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Bobby Roberts · Oct 14, 2014

That is a GREAT post by Fimbulvetr. Basically every single complaint I had with the story and the storytelling, thoroughly summed up.

That the game is still one of my favorite gaming experiences in a while really speaks to how well they nailed pretty much everything else.

But yeah, the story, and the execution of that story, wasn't all that good.

Fimbulvetr · Oct 14, 2014

Lime said:
I was incredibly wary of the Ellen Ripley's daughter when I first heard about it. The premise screamed fan fiction. But I think CA made a decent job with making it believable and the audio with Ellen Ripley was decent and the tears on the helmet later was somber. Maybe my expectations were low, but I didn't have as big of a problem as I would have.

I'm not sure what you're referring to with the tears on the helmet. Is that in one of the prerendered cutscenes? I've been skipping them on my second playthrough so I might have forgotten it.

It might seem abrupt, but considering his emphasis on getting the Nostromo wreck and landing on LV-426 for profit, he has reasons for blaming himself since he wanted to get money/assets. The logs and audio clips also explain the struggle on Marlow's ship and his wish for providing for his wife.

Yeah, the establishment is fine (having to bribe their way onto Sevastopol with the flight recorder was a very nice tangential point that added depth to multiple characters and the overall setting), but it's impossible for logs made before the incident to communicate his feelings after it of course. Maybe they could've done something right after the LV246 flashback. Or maybe that would've been the wrong time. They needed to do something more, that much I know.

I think a lot of the relationship was implicit and under-explained. But I did remember Amanda reacting to Samuels dying. Saying his name and something about not dying in vain.

She says that to further justify continuing towards Apollo, it's not a big thing at all. The relationship just doesn't exist in any real way, I wonder if they planned for it to go differently, a lot of the game feels like that to me.

I attribute it to fanservice.

I actually didn't think of the comedic element of it until my second playthrough, the fanservice element overwhelmed me at first. The earlier glimpse is still problematic, it shouldn't have been there if this was supposed to be a big reveal.

Wasn't there some audio log about them being able to shield off the reactor area or lock it down for some time or something?

I don't remember this, I'd appreciate if you could find it. In any case, such a major detail shouldn't be optional.

I always identified the Blown-Into-Space alien to be the same one throughout the game.

No way, that alien died when it entered the gas giant's atmosphere. If that interpretation wasn't what they intended, they did a bad job of showing it.

Thanks for the kind words, guys. Two more thoughts, both about Samuels. Are we supposed to know he's an android from the very beginning? Him beating the absolute shit out of a Working Joe with his fist was a huge "hell yeah" moment (I cheered), but was it meant to be the reveal? Also my friend pointed this out: why can't Amanda talk to him through the vent at that point so they can better plan their approach? I know it's minor but it stumped me and yeah it's kinda dumb.

The other Samuels thing is how he says that Apollo's countermeasures will be lethal for him, you stop them, and he still dies. Stating a goal and letting you achieve it only to reverse it with no further justification is bad form, especially in a game where goals are everything by definition. Again, it's cool that they made Samuels sympathetic, but the execution was sloppy.

Shake Appeal · Oct 14, 2014

You already know Samuels is synthetic long before that (if you don't suspect it from the very start). I think Waits or someone else mentions it when they send him down there, because it'll better allow him to deal with the Working Joes.

I think the reason Ripley doesn't speak to him in the vent is you're meant to be a little suspicious of him at that point. The first Alien movie and some details of the plot here (APOLLO suddenly went nuts after Samuels went down there!) give you reason to suspect that he knows more about what's going on or has a deeper WY agenda. You later learn that sweet, human Taylor is the sketchy one.

I agree that the execution is a little sloppy (like a lot of things in the game, it feels like they're missing some transitional story or connective story tissue that makes you feel more grounded in the story and attached to the characters), but I like that there are some hints at the "synthetic with an agenda" subplot from the first movie, and then they flip it and it turns out he's a swell dude who dies for you (like the second movie).

Edit: As far as holes or dumb plot goes, Amanda hulking her way out of the nest is the silliest thing, and it seems like they could have found some way to excuse that (the ship lists in orbit and a broken metal panel slices one arm free, or there's an engineer with a blowtorch also implanted nearby). I didn't really feel there were any other stupid or unexplained things in the story, just some stuff that was glossed over or not given the treatment it deserved.

