Aliens: Colonial Marines
Year: 2013
Developer: Gearbox Software
Publisher: SEGA
Platform: PC, PS3, Xbox 360
PEGI: 18
Published: 2015 (Legacy Review)
Developer: Gearbox Software
Publisher: SEGA
Platform: PC, PS3, Xbox 360
PEGI: 18
Published: 2015 (Legacy Review)
Alright I want to start off by saying that despite what I may say in defence of Colonial Marines, it is not acceptable to lie to audiences like Gearbox did in promotional videos, nor is it ok to charge full retail price for a game that was clearly not finished. But enough of that and on with the review.
Colonial Marines takes place 18 months after the events of the James Cameron 1986 sci-fi/action sequel (and one of the best sci-fi films ever made), Aliens. You play as Winters, a colonial marine sent on a search and rescue on the U.S.S Sulaco to look for Ellen Ripley, Dwayne Hicks and the other marines stationed on LV-426. When Xenomorphs start “coming outta the goddamn walls!”...sorry, anyway when the infamous aliens show up, shit goes down, and Winters & his team land on LV-426 and so they must try to survive and get off-world before the Xeno's have their nasty way with them. In terms of an Aliens style plot, Colonial Marines has a pretty solid story that is not only a direct and canon sequel to the film but one that provides much of what made Aliens good in the first place.
Colonial Marines is a reasonably entertaining FPS, if you go into it not expecting a lot the game can be quite enjoyable at times. However the game does suffer from serious A.I problems and despite having a large range of weapons available you will only really need use of two or three of them. The biggest problem with Colonial Marines' gameplay is that is makes the Xenomorphs (some of the most feared beings in films) look like they are easy to kill. It takes a very small number of bullets to take one down and they deal very little damage to the player; even when you are playing on hard, and that's a major problem.
One of the most ridiculous things I have also seen in this game is the sewer stealth mission with the Xeno's that are blind and track using sound. The problem is that the sound detection on the A.I is broken because you can move around as you wish and they wont hear you.
Colonial Marines takes place 18 months after the events of the James Cameron 1986 sci-fi/action sequel (and one of the best sci-fi films ever made), Aliens. You play as Winters, a colonial marine sent on a search and rescue on the U.S.S Sulaco to look for Ellen Ripley, Dwayne Hicks and the other marines stationed on LV-426. When Xenomorphs start “coming outta the goddamn walls!”...sorry, anyway when the infamous aliens show up, shit goes down, and Winters & his team land on LV-426 and so they must try to survive and get off-world before the Xeno's have their nasty way with them. In terms of an Aliens style plot, Colonial Marines has a pretty solid story that is not only a direct and canon sequel to the film but one that provides much of what made Aliens good in the first place.
Colonial Marines is a reasonably entertaining FPS, if you go into it not expecting a lot the game can be quite enjoyable at times. However the game does suffer from serious A.I problems and despite having a large range of weapons available you will only really need use of two or three of them. The biggest problem with Colonial Marines' gameplay is that is makes the Xenomorphs (some of the most feared beings in films) look like they are easy to kill. It takes a very small number of bullets to take one down and they deal very little damage to the player; even when you are playing on hard, and that's a major problem.
One of the most ridiculous things I have also seen in this game is the sewer stealth mission with the Xeno's that are blind and track using sound. The problem is that the sound detection on the A.I is broken because you can move around as you wish and they wont hear you.
Moving onto graphics, Colonial Marines does make you want to stick pins in your eyes. This is a 2013 game yet it looks worse than most of the Xbox 360/PS3 release titles. Textures are constantly popping in and out, frame rate is always dropping, animation is crappy. Unlike most normal games Colonial Marines looks better in dark situations compared to lighter ones...probably because it hides most of what I've just criticised. Cutscenes however aren't too bad, character models are a little undercooked at times but in general they look ok and are well animated. The games audio effects are ripped straight from the film which is nice and gives it more authenticity, however voice acting is pretty bad and the soundtrack is very forgettable.
On a whole, Colonial Marines is a bad game, no doubt about it. It has a somewhat entertaining story and the gameplay can be fun because it's so broken; but that's about as far as it goes. It looks bad and it plays bad. In general, avoid this game, however if you see it in a bargain bin for pocket money prices you may get some cheap thrills from it.
On a whole, Colonial Marines is a bad game, no doubt about it. It has a somewhat entertaining story and the gameplay can be fun because it's so broken; but that's about as far as it goes. It looks bad and it plays bad. In general, avoid this game, however if you see it in a bargain bin for pocket money prices you may get some cheap thrills from it.