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Awful...this is worse than duke nukem forever. The marketing campaign and advertising lead-up only made it worse...I am a huge Aliens fan and found myself obligated to finish the game only because I spent 60 bucks on this turd. The liberties taken with the existing movie plot are weak and lack continuity, the game is a sub-par 1st person shooter, and the graphics are late ps2 quality. The sound is spot on, but that is the only redeeming feature of the game. The multiplayer mode is supposed to be decent, but I was so disgusted with the story mode I didn't even bother. I grew up adoring this franchise and that may have raised my expectations too high but even the Aliens license isn't enough for me to overlook the steaming pile of poo that has been in the works since 2006. SNES Alien 3, the arcade Aliens, AvP for the pc and the 2010 ps3 AvP are all better titles. I am a sucker because I plunked down the dough for this travesty, so please learn from my mistake!!!
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I got the game yesterday 2/12 and it was the collectors edition
which comes with loads of goodies that really are not worth 100 bucks
the game itself is flawed with Lag in MP along with weird pop in
and texture issues, framerate drops.
you must be asking "Then why did you give it three stars?"
the Multiplayer has potential to be excellent that is if
a whole lot of patching takes place since we all know it looks
pretty below par of the games of this generation.
right now as it stands I'd say wait a few months and
let the game get patches and fixes. after patching
it might be a better game but as of this writing I can only
recommend this to the most hardcore fans.
another problem with MP is the very long lobby matchmaking times.
sometimes you get a game in 1-2 minutes other times you're waiting
TEN minutes for it to stop "Searching".
I expected so much more from Sega and Gearbox.
there's a nice selection of weapons ranging from the flamethrower, Pulse rifle
and an assortment of other iconic film weapons.
there's also legendary weapons that are a nice touch with higher stats
then the regular versions of the weapons. the phased pulse rifle is neat
but far too slow to fire. the ball breakers are cool though.
the skins were not really that nifty and the firing range is just ok.
loads of customization for the MP and both for xeno's and humans
as well as online weapons. you can add sights, underslung attachments,
and other options. you also get skill upgrades as both sides.
the game really shines in spots only to be ruined by bugs and glitches.
lag in the MP helps to ruin the best part of the game and while they
already released another patch I didn't see much difference.
I really wanted this to be the Alien game I love, and would play forever...
sadly it's not. perhaps in six months when fully patched movement
will be better and not so sluggish, perhaps more maps (two is not enough for MP)
and bug fixes, perhaps then this Might be worth picking up if you're
a hardcore alien fan (like me) otherwise rent before buying.
as for the Collectors Edition items:
the Phased Pulse Rifle fires slow and has to charge first
this can easily mean death against a xeno.
the pulse rifle flamethrower combo is nice but so bulky
that it obscures almost the entire right side of the screen
and that's a little unacceptable. The Ball Busters are
a mine of sorts and while cool when they work it's rare
that xeno will actually walk near it. the extra skins are about
as generic as could be and were not worth tossing in.
the firing range while helpful, proves fairly useless after a few MP matches.
the patches and paperwork is very detailed that this package comes with
such as the certificate, sulaco schematic is very detailed and looks like a true blueprint and the iron on patches are nicely embroidered.
the poly resin statue is well detailed but the alien figure is loose in mine
and it just seems a little underwhelming. for 100 bucks pass on the collectors edition unless you absolutely Must have the Power Loader.
Driving the power loader on the other hand is dull and rather glitchy
which is a sad thing to see in such an iconic moment.
the sound effects of the xenos and weapons are top notch
I only wish the voice acting were better considering all the stars
they dug up for this game. it had so much potential and
yet again it was wasted (unless patches redeem the game somehow)
it's a shame the writers didn't take more time on the story
so they could have finally answered all those Aliens film questions
fans always wanted answered.
Multiplayer modes:
Team Deathmatch: pretty standard xenos vs marines 2 rounds 5 min each.
one round as marines the other as xenos 6 vs 6
Extermination: marines run to points on the map to destroy alien eggs.
aliens try to kill marines.you have to stand in the marked point for fifteen seconds
and this can be Very Hard to do. still a farrly redeeming mode. 5 vs 5
Survivor mode: 2 teams as per the other modes but 4 on 4 marines must survive the time limit. the player cannot
respawn and is gone once dead, ammo is limited too. this mode was
fairly dull to be honest go for team deathmatch over this one.