Edit 2: Of all the secondary characters, I think Ricardo was handled best, and his "death" was one of the subtlest and most affecting, because the player had actually established some sort of rapport with him over time and he helped you by unlocking doors and so on.

ElTopo · Oct 14, 2014

What are your thoughts on the DLC?

I thought it was all right, it was nice to hear those voices again and the vent segment was great. But it was too short and wasn't really worth the cost.

We need some DLC maps for survival mode and an extended ending.

Fimbulvetr · Oct 15, 2014

Shake Appeal said:
You already know Samuels is synthetic long before that (if you don't suspect it from the very start). I think Waits or someone else mentions it when they send him down there, because it'll better allow him to deal with the Working Joes.

Yep, you're right; Waits does say he's a synthetic. It's an offhand comment, and it comes after he calls him "your guy" a couple of times, so it's definitely underplayed. If Samuels was supposed to parallel Ash in any real way I didn't get that unfortunately, I think it was just another underdeveloped thread ultimately.

It's funny, the existence of AIs with human-like intelligence has been a massive double-edged sword in the Alien universe since the very beginning. On one hand, seeing Ash bleed white and proceed to attack Ripley for the first time was the most frightening and disorienting experience I can remember having while watching a film, and it put an exclamation point on the theme of corporate disregard for human life among other things, but on the other hand such advanced technology and the impact it would have on human life in that universe isn't considered at all since it would probably overwhelm the film. The whole idea has big benefits, but it starts to crumble on closer examination. Samuels by all indications genuinely wants to do Amanda a kindness, he's completely human in his characterization. Isolation, like the film, awkwardly sidesteps the entire human-like AI issue. It did introduce the Working Joes though, which was brilliant. Ok, I'll stop nerding out now.

Solidsoul · Oct 15, 2014

Okay, i was literally watching Aliens when i noticed something that led me to pausing the movie and coming straight here.

Ellen Ripley finds out that her daughter Amanda died at the age of 66 and was married to a man with the last name McClaren and had no children.

From what i have read, Alien: Isolation is canon. So for all of you worried about the fact that maybe Amanda was impregnated by the alien in that sequence where you get captured, it's really not possible for that to be the case and fit within the canon.

I think we can safely assume she is alright, i think it would be awesome if the sequel had Amanda put into a similar situation as her mother during Aliens. Where we fight the aliens with marines but done in a true-to-form style like Alien: Isolation and not another Colonial Marines mishap.

Is it possible/reasonable for them to make a movie and/or game in which Ellen and Amanda meet? With so little actually said about her daughter in Aliens, it would not be far-fetched at all (IMO) for it to turn out that Weyland-Yutani was just fabricating the death of Ellen's daughter so that it wouldn't be a conflict in their endeavors.

Corpekata · Oct 15, 2014

The daughter subplot in Aliens were deleted scenes originally so I don't know if we can really consider her ending as being an old married lady canon. Cutting those scenes infamously pissed Weaver off.

And it seems unlikely they'd ever meet. We already know how Ellen's life ends.

Solidsoul · Oct 15, 2014

Corpekata said:
The daughter subplot in Aliens were deleted scenes originally so I don't know if we can really consider her ending as being an old married lady canon. Cutting those scenes infamously pissed Weaver off.

James Cameron himself has said that the version with Amanda Ripley is the true definitive version. Even Sigourney Weaver herself felt that sub-plot was an essential part of Ellen Ripley's character development.

Corpekata · Oct 15, 2014

Solidsoul said:
James Cameron himself has said that the version with Amanda Ripley is the true definitive version. Even Sigourney Weaver herself felt that sub-plot was an essential part of Ellen Ripley's character development.

Well, it is. I'm just saying I don't know if the property holders consider it canon (it makes no sense to end of a cliffhanger if they consider the cut stuff canon). Might be the director's cut but doesn't change that millions of people saw it unaware that the subplot even exists.

ElTopo · Oct 15, 2014

Director's Cut of Aliens and Assembly Cut of Alien 3 are considered to be cannon (I.E. Ripley had a daughter named Amanda who died of old age and the Bishop look-alike seen at the end of Alien 3 is in fact human and the maker of the Bishop android).

The two Alien VS Predator films are officially considered non-cannon.

