I'm not really sure I would call those "easter eggs" since they are blatantly obvious. To me an easter egg is something that is not blatantly obvious and is something you have to find.
There's no justice in this world if Aliens: colonial marines sold more than this gem.
And the scores by IGN for Acm and this Alien are separated by mere 9 points. Makes me scratch my head so hard I became bald. Opinions are ooinions but this is just wrong on so many levels.
While I will likeyl awlays consider Alien overall superior, particualry for thematic horror, I do feel Cameron and Aliens gets a lot of unfair bad press today for some reason. Aliens is a very fine, well crafted film and while he arguably made the Queen/lifecycle too familiar to insects on Earth vs Alien's more tangential, mysterious riffing on certain aspects of insects while keeping the Alien, well, Alien, and he did make the Alien killable he did not in my view make it cannon fodder as such and for pretty much the entire film once they touchdown on the planetoid he keeps the Aliens a very credible menance and the tone is very much that, even when armed with extremely powerful weapons, you run the other way rather than engage in a stand up fight with the Aliens.
For dramatic purposes he needed something new too, hence the Queen. My main gripe with the Queen is that while she herself is a nicely biomechanical creation (I'd have gone for a different head underside but that's just me) her egg laying sack and lair was very visually bland and far too clearly modelled on Earth insect Queens. It was probably a budget issue but really she should have been sitting atop a biomechanical egg producing factoring with vagina/sexual orrifices producing the eggs. That's the only area I'd say Cameron trully backed off on; the sexual overtones were dialed back to practically nothing and whereas in Alien by the end you had the horrible suspicion the Alien would both fuck and kill you or worse in Aliens you knew you were just food/host fodder which just wasn't as thematically interesting (although clearly you don't want to be a host and that's pretty horrific in itself).
In the end I think Cameron for the most part made all the right moves though. A film like Alien is, in many ways, a one off. The Alien can only be truly Alien and unknown once. It's very hard to manufacture situation were its un-killable particularly against a backdrop of advanced science, and the various elements of thematic horror are only fresh once. Hence Cameron had IMHO to subtly shift the tone and the genre and he made a very tense thriller with light horror subtext and the threat of a somewhat mysterious deadly assailant vs the pure horror tone and thematic text of Alien.
Whether you like Aliens or not it is unarguably well made, solidly to well acted and very well directed, composed and edited. It will never be a bad or even average film in any objective way. It also serves as a great sequel to Alien and to be honest I'd say it clearly respects Alien, the director's cut in particularly respectfully referencing Alien at many points right through to a couple of music cues and composition/situation matches as well as respecting the design style without being too constrained by it.
Watching Aliens I could see that Cameron loved Alien as much as I did and wanted to be as true to it as he could while crafting something that would work in a situation where you'd already seen Alien, the Alien and the bio-mechanical work of Geiger wasn't fresh and new and most of the big surprises he could spring were already out the bag.
I don't feel Aliens gets a lot of hate at all aside from a very few people that have a general hate for Cameron and those who absolutely just LOVE Alien and refuse to accept anything else. I love both films, but prefer Aliens since it was a film I grew up on.
In my opinion Aliens is what defines the perfect sequel in that it didn't try rehash the first film as you said it went in a completely new direction. It made it a war film with some fear and terror. I have heard some haters try to argue that Aliens completely rips off Alien and I think that argument is the worst ever. That argument holds up if you break the film down into mere bullet points on a single sheet of paper, but then you could argue that many films are ripoffs.
But here are my reasons why I consider Aliens to be superior.
1. It has better characters. It made Ripley a human and gave her a backstory. It turned Ripley into Ellen Ripley. There was a reason she got an Academy Award nomination for it. Alien had little to no character development. Although, it was a film that didn't really need it so I can't really fault it.
2. I just feel it was more exciting.
3. It expanded the lifecycle of the Alien, which was pretty much never understood from Alien. The deleted scene doesn't count since it was only seen by a handful of people until 1999 when the dvd came out that had all the deleted scenes. Meaning people had 13 years of accepting the lifecycle introduced in Aliens.
Nevertheless, comparing the two I feel is pointless. They are different films.
There's no justice in this world if Aliens: colonial marines sold more than this gem.
And the scores by IGN for Acm and this Alien are separated by mere 9 points. Makes me scratch my head so hard I became bald. Opinions are ooinions but this is just wrong on so many levels.