Escape Mode: the Big mode here as it's by far the most fun of them all.
marines try to escape and complete objectives while fighting off xenos.
it can get tense at times. the better the marines work together
the easier it is to kill off the xenos. the xenos lose if the marines escape,
or after fifteen minutes scores get tallied and a winner is declared. 4 vs 4
Graphics: 2 of 5 stars got some environments right, the rest is ugly.
Sound: pretty spot on and rather Epic 5 stars!
Gameplay: after some severe patching it might get better as of now it's 2 stars.
Fun: the Singleplayer is flawed but loads of fan service and easter eggs
the Multiplayer has all the potential to be great 3 stars
Overall: I'd advise a wait on this game until they add a whole lot
more patches and polish as of now it's long lobby times,
bad framerates, lag, texture issues and pop in, not really a complete game
wait until the price drops and most issues are fixed.
I can only recommend a rental at best
the game is a Three Star Game at best (as of this writing)
Buy Aliens: Colonial Marines Now
I was very excited to play this and I even bought the season pass. sigh... I think I logged maybe 6-7 hours playing the whole thing and it was over before I even knew it, the ending is strange and not cathartic at all. The AI is inferior to what we usually have today, you can shoot your own guys while shooting at an alien, and your own marines step in your line of fire. The game itself looks ok, but just ok. Nothing groundbreaking. It is somewhat of a decent story. In the end, it feels more like an add-on that should have sold for $20. I suspect that's how much it will be by summer. I have been playing Dead Space 3 at the same time, now that is a game that meets current 2013 expectations. I know it's not really to compare but they did come out within a week of each other.
Read Best Reviews of Aliens: Colonial Marines Here
A brief history lesson: If you do not know what happened to this game it was a disaster. Basically gearbox software about two years ago started showing some demos of this game that they were working on. And those demos looked amazing I mean fans of the Alien series were blown away. I will link below a YouTube video where you can see a comparison of the demo and the game that was released and it's a sad thing to see what this game became.
Search this video on YouTube: 6lGXDM3LGnk
Now as a game it's kind of a mess the graphics are not that great on console or PC and is really just an average first-person shooter. But if your Aliens fan and you long to go back to LV-426 that it might be worth your hard-earned cash to do so. It's nice to hold the M40-1A pulse rifle and gun down Xenomorphs like a complete bad ass. And it does build on the alien mythos and is an extension of Aliens and acknowledges some of the events of Alien 3 (which if you're an Aliens fan could be good or bad in your opinion if you are an Aliens fan you should watch Alien 3 special edition it is a lot better than the theatrical cut). I would personally wait until this game pits about $20 maybe even $10 (and trust me by the way it was reviewed and the scores and got it won't take long to reach that price point) then I think it might be worth jumping in if you're just sort of a fan of the series.
I would like to note that the multiplayer is kind of cool and it's better than it's ever been in any previous games. But the problem you'll have is that since everybody hates the game multiplayer isn't that have a really large population for very long. I will update this review in the future letting you know about how the multiplayer matchmaking is working.
All in all I would only recommend this game if you're a hard-core fan of the series/movies and one a little bit more of the story arc. But be warned if you're just a so-so fan of the series there are a lot better purchases for games out there.
I just hope someday in the future gearbox releases the aliens demo that they showed because that's the game we all deserved and the game that would've put right all the countless alien games that have totally sucked. Anyway thanks for reading I hope you enjoyed.
Want Aliens: Colonial Marines Discount?
Please take all the negative reviews with a grain of kosher salt...These are no doubt written by hardcore FPS shooter addicts who have been playing these since they were born...I, am a bit older, was around in the Atari days, and have been a CASUAL gamer ever since. I am also a hardcore Aliens fan. This game looks and sounds like Aliens, no question about it. If you into the aesthetic and overall experience of that universe, and want a fully realized modern-looking (maybe not state of the art) Aliens game in the mold of Black Ops and MW3, then this should be more than sufficient to satisfy...IF, on the other hand, you live, eat, sleep, and breath these games and win them in one-weekend, red-bull fueled, multiplayer marathons, then this is probably not worth your money. Chances are if you are the latter, you were probably just born when Aliens came out in '86, so nostalgia wont be a draw, anyhow. Since I WAS around, and nostalgia for the classic film IS a factor, and also given that I am a CASUAL gamer, I like it JUST FINE, AND I AM SATISFIED AND HAVING FUN WITH IT. IT IS NOT THAT BAD AT ALL.