Bobby Roberts · Oct 16, 2014

Wow. This review of the game over at AV Club is...

http://www.avclub.com/article/alien-isolation-stunningly-realistic-locker-simula-210526

I mean, I know some people will often try to kneecap an entire review by trying to point out minor nitpicks and flaws in the description of the game as a means to say "He didn't really play it, he's corrupt!" and blah blah blah.

But I read that review and I'm not saying he didn't complete the game. I'm sure that he did. But it sure as fuck reads like he got discouraged early, and ceased paying attention once he figured out what his angle of attack was going to be.

Like - if you think this game is a Locker simulator, you're really not doing yourself or the game any favors.

shiba5 · Oct 17, 2014

The people who try to hang out in the lockers are the ones getting frustrated, but instead of trying another way they complain the game is unfair, not fun, locker simulator, etc...

Warm Machine · Oct 17, 2014

shiba5 said:
The people who try to hang out in the lockers are the ones getting frustrated, but instead of trying another way they complain the game is unfair, not fun, locker simulator, etc...

The game does a piss poor job of telling the player any different. It says one thing and then asks you to do the other. It also sets up incredibly difficult situations early like when the girl gets the 3 guys in the giant room. If you walk out the way you have come in you are essentially screwed. It tells you not to run but the best way to escape a lot of situations, like the droids, is running. It gives you weapons like the revolver at a time when weapons are mostly garbage or pointless to use.

If you ignore all of what the game lies down for you and do things your own way via trial and error you have more success. It is like reverse psychology game design.

Chiggs · Oct 17, 2014

shiba5 said:
The people who try to hang out in the lockers are the ones getting frustrated, but instead of trying another way they complain the game is unfair, not fun, locker simulator, etc...

Yeah, you just have to be comfortable with the Alien roaming about in the level; this is not a game for people who need to obliterate every enemy in a level.

frontovik · Oct 17, 2014

I wonder how many civilians onboard the Sevastopol are friendly towards Ripley? (with the exception of secondary character such as Waits, Marlow, Kuhlman and Ricardo etc)

- The couple trying to fix the elevator when you're with Axel.
- The woman looking at the gas giant/sun from a window.

Deleted member 30609 · Oct 17, 2014

this is one of my favourite games of the past few years, it might be my GOTY and all that, but yeah: it piss poor job at explaining itself. I mean, teaching you nothing and forcing you to learn is one thing, but teaching you something only to punish you for it during *the first encounter with a threat* (the humans in chapter three, where doubling back to safe place actively fucks you over) is just bullshit. I don't know how that made it through play-testing (granted, I don't know how most of this game made it through modern play-testing, and for that I'm largely grateful).

shiba5 · Oct 17, 2014

I kinda liked the lack of handholding myself, but I can see why some people got frustrated with it. I started out the same way with it - thinking it was a typical stealth game where I could just hide and wait out the AI, and I died a bunch of times. Forcing myself to keep moving took me way out of my comfort zone, and I was seriously stressed out throughout both medical sections even though I had little difficulty getting through them (once I left the death trap lockers behind). The game definitely throws you into the deep end during mission 5 and flips the rules upside down. It's especially jarring when the "tutorial" missions are humans and androids who are more scripted and where typical stealth mechanics apply.

Price Drop · Oct 18, 2014

shiba5 said:
I kinda liked the lack of handholding myself, but I can see why some people got frustrated with it. I started out the same way with it - thinking it was a typical stealth game where I could just hide and wait out the AI, and I died a bunch of times. Forcing myself to keep moving took me way out of my comfort zone, and I was seriously stressed out throughout both medical sections even though I had little difficulty getting through them (once I left the death trap lockers behind). The game definitely throws you into the deep end during mission 5 and flips the rules upside down. It's especially jarring when the "tutorial" missions are humans and androids who are more scripted and where typical stealth mechanics apply.

I also enjoyed not having many hints because every player is going to approach the situation in a different way. Many people have played the human encounters differently. I didn't even know there was a vent by the generator to hide and just hid in a corner before crawling out. Also, I had to kill the other group of humans one by one after picking up the wrench and saving. It's nice that each situation makes you think of any and all solutions based on what equipment you have at the time.

Bobby Roberts · Oct 18, 2014

So, I played Last Survivor.

