The Disconnect: FPS's=MarketingXHype(Flash+Substance-Flaws) Result: This franchise has never perfected th
Result: This franchise has never perfected this equation!!
Yea it has been a while since I have written any reviews. Notably since I was deployed, but here nor there I really have to get this review off my chest because By and Large this is probably the most emotional discord I have felt towards a video game since.. well .. nothing comes to mind ..... So let's set this as an epitome!! yar..
The Alien franchise has and always will be my favorite Sci-Fi story. The first movie introduced me to two different elements I love: Space and Fear. We are always afraid of things we don't know or understand.. it's in our nature.. Space is hard as hell to explain and explore. Just take a look at the budget costs of Nasa during the Apollo series. Not to mention Space is beautiful as hell, but ultimately the most devastating and powerful force we can physically imagine. Why not combine the two and have an artist create a sculpture so differently disturbing and have it lurking in an environment with no escape.. oh yea.. and kill the lights.. *audible bowel movement into pants inserted here*
The first film took these two elements and perfectly blended them into a masterpiece. For you kids who prefer Hostel, Paranormal Activity, or any other new age Hipster possession movie.. no offense but today's Hollywood just isn't what it used to be.
With that aside lets cut into this stink nugget so I can explain my rating..
Graphics: ...a blandish 6
The visual appearance in this game isn't necessarily terrible, but it is severely lacking in the next gen department. Some could argue: Hey man graphics don't define a game.. true.. but they sure as hell help when your franchise is loved by so many. We want the realistic feel! We want that visual immersion! After the first death experience when my character's geometry molded with the Xeno's.. I had a very audible flat face going.. kinda like this ._. ..
I'd like to add in the animations in this department simply because this game cares little to nothing about them. Hell even when the AI tells the Aliens to run towards me, the physical design of the environment tells the model: "you cannot pass" and they have to pivot retardedly in place.. move forward.. pivot retarded-ly again.. then try the pounce.. I mean c'mon.. developers have moved past this issue a long time ago. Dead Space did it in a 0-grav environment.. there is no excuse.
Maybe try the third person equation? Hell the franchise has been done over RTS style.. why not at least try it?
Graphics? meh.. they have rare shiny moments in this game, but comparably to today's games they just fall way behind.. almost as if someone just said "IDGAF"
Gameplay: 8
Yea.. I can't lie on this one. The gameplay does actually have a good foothold. The functionality of single player/multiplayer (when in a non lag environment) is actually quite fluid. I'm not going to mention the glitches or bugs in character movement because I believe that will be fixed. Shame this package did not come complete but what game does these days? *psst.. that was a hint to DLC*
What keeps it from being perfect? Clutter.
Not the objective kind.. the player kind. The campaign fault is by and large the addition of more marines.. I really have to ask .. WHY?? I mean surely the Dev's had testers play the game right? Surely someone had to point out.. "hey man.. there are way too many peeps crampin this hallway.. I can't even see the action" ....right? It's a simple solution.. replace the human players with NPCs. No clutter.. no fault.. Take a page from Gears of War.. really it's okay.
Sound: I choose not to deem a number.. poop face :s
Anyone who has read my reviews knows how overly sensitive I am when it comes to sound. Yes I also include dialogue sometimes .. and yea there is some highly atmospheric destruction goin on due to some dumb characters and why they should never talk. That will come later.. I let this game load up and get to the title screen in which I hear a classical orchestral (if that) remix of all the Alien movies.I am all for paying homage to films, but this simply just almost made me cry. Why..why even include ANYTHING from the 4th movie.. Resurrection was a disrespectful demon child of film that deserved to be popped like the zit it was. I don't wanna be reminded of it!!
That aside yea the Aliens themselves sound cool.. but.. uhm I don't ever remember the facehuggers having growls or hisses.. they were scary because you didn't know where they were. THEY WERE SILENT. I'm not kidding at all .. these things growl when you enter a room with them.
Next we have prerecorded movie soundtrack inserts. 90% of this game's musical score is everything you've heard from the movies and/or games just either remastered, refined, redeposited and repeated. It's nothing new. Yea yea.. "homage!" pff.. the movies each had a different soundtrack.. is it so much to ask the games to do the same? Halo seemed to adapt rather well to this concept.. listen when I say: It is not a Sin to Borrow from other Games' concepts to make something better! Hell competitors should encourage this.. then we'd get quality competition again like we had from the Nintendo and Sega war.
Dialogue.. I gotta say Mr. Van Ord hit the nail on the head.. it's just plain dumb in this game. The nostalgic actors from the movie can't save this game, because simply put.. they aren't that famous.. they need money just like you do. "any thoughts on the Chest exploding issue?" .... oh Christ.
Value: 5
I was beyond stoked when I learned this was a sequel to the 2nd film in the franchise.. surely James Cameron had some say in the quality of the product since well.. the second movie was his baby.. right? I mean the writers would actually give a damn if this thing flopped and the licence for the story they sold turned out to be garbage.... right?
Am I hitting home yet? If you are a fan.. surely you know these things to be true. It's high time we deserve this franchise to scare the hell out of us again. God knows we've poured in the money for it like suckers.. Do something with it!!
oh.. yea the price doesn't match the product. I can buy and watch the quality movie for under 10 bucks. Honestly I wanted to know the story. Give me that instead of half assed money making garbage to ride the tide of ever present movie to game garbage as we are all sick of.
If this was another fan made game? sure.. I'll give it some lee-way.. but damn you for adding this to the franchise cannon.. you as story tellers should be ashamed.