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E3 2011: Aliens: Colonial Marines Demo Preview

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Now you can live the adventures of a space marine. Mostly.

Aliens: Colonial Marines is the upcoming Sega-published game based on the Hollywood blockbuster franchise, and we got our first taste from a live demo played by a Gearbox representative. The journey began inside a damaged marine ship that was plummeting down toward the nearby planet. The cruiser's fiery metal battered and detonated the settlement below.

When the ashen dust from the wrecked ship settled, the perspective was from the eyes of a surviving soldier. The player was disorientated, and his CO roused the hero to his feet. The commander was thanked by the player's quick flip of the bird, and the soldiers jotted off. It was soon discovered that their crashed ship had just obliterated Hadley's Hope, the prime location of the second movie. The sundered colony made full use of the game's Red Ring engine, easily rendering creepy lighting and shadows touted as influenced by Dead Space.

The main character whipped out his handheld radar scanner and soon found several blips dashing toward the unit from the west. Naturally, the creatures were the titular Xenomorph aliens. One of them darted through the broken airshafts, wiggled out the other end, and snatched up an unlucky marine. It was time for our protagonist to get out of this sticky situation fast. Luckily, a good amount of regenerating health helped with the survival rate. However, the run-of-the-mill bugs weren't the only breed of aliens about.

A much larger ferocious and huge bull alien was among the pack. Its head was large and patterned similar to a queen's, but it was also extremely well armored. No amount of simple Weyland-Yutani bullets would penetrate shielding that tough. The marine didn't delay and quickly dashed into a well-reinforced building and behind an enforced blast door. He traveled down the path and met with several more of his military chums. However, there was something special about one of them.

Aliens: Colonial Marines features drop-in and drop-out cooperative play for up to four players. A member of the new squad wasn't just some artificial scum, but another real-life player. He didn't have special markings or a name above his head, making it difficult to remember he was really human controlled. Together, the players set up a perimeter defense of auto gun sentries that mowed down the hordes of aliens. However, there were too many beasts.

Even with the help of friend, the Xenomorphs proved to be far more than any mere mortal could handle. In what appeared to be a scripted event, the old buddy armor-head big alien smashed down the walls Kool-Aid-man style and darted for the first player. The bug then grabbed the soldier and devoured him, and the demo ended.

27 Comments

  • DefJam85

    Posted Aug 25, 2011 3:20 pm GMT

    I hope it is offline co-op even if it is split screen it will work for me cuz it will be just like halo right

  • AIRWALKTDK666

    Posted Aug 24, 2011 11:35 am GMT

    I hope they make a really challenging difficulty level, im tired of breezing through FPSs...

  • xRealXDeal

    Posted Jul 24, 2011 5:28 pm GMT

    My ultimate team of badasses will protect you.

  • Totoran

    Posted Jul 23, 2011 7:21 am GMT

    Sound Good !! And if we can be part of Aliens 2, changing the storyline saving soldiers and other would definitely excellent.

  • sprintstar2012

    Posted Jul 16, 2011 11:14 am GMT

    i've been waiting for this since 2005...

  • Gunathar

    Posted Jun 26, 2011 7:46 pm GMT

    Aliens is the perfect setting for a FPS. Atmosphere, action, pulse rifles, acid splash damage. If this game fails, it's voluntary. Co-op (local and online) is a must!

  • mdchapel9

    Posted Jun 18, 2011 5:21 am GMT

    Will it have offline coop?

  • Theconsciousss

    Posted Jun 15, 2011 4:16 am GMT

    good premise I just hope the gameplay follows through, I just wish there was a 3rd person perspective too

  • gashoe13

    Posted Jun 9, 2011 3:17 am GMT

    lol... same screenshot twice...
    but this look's really cool. I really really hope this game will capture the power and fright of the original Alien movies.

  • CreatureRising

    Posted Jun 8, 2011 9:46 pm GMT

    Need it now...

  • xxxxTRISTAMxxxx

    Posted Jun 8, 2011 1:33 pm GMT

    It's all over man...it's all over!

  • XtC86

    Posted Jun 8, 2011 10:09 am GMT

    Silly derp smiley face...^_^

  • ABC2K

    Posted Jun 8, 2011 7:49 am GMT

    "We're all gonna die. The only question is how you check out."

  • ABC2K

    Posted Jun 8, 2011 7:44 am GMT

    This sounds really good. But where is the video for this clip?

  • CarlitosWay

    Posted Jun 8, 2011 7:38 am GMT

    "It was soon discovered that their crashed ship had just obliterated Hadley's Hope, the prime location of the second movie."

    You mean that prime location that was obliterated BEFORE you even GOT THERE?

  • chyng85

    Posted Jun 8, 2011 6:55 am GMT

    It's ugly and creepy~

  • sloakz

    Posted Jun 8, 2011 5:41 am GMT

    "Game over man, game over" Sorry couldnt resist it

  • Rekunta

    Posted Jun 8, 2011 1:14 am GMT

    @aedancomey

    Cut 'em some slack, I'm sure they're struggling like hell to keep up with the torrent of new info coming out every minute.

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