My first REAL disappointment with the game. Mostly because if you're going to advertise it as Ripley's escape from the Nostromo... it should be Ripley's escape from the Nostromo. Instead, I run downstairs, duck the Alien once, find Parker & Lambert, get a keycard, hit the Alien with a flamethrower burst, start the self-destruct, and then basically haul ass to the Narcissus.

I don't pick up Jonesy, I don't double back, I don't find Dallas and Brett (I was thinking they gave me so much flamethrower fuel for a reason), I don't escape but STILL have to sneak past the Alien into my suit and eject the motherfucker into space...

It took like, 6 minutes once I knew what to do.

Deleted member 30609 · Oct 18, 2014

BobbyRoberts said:
So, I played Last Survivor.

My first REAL disappointment with the game. Mostly because if you're going to advertise it as Ripley's escape from the Nostromo... it should be Ripley's escape from the Nostromo. Instead, I run downstairs, duck the Alien once, find Parker & Lambert, get a keycard, hit the Alien with a flamethrower burst, start the self-destruct, and then basically haul ass to the Narcissus.

I don't pick up Jonesy, I don't double back, I don't find Dallas and Brett (I was thinking they gave me so much flamethrower fuel for a reason), I don't escape but STILL have to sneak past the Alien into my suit and eject the motherfucker into space...

It took like, 6 minutes once I knew what to do.

I thought Crew Expendable was really boring as well. I couldn't get enough of the main campaign, but I didn't even bother finishing the (apparently very short) DLC.

Bobby Roberts · Oct 18, 2014

There's so much of the Nostromo that they show you on the Last Survivor map, and you never actually go into any more than 1/5th of it, really.

So they cut like 2/3rds of Ripley's adventure getting off the ship, and they only allow you to look at a fraction of the ship you're trying to escape.

Apparently it costs 4 bucks to play this 15-20 minutes (counting trial & error deaths) and that's not all that great.

Kak.efes · Oct 18, 2014

Would it be sacrilege to say that this is more of a true spiritual successor to Alien than Aliens? I'm not sure where I stand, and that's to take nothing away from Aliens, which largely defined its own genre, and set its own trends.

Bobby Roberts · Oct 18, 2014

I dont' know that it'd be sacrilege. It definitely seems to slot inbetween ALIEN and Alien 3 a little more comfortably than ALIENS did, at least on a tonal level. And it does come up with its own way of upping the ante on the xenomorph without introducing a queen.

I'm not sure I'd agree, but I think you can absolutely make the argument.

F0rneus · Oct 18, 2014

BobbyRoberts said:
I think the neatest narrative trick they pulled was justifying the in-game AI with a late-game twist: It was never just ONE Alien. It was always multiple. So when you were like "How can it be in this section of the station so fast?" It probably wasn't. It was probably a completely different Alien. But you wouldn't know that until after you try to take out the reactor.

I think she got picked up, myself. I liked the ending.

Never got an actual chestbursting. No queens, no chestbursting. Kinda restrained, honestly.

That's not how I viewed things at all. I felt like the whole "The Alien learns from you" aspect of the game, meant that yes, there was ONE Xenomorph hunting you and you finally got rid of him in Chapter 10. It was your stalker, your main threat and it learned from your behavior. And it's dealt with midgame. It was like a reward to the player. You truly have some sort of bond with that Xenomorph. So it's a bit sad to see it go too.

Then you learn that there were others hiding underneath the reactor. But they never left it. It's why it was always ONE Xeno learning from you. It's why you never saw more than one at the same time, unlike the end of the game. And they felt different somehow. More like Cameron like drones attacking in pairs, than the clever one hunting you before.

I was reading AVPGalaxy's review and the guy felt the same away about the twist being that yes, you do get rid of the Alien that plagued you. But there are many others LATER. Not always.

Bobby Roberts · Oct 18, 2014

F0rneus said:
Then you learn that there were others hiding underneath the reactor. And they felt different somehow. More like Cameron like drones attacking in pairs, than the clever one hunting you before.

I never really felt like the one Alien was learning all that much from me until after I hit it with a flamethrower once or twice.

I didn't think the multiple Aliens acted all that differently either. Except that they were a little more aggressive knowing that they had backup in the vicinity with them. And even then - there's not much difference between that and what the single Alien in the Medbay was doing.

I didn't think they felt different at all, really. And I don't know why I'd assume that none of the other Aliens never left the nest. It's not like just the one was crawling up into Sevastopol and bringing back all the other crewmembers to turn into eggs.