That seems like a really unfair thing to say. The game was crafted from the ground up as an Alien game. They wouldn't have made the same game otherwise. It's not like they made some generic stealth game and then slapped on a bunch of Alien visual stuff before shipping.
It's crazy after I finished this game I felt it was good, but far from perfect and kinda laughed at people who felt that this was GotY
However, after my novice playthrough it grew on me.
I find myself spending a lot of time discussing this game and slowly appreciating everything it did right and how brilliantly well crafted it is. I find myself thinking about it and wanting to replay it. The ONLY section I felt was truly poorly done was the section in Chapter 17
where you have to go back and forth between two rooms multiple times. That section sucked and I felt it was padding.
There was one really bad plot hole. In Chapter 18
there are eggs everywhere. How did those eggs get there? How would a queen had enough time to lay them? Heck, how would the queen have laid them under the floor?! Are we supposed to believe that the xenomorphs from the reactor carried them to prevent explosion? Or that they would have gone unnoticed.
That is the only section where I felt the CA completely sacrificed believability for providing one last thrill.
So for those of you who called this GotY I am pleased to say that I now get it. I'm not totally sure this is my GotY, but it's definitely up there and will be a game that I likely go back and play from time to time for years.
It's crazy after I finished this game I felt it was good, but far from perfect and kinda laughed at people who felt that this was GotY
However, after my novice playthrough it grew on me.
I find myself spending a lot of time discussing this game and slowly appreciating everything it did right and how brilliantly well crafted it is. I find myself thinking about it and wanting to replay it. The ONLY section I felt was truly poorly done was the section in Chapter 17
where you have to go back and forth between two rooms multiple times. That section sucked and I felt it was padding.
There was one really bad plot hole. In Chapter 18
there are eggs everywhere. How did those eggs get there? How would a queen had enough time to lay them? Heck, how would the queen have laid them under the floor?! Are we supposed to believe that the xenomorphs from the reactor carried them to prevent explosion? Or that they would have gone unnoticed.
That is the only section where I felt the CA completely sacrificed believability for providing one last thrill.
So for those of you who called this GotY I am pleased to say that I now get it. I'm not totally sure this is my GotY, but it's definitely up there and will be a game that I likely go back and play from time to time for years.
You see that pissed me off for an entirely different reason.
CA said pre-release that there would be no facehuggers in the game and so subsequently lied out of their ass. The Xenomorph is something that I can deal with but facehuggers (or indeed anything resembling an ant/spider) scares the living shit out of me.
Oddly enough, I was talking with a guy a few nights ago and he said that nobody really makes proper horror movies any more. We did however both agree that, through titles like this and Amnesia, the games industry is doing horror better than cinema has done in well over a decade. I've only played this game for maybe 2 hours but it as about as close to a AAA Amnesia/Outlast style of game that you are likely to find and I am actually surprised that Sega agreed to back it.
It's extremely well done apart from some of the glaring errors in the omnipresent Japanese text written on the environment. I know the game isn't scheduled for an actual Japanese release at all but if you can't get it right then it's probably best not to include it.
Just picked up this game recently over the holiday break, and I have to say that it is one of the best survivial horror games I've played; and I've played them all! If someone is on the fence still, don't be! It's absolutely gorgeous (played it on PS4), and the sound design is to die for.
The gameplay elements are streamlined, so it's simple enough for anyone to enjoy. It's very much akin to Bioshock 1 and System Shock 2, as in, the environments are open ended and you are free to explore anywhere in most cases; and yet your objective is always close by. I'm also in love with the minimalistic HUD.
Things that work, gameplay wise:
-The challenge; you have to be quick and quiet or you die trying; if you can handle Demon Souls, you'll enjoy the hardcore trial and error at present in alien isolation.
-evolution of survival-horror "scares"; the Alien is organic, it moves freely and is utterly quick to pounce on you, which makes for very, VERY thrilling moments
-open ended, but no hand-holding; the solutions are simple and the areas are twisty, but it still takes a little brain power to solve what you need to do and where to go next.
-environments feel real; it's been a long time since I've played a game and wondered, "wow! This could be a real place!"
-lore; the story is fine, but you get the best character driven stuff from the computer logs and they do an excellent job in expanding the universe - especially with the introduction of a new space-faring organization that (almost) rivals Weyland-Yutani.
there are eggs everywhere. How did those eggs get there? How would a queen had enough time to lay them? Heck, how would the queen have laid them under the floor?! Are we supposed to believe that the xenomorphs from the reactor carried them to prevent explosion? Or that they would have gone unnoticed.
