Well, I finally replaced my PS3 and purchased Aliens: Colonial Marines. Speaking as a huge fan of the Alien franchise, as well as Aliens vs Predator (Developed by Rebellion, Published by SEGA), this game is a mixed bag. The gameplay's okay, but somewhat bland. Visually and aurally, it's a major disappointment; especially when you take into account how long it was in development. Enemy AI borders on braindead and killing xenomorphs isn't nearly as terrifying or thrilling as it is in AVP. For example, if I take out a xeno's legs, the slimy bastard will try to crawl towards me and attack my ankles. Reminds me very much of Binary Domain in that respect. If you set a xeno on fire - which looked fantastic, by the way - they'll run around in a panic, collapse to their knees and explode into an acidic mess....
With ACM, they'll perform a half-assed attempt at playing it stealth-like then rush into your bullets. The noise-seeking alien sequence was the only moment of fear I experienced. With AVP, it's almost constant. I was checking every corner before I entered the room. The xeno's in AVP would hide in the wall, much like they did in the processing plant in Aliens, and even let you pass so they could attack you from behind. If you started shooting up some nearby eggs, they'd attack you much faster. The critters were very clever and cunning. Hard to kill too. They take a lot of heat and moved very fast. I'm a damn good shot and these fuckers kept me on my toes.
ACM? Braindead. Weak and powerless even. I walked into a room, shot all of 'em and marched onward. Again, I'm fairly skilled with my PS3 controller, so blowing 'em to pieces took almost zero effort. After 5 minutes, I quit clearing rooms. I'll just walk in as if I'm in a hurry to find my car keys.
The pulse rifle is weird. When I hold on the trigger, I hear the same 4-burst sound sample repeat over and over. It doesn't sound like I'm spraying the room with 10mm explosive-tipped caseless. In AVP, there's no break in the audio when I hold the trigger down. Little details like that are important to me. Also, on my 5.1 surround setup, the audio in ACM sounds flat and doesn't make much of an attempt to surround you with atmosphere. With AVP, you're in the fuckin' environment. Excellent use of the sound channels there.
ACM's greatest offense is the story. It flies in the face of established continuity and doesn't care to thoroughly explain itself. 1) Alien Resurrection proved you can easily remove a chestburster without killing the host. Cut open the chest, cut the umbilicus, remove, sew up. DONE! According to ACM, it's like a weed the roots itself into every vital blah-blah-blah. Forgive me, but I'm calling bullshit. 2) Hicks is DEAD! DEAD! DEAD! Why would the company toss some half-wit into Hicks' cryotube, wearing his dogtags, only for some shit to go down and have 'em eject....just, oh fuck it. Even if that were the case, how could the company miss some egg hiding up in the rafters that eventually hatches, impregnates Ripley, sets off the alarm and shits 'em out on the prison colony? 3) 17 weeks? What happened? The Sulaco would have been considered overdue after 17 DAYS, according to the movie. Did the company send reports to the USCM, telling 'em everything was honky-dory the whole time? 4) Hadley's Hope - was fucking - NUKED! The plant blew, taking the complex with it. However, as it's shown in ACM, a 30 megaton blast just fucks up a wall or two....
Seriously, I could go on. I'll stop myself here, because quite honestly it's pissing me off the more I think about it. The gameplay isn't horrible. It is playable, though it's a dull experience. The story is what really kills this game for me, as well as the dated visuals and substandard audio. If it weren't for the name and my love of Aliens, I'd pawn it faster than you could say "game over, man!"
But that's just me.