I guess I don't value the idea of having "bonded" with the Alien at all. It was a motherfucker, and it turns out there's at least 6 other motherfuckers crawling around the station at some point - which explains why it seems as if there's always an Alien around, no matter where I go.

To quote Dillon: I say fuck that thing.

F0rneus · Oct 18, 2014

BobbyRoberts said:
I never really felt like the one Alien was learning all that much from me until after I hit it with a flamethrower once or twice.

I didn't think the multiple Aliens acted all that differently either. Except that they were a little more aggressive knowing that they had backup in the vicinity with them. And even then - there's not much difference between that and what the single Alien in the Medbay was doing.

I didn't think they felt different at all, really.

It definitely learned from me. It learned to check lockers after a while. It learned to ignore flares. It learned that noisemakers meant I was nearby, rather than possibly being me. What's great about it's AI and that it's so complex that nobody's experience will ever really be the same with it.

Bobby Roberts · Oct 18, 2014

I dunno. I feel like you're overstating the quality/effect of the Alien's AI, but on the other hand, if that caused you to enjoy the game more, and be more immersed in the gameplay, who am I to say that's wrong, yunno?

I don't think the AI on the Alien was AS smart as it could have/should have been, but I can't deny you had a really great gaming experience either.

Fimbulvetr · Oct 18, 2014

Anyone know where to find the code for the lockbox in Mike Tanaka's room? It's in the Spaceflight Terminal close to the primary airlock; you pass by it at the beginning of mission 11 but it needs the ion torch to be accessed so some serious backtracking is necessary to actually get in.

Also I got the hell scared out of me by a totally optional event that I never knew existed before. Try going into the Systech security room in mission 10 instead of heading straight for your objective through the lobby. It's directly south of the lobby. It was worse because I was trying a no death run and... well you'll see. I wonder if there are any other significant optional events like this.

Shake Appeal · Oct 18, 2014

BobbyRoberts said:
Wow. This review of the game over at AV Club is...

http://www.avclub.com/article/alien-isolation-stunningly-realistic-locker-simula-210526

LOL

You’re forced to spend many hours standing in these lockers, waiting, staring ahead at the same postcard tacked to the inside door, at the same Post-it note bearing the same message—Please order more of above—stuck on every one of what must be many hundreds of lockers littered throughout the station. All you can do is get used to it.

I think I got in a locker once after Chapter 5.

Aon · Oct 19, 2014

frontovik said:
I wonder how many civilians onboard the Sevastopol are friendly towards Ripley? (with the exception of secondary character such as Waits, Marlow, Kuhlman and Ricardo etc)

- The couple trying to fix the elevator when you're with Axel.
- The woman looking at the gas giant/sun from a window.

There's also a dude sitting crouched by a locker in a side room in latter half of mission 10. I got into the locker and figured I'd wait around till his unhinged rambling attracted the Alien, watch his death.

After a few minutes I got bored and made coffee. When I got back he had vanished without a trace.

For those of you who're disregarding lockers, they seemed incredibly effective through the game to me, probably because I was playing on Medium. He'd certainly waltz over and parade back and forth a few times, sometimes forcing me into the hold your breath minigame, but he only ever seemed to tear the door off if he saw me get in, I used the tracker or failed the minigame.

I feel like you guys playing on hard have had a totally different experience with them.

Someone in the main thread mentioned there was something spoilerish about Newt, does anyone know what they might have been talking about? I missed a buncha terminals and was playing the game in a second language.

PS: I also somehow got fake-spoiled on this game, read somewhere that you fought a queen. Refused to believe the game was over until the credits actually rolled, expecting some queen to come out of absolutely nowhere.

GwyndolinCinder · Oct 19, 2014

BobbyRoberts said:
I think the neatest narrative trick they pulled was justifying the in-game AI with a late-game twist: It was never just ONE Alien. It was always multiple. So when you were like "How can it be in this section of the station so fast?" It probably wasn't. It was probably a completely different Alien. But you wouldn't know that until after you try to take out the reactor.
.

Its almost certainly was just one alien till you go down to the nest, as soon as that alien is gone you can freely run around the ship

Rymuth · Oct 19, 2014

The only friendly NPcs I encountered were two looters. I just told them the Alien was coming and they went away. That's it.

