and pieces as they progressed. They had a lot of ambitious ideas they showed off and the original graphic design really did hearken back to Aliens.
Then they just kinda got swept up in DNF, then Borderlands 2, and A:CM stopped really getting a lot of air time. Sadly, this title is nothing like their original plans. It even looks different, graphically, than what they had originally intended based on their early dev blogs. It is the epitome of a game that looks and feels rushed, or of a studio who is trying their damnedest to put out another big name title while still riding the coattails of their last.
In nearly every way, and even as a fan of Aliens, this game is a major disappointment. There's a lot of "could have been" here.
Upvote
22
(22
/
0)
I watched the ign 2 hour "preview" last night, Id already held off pre-ordering, but that, along with this review has moved the game to 'wait for a steam sale'.
Im sorry, it looks like a first generation Xbox 360 game, clunky animation, facial animation thats laughable (cmon Half life 2 is still the gold mark here), animations that dont blend, ai that is little more than a nested if then else loop, the sound seemed ok but it didnt seem to have heft. Hick's shotgun (an in game weapon) makes a bang noise, but it lacks oomph now that might just have been down to bad sound mix from the video, but whilst the pulse rifle and smartgun sound like the film, they dont sound quite right.
Ah well, its not long til the Steam summer sale, right?
Im sorry, it looks like a first generation Xbox 360 game, clunky animation, facial animation thats laughable (cmon Half life 2 is still the gold mark here), animations that dont blend, ai that is little more than a nested if then else loop, the sound seemed ok but it didnt seem to have heft. Hick's shotgun (an in game weapon) makes a bang noise, but it lacks oomph now that might just have been down to bad sound mix from the video, but whilst the pulse rifle and smartgun sound like the film, they dont sound quite right.
Ah well, its not long til the Steam summer sale, right?
Upvote
5
(6
/
-1)
Its unfortunate that the game is garbage. But its really just part of the continual downward slide the franchise has taken over the years.... I am talking to you Prometheus & anything AvP.
So much build up and hype over the game only to have it be a let down is now just par for the course. I think the most exciting thing that's come out related to the Alien legacy was the severed doll's head that Gearbox sent out as part of the promo two years ago.
So much build up and hype over the game only to have it be a let down is now just par for the course. I think the most exciting thing that's come out related to the Alien legacy was the severed doll's head that Gearbox sent out as part of the promo two years ago.
Upvote
5
(7
/
-2)
Upvote
16
(16
/
0)
Asymetrical multiplayer? Space marines vs xenos? And no mention of Natural Selection 2?
:'(
:'(
Upvote
11
(12
/
-1)
I think Borderlands was the fluke. Anyone remember the horrible port job Gearbox did with Halo? A PC that could run Doom 3 would struggle with Halo.
Upvote
16
(16
/
0)
Not quite.oldtaku":1gsdnio2 said:
DNF was in development limbo for over a decade, alternately passed around to different development teams or abandoned for years at a time. Gearbox eventually acquired the rights and compiled everything that was done and shipped it. You can't really blame them for the quality of the game -- I rather praise them for even managing to get the wretched thing out the door.
Upvote
-7
(8
/
-15)
Langdon":3j4pcigj said:
It's somewhat annoying when someone takes such an excellent universe (the look of the Aliens, the Marines, the tension in those first two movies) and squanders it on a game like this and the exorable later movies in the canon.
Upvote
7
(9
/
-2)
daggstar":y18fk1ed said:
Steam Preorder x2 + DLC, was looking forward to coop with my partner but seems i am destined to be hugely disappointed. What a way to burn a hundred quid.
Upvote
17
(17
/
0)
Upvote
84
(84
/
0)
Damn, I really had high hopes for this game a few months ago,,,even went as far as to think this might be some kind of killer app for the WiiU.
Thanks for saving me a hefty amount of money, Ars!
Thanks for saving me a hefty amount of money, Ars!
Upvote
7
(7
/
0)
Tridus":22jkd56r said:
Yep, unless it's an absolute dead cert that it won't be a stinker, it's best to wait for a review, or even a demo.
(That said, I remember loving the F.E.A.R. demo, and then discovered that the game was just an endless repetition of the same cube farm crawl, so even a demo can fool you).
I very rarely buy a game for full price any more, and if I do, it's not without supersampling quite a few reviews, otherwise I end up with insultingly brainless CODtard fare like Crysis 2. There's enough excellent stuff out there that you don't need to put up with that any more.
Upvote
1
(5
/
-4)
I don't wanna stray off-topic too far, but I try to pretend that the boring cube farm office levels in the middle of FEAR are actually a genius piece of game pacing. They provide a "lull" in the game's pace to provide contrast just before that tremendous crescendo of a finish.giantbee":34iyxoo6 said:
Those last 1.5-2 hours, omg. On-topic... I'm disappointed to hear that this Aliens game isn't particularly good. The first AvP game (nowadays called AvP 2000) was great, and since then they've... not been so good? Hmm. Shame.
Upvote
7
(7
/
0)
Wonderful review. I much prefer game reviews that load up on zeropynctuation style honest truth about the bad/stupud/annoying/obnoxious in a game than an ign style 8/10 fawning over the price of ads sold on their website. If a game us good, it will show as such, even through the mist slap to the face brutal reviews like yatzee's with his long history of reviews... Although this leaves me salivating for the amusement sure to be in his version of this!
Upvote
4
(5
/
-1)
Sure it may have but Doom 3 had way better graphics, it was remarkably undemanding.Entegy":1522ft56 said:
Upvote
2
(2
/
0)
daggstar":2ye4l8yw said:
Check their terms, I'm fairly certain a pre-order is just about one of the only things you are allowed to get refunded.