Garibaldi · Oct 19, 2014

Lime said:
I was incredibly wary of the Ellen Ripley's daughter when I first heard about it. The premise screamed fan fiction. But I think CA made a decent job with making it believable and the audio with Ellen Ripley was decent and the tears on the helmet later was somber. Maybe my expectations were low, but I didn't have as big of a problem as I would have.

If it's the bit I'm thinking of. In the airlock, just before the alien nabs you. Those aren't tears on the helmet visor. That is the alien saliva dripping from above which alerts Ripley to it being there.

Bobby Roberts · Oct 19, 2014

GwyndolinCinder said:
Its almost certainly was just one alien till you go down to the nest, as soon as that alien is gone you can freely run around the ship

Sure. Can't even argue that. Although you can freely run around the ship in the beginning, too

I dunno - it seems like the out is there if you wanna take it, is all. And if you don't wanna take it, you don't have to. And for some people, they definitely dont' want to, as it doesn't help their immersion. I'm not gonna say they're WRONG for it.

EGM1966 · Oct 19, 2014

Solidsoul said:
James Cameron himself has said that the version with Amanda Ripley is the true definitive version. Even Sigourney Weaver herself felt that sub-plot was an essential part of Ellen Ripley's character development.

Of course the information given to Ripley (Ellen) could easily be retconned as being false. WY Compant not being above shady dealings.

On another note while great I really feel they missed a great chance to expand the Nostromo DLC to cover more of the events in the film. Not only did they have Nostromo levels but the derelict as well. Would have been awesome if there was more to the DLC than exists currently.

Still loved the recreation that was there though.

Chaotic-Strike · Oct 19, 2014

Kak.efes said:
Would it be sacrilege to say that this is more of a true spiritual successor to Alien than Aliens? I'm not sure where I stand, and that's to take nothing away from Aliens, which largely defined its own genre, and set its own trends.

Oh yes, while I liked Aliens a lot I just hate what it did to the monster itself. Such as changing it from an unpredictable Alien species into a giant space ant that is easily taken out by fire arms and essentially reduces them to canon fodder and thereby removes the fear factor out them.

Adding a Queen only further diminishes the regular Alien(s) even more which is why I hope that Creative Assembly doesn't chicken out and eventually confirms egg morphing later on.

Needless to say this game is a good return to form to Alien and a lot more in vein with Alien than Aliens was.

SuperStiltzkin · Oct 19, 2014

Did they explain why they couldn't just take the ambulance shuttle to the Torrens? Did Ripley just want to save as many people as possible? Whatever happened to the rogue survivors taking the ship by force? Surely you don't want the Torrens docking on a station that is not only full of gun toting pirates, but also goddamn xenomorphs. They're like a disease and Sevastopool is the host. Any ship that touches it becomes infected. Trying to rescue as many people as possible is a foolish goal. You don't get that close to ground zero without a couple of unwanted stowaways, as proven by the ending.

Also I don't like that they tried to play up Marlowe as some bad guy. His plan made sense. How do you defeat an infestation that big without sacrificing lives? And when you see that many xenomorphs you should be saying "Save the survivors? What survivors?" The fact that Ripley sided with Taylor even knowing what her mother did and knowing that Taylor was in it for the xenomorph data was pretty stupid. The space station ended up crashing into the gas giant anyways.

Lime · Oct 19, 2014

Garibaldi said:
If it's the bit I'm thinking of. In the airlock, just before the alien nabs you. Those aren't tears on the helmet visor. That is the alien saliva dripping from above which alerts Ripley to it being there.

It is? I thought it was her tears because of how tough everything had been and now she almost finally reached the Torrens.

Cudder · Oct 20, 2014

Lime said:
It is? I thought it was her tears because of how tough everything had been and now she almost finally reached the Torrens.

Lmao

Moff · Oct 20, 2014

I absolutely love they kept the egg morphing and ignored camerons retcon with the queen. the egg morphing makes the alien a "perfect ogranism", the queen is such a big flaw in that concept. I also believe that there are different aliens since the start of the game, they all have their own hunting territory probably.
GOTY for me, I really loved amanda as a character, too. strong female main characters alone are rare enough, but completely unsexualised? that's just great, loved it. voice actress did a great job, too.

bonesmccoy · Oct 21, 2014

Finally finished it. 21 hours. Woof.

After Chapter 5 I kept my locker usage to a minimum. It is much easier to distract the alien with one of your throw-able items than to wait until he leaves.

Or just toss a molotov at him. For whatever reason, that seemed to get the aliens to leave for a longer period of time than the flamethrower blast.

Disorganized thoughts:

- Samuels reveals he's a synthetic in Chapter 1 when he mentions he doesn't need as much sleep as you do.

- I would have liked to have seen Taylor fleshed out a bit more. Was she there for the flight recorder or to finalise the sale of Sevastopol?

- How come that last security npcs were still so hostile by the time the station was losing orbit? It would have been interesting to have a way to get npcs to co-operate with you (but incredibly difficult to tie into the plot).

- I assumed an alien got on the Torens through some vent or some such while it was tethered to Sevastopol.

- I had begun to suspect that there was more that just 1 alien right before the reactor mission. It was when Waits double-crosses you and he asks Ripley if the alien is still hunting her. That made me think that there was just no way the alien had been following you through every elevator/tram ride.

NotTheGuyYouKill · Jan 19, 2015

Finally got around to finishing the game. It was my GOTY, but I'd only made it to Mission... 14? I finished the last haul of stuff today.

That was pretty great. I felt the ending was really abrupt, and wanted to see that fleshed out a bit more, but otherwise, the game told a decent story. I liked Amanda. Aliens pissed me the fuck off.

I wonder if we'll get a Aliens-esque sequel.

Neiteio · Jan 19, 2015

Fimbulvetr said:
Anyone know where to find the code for the lockbox in Mike Tanaka's room? It's in the Spaceflight Terminal close to the primary airlock; you pass by it at the beginning of mission 11 but it needs the ion torch to be accessed so some serious backtracking is necessary to actually get in.

Also I got the hell scared out of me by a totally optional event that I never knew existed before. Try going into the Systech security room in mission 10 instead of heading straight for your objective through the lobby. It's directly south of the lobby. It was worse because I was trying a no death run and... well you'll see. I wonder if there are any other significant optional events like this.

Any links to video of this? I beat the game on Hard but don't recall this.

Lime · Jan 19, 2015

NotTheGuyYouKill said:
I wonder if we'll get a Aliens-esque sequel.

I feel like that is exactly what we've been getting for sooo long, not only in terms of the Alien IP, but video games in general revolve aroud Space marines vs Aliens.

Neiteio · Jan 19, 2015

NotTheGuyYouKill said:
I wonder if we'll get a Aliens-esque sequel.

Gary Napper, the senior game designer, has said a sequel would still focus on a powerless player trying to avoid an all-powerful alien. So a sequel would be more "Alien" than "Aliens," in terms of gameplay. And that's the right decision, IMO.

NotTheGuyYouKill · Jan 19, 2015

Neiteio said:
Gary Napper, the senior game designer, has said a sequel would still focus on a powerless player trying to avoid an all-powerful alien. So a sequel would be more "Alien" than "Aliens," in terms of gameplay. And that's the right decision, IMO.

It does get a bit psychologically... Overpowering at times.

Zombie James · Mar 13, 2015

Beat the game last night, had a fantastic experience with it. Some questions about the plot, though, especially when it comes to the eggs. I guess the lady who got facehugged at the derelict ship gave birth to a queen who then made it's way down to the reactor and we just never see it? That's the only logical conclusion I can come up with.

I'd like to think the dev team wouldn't use a non-canon solution to the eggs like the cut egg morphing scene from Alien for this, it would feel really out of place. Also, while walking around in the hive you never see someone turning into an egg like the cut scene, just dead and restrained.

ezekial45 · Mar 13, 2015

Zombie James said:
Beat the game last night, had a fantastic experience with it. Some questions about the plot, though, especially when it comes to the eggs. I guess the lady who got facehugged at the derelict gave birth to a queen who then made it's way down to the reactor and we just never see it? That's the only logical conclusion I can come up with.

I'd like to think the dev team wouldn't use a non-canon solution to the eggs like the cut egg morphing scene from Alien for this, it would feel really out of place. Also, while walking around in the hive you never see someone turning into an egg like the cut scene, just dead and restrained.

In an interview, the developers at CA stated that there was a Queen in the reactor. They didn't show it because they felt that having players see it would have them expect a confrontation with it.

So yeah, the Queen was there.

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