Upvote
3
(3
/
0)
AvP2 seems to have been the pinnacle for Aliens on the PC. I wish I still had my copy.
Upvote
6
(6
/
0)
Alareth":1kt4rcv8 said:
never bought the game, but played the multiplayer demo for months. Definitely was my favorite, despite only ever playing on that one level.. or was it two levels?
Upvote
0
(0
/
0)
Upvote
13
(13
/
0)
mewarmo990":jxoqfu00 said:
Sure we can. They released it, they charged money for it, and they had Randy Pitchford out pitching it as a good game when it was anything but.
If they'd finished it and sold it as a $15 novelty item, then sure, understanding is fine. When sold as a $60 product, it was crap. The people who are selling it at that price are responsible for the quality of the product.
And honestly, even Borderlands is slipping. The DLC quality has been all over the map, with the Hammerlock one being really weak compared to the base game.
Upvote
11
(12
/
-1)
This honestly doesn't surprise me - Gearbox as a developer has never given half a shit about anyone else's IPs in their work. 007: Nightfire on PC was an enormously lazy port to the point that they'd actually CUT massive chunks of the game out for the platform, their only real major responsibility for the PC port of Halo was the netcode (the original Xbox was effectively a PC, so most of the game was reusable) and I've seen upwards of three seconds of lag in LAN play on the finished version, and while they were probably stuck with a turd either way, they cut massive amounts of finished content from Duke Nukem Forever (as in, entire levels) to get it out the door just so that they could say that they were the ones who released it.
This is the way with Gearbox. They have a clear passion for their own IPs and that's generally obvious - Brothers in Arms was brilliantly original, and even though I don't like Borderlands I can see the enthusiasm there. That doesn't change the fact that they have absolutely no respect for the work of anyone else, and every single time they get their hands on someone else's property they are more or less guaranteed to shit all over it for a quick buck.
EDIT: See also: very publicly telling Interceptor Entertainment (the Duke Nukem 3D Reloaded folks) that Gearbox would give them full support with that free project... and then very privately telling Interceptor that they probably wouldn't be allowed to release it. I guess what I'm saying is that they're self-centered sleaze in corporate form.
This is the way with Gearbox. They have a clear passion for their own IPs and that's generally obvious - Brothers in Arms was brilliantly original, and even though I don't like Borderlands I can see the enthusiasm there. That doesn't change the fact that they have absolutely no respect for the work of anyone else, and every single time they get their hands on someone else's property they are more or less guaranteed to shit all over it for a quick buck.
EDIT: See also: very publicly telling Interceptor Entertainment (the Duke Nukem 3D Reloaded folks) that Gearbox would give them full support with that free project... and then very privately telling Interceptor that they probably wouldn't be allowed to release it. I guess what I'm saying is that they're self-centered sleaze in corporate form.
Upvote
14
(14
/
0)
Langdon":rtuk9osp said:
Hey now at least the first AvP was great, especially in multiplayer. (i have never played the others)
Upvote
5
(5
/
0)
All of them are, really. AVP and AVP2 both had pretty excellent campaigns and fantastic multiplayer (even though balance was a joke), and even the new AVP is actually rather excellent online on PC (the console versions stopped getting patches before flamethrowers were able to set things on fire, which is... a bit glaring).Meathim":t91dvwkl said:
Upvote
1
(2
/
-1)
This makes me desperately sad. I had tremendously high hopes for this game, in spite of the recent awful trailers, but it's bitterly disappointing to read reviews like this. When the highlight of what should be an atmosphere- and plot-heavy single-player feast is "the multiplayer isn't awful I guess", that's just bloody shameful.
I had Steam open in the other window to buy the game right after I was done reading the review, but I've closed the window. I'll catch it this winter when it's on sale for $4.99.
Also, what's the $29.99 "Season Pass" launch day DLC? What's in that?
I had Steam open in the other window to buy the game right after I was done reading the review, but I've closed the window. I'll catch it this winter when it's on sale for $4.99.
Also, what's the $29.99 "Season Pass" launch day DLC? What's in that?
Upvote
14
(14
/
0)
From the article:
Sorry (my inner-geek is grinding his teeth), but isn't it: Weyland-Yutani ...?
More importantly:
THANK YOU for this review! Sam, it is greatly appreciated. Excellent writing and definitely helpful (to my checking account).
Sorry (my inner-geek is grinding his teeth), but isn't it: Weyland-Yutani ...?
More importantly:
THANK YOU for this review! Sam, it is greatly appreciated. Excellent writing and definitely helpful (to my checking account).
Upvote
9
(9
/
0)
Season Pass DLCs generally provide you with all the DLC scheduled to be released for a game at a significantly lower price than you would pay to get them separately - essentially, you buy in early and you're guaranteed to pay less in the long run. The 33% discount you get from the Colonial Marines DLC hardly seems generous, though - even if (for some inexplicable reason) you want to own everything produced for the game, you're better off waiting for a Steam sale after the DLC's release.Pokrface":3jww8q4z said:
Upvote
3
(3
/
0)
I was smart dumb enough to preorder, and will still play it through. Who knows, maybe it's one of those games where it's so bad it's entertaining. Seems universally despised though, except for VGMNow that gave it a 9/10 for some odd reason.
Upvote
-1
(0
/
-1)
You know, just once I'd like an honest review, untarnished by the 18yo Scotch and blowjob bribes. What a fawning, drool-ridden love-fest. I mean, surely this masterpiece had some flaws....
Upvote
34
(35
/
-1)
Upvote
2
(2
/
0)
- Status