That is the only section where I felt the CA completely sacrificed believability for providing one last thrill.
So for those of you who called this GotY I am pleased to say that I now get it. I'm not totally sure this is my GotY, but it's definitely up there and will be a game that I likely go back and play from time to time for years.
I found a cool easter egg when I played that section; I cowered in one of the hiding spots after I ignited the first Core Reactor - this is when the "nest" roars and your motion tracker goes haywire - and guess what? If you're in tune with the Alien movies, you can actually recognize the Queen Alien roaring in the background. It's distinct because it's higher pitched, and more drawn out, and this sound cue was used in both Aliens and Alien Resurrection. So if the eggs weren't a clear indicator, it's pretty safe to say that a Queen Alien was present. It's also safe to say that the android's sole protocol were to protect the Queen. Remember that your story as Amanda Ripley comes days after the outbreak on Sevastapol, so it's not out of line thinking that an Alien Queen was handled and protected by the Androis, and 1)allowing her to lay all the eggs, and 2) wreaking havoc on the entire space vessel.
I swear, this kills me every time I read it, because it was my favorite moment in the game and probably one of my favorite moments of the whole gaming year. I wish it had ended shortly after that section.
I found a cool easter egg when I played that section; I cowered in one of the hiding spots after I ignited the first Core Reactor - this is when the "nest" roars and your motion tracker goes haywire - and guess what? If you're in tune with the Alien movies, you can actually recognize the Queen Alien roaring in the background. It's distinct because it's higher pitched, and more drawn out, and this sound cue was used in both Aliens and Alien Resurrection. So if the eggs weren't a clear indicator, it's pretty safe to say that a Queen Alien was present. It's also safe to say that the android's sole protocol were to protect the Queen. Remember that your story as Amanda Ripley comes days after the outbreak on Sevastapol, so it's not out of line thinking that an Alien Queen was handled and protected by the Androis, and 1)allowing her to lay all the eggs, and 2) wreaking havoc on the entire space vessel.
It is a plothole. Keep in mind I am talking about the part in Chapter 18 and not in Chapter 14.
The queen is perfectly plausible for Chapter 14, and I buy into the theory completely that there was a queen in the reactor, but the player did not see it. But it falls apart for Chapter 18 since many of the eggs are in places where there is NO way a queen could have laid them there. Likewise, the queen is supposed to be restricted and she would have been hanging out in the reactor. So you can't make the claim that she laid eggs in the reactor and laid them right below the communications section! Also, how did all of the eggs end up in that spot so quickly? I suppose it could be argued that the xenos in the core carried and placed them there.
It was mixed. Metacritic of 78-80 although some of the big outlets gave it a really hard time. I'm honestly not sure that the world was ready for it though tbh and obviously IGN have to appeal their usual brain fart crowd. They couldn't exactly be seen to fully recommend a 20 hour stealth slog when the majority of their readership probably wouldn't like it.
It is a plothole. Keep in mind I am talking about the part in Chapter 18 and not in Chapter 14.
The queen is perfectly plausible for Chapter 14, and I buy into the theory completely that there was a queen in the reactor, but the player did not see it. But it falls apart for Chapter 18 since many of the eggs are in places where there is NO way a queen could have laid them there. Likewise, the queen is supposed to be restricted and she would have been hanging out in the reactor. So you can't make the claim that she laid eggs in the reactor and laid them right below the communications section! Also, how did all of the eggs end up in that spot so quickly? I suppose it could be argued that the xenos in the core carried and placed them there.
Thanks for the clarification, I'm currently in the middle of chapter 17, so I'll have to see for myself!
And the drones guiding some eggs to safety makes sense, even though it's never established in the movie universe. I like to think that the writers tried to expand on the Alien's behaviours and abilities; such as the Alien seen alive and agile in outer space.
It was mixed. Metacritic of 78-80 although some of the big outlets gave it a really hard time. I'm honestly not sure that the world was ready for it though tbh and obviously IGN have to appeal their usual brain fart crowd. They couldn't exactly be seen to fully recommend a 20 hour stealth slog when the majority of their readership probably wouldn't like it.
Statistically it wasn't mixed. By far majority of reviews were positive however as metacritic gives its own funky average that was brought down by two heavy outliers. I wish people would look at the actual spread and distribution of scores.
Also regarding CH18
Eggs
it is plausible to explain them
as the whole design of the level implies they've been dumped there in a hurry by Aliens that carried them from the reactor and you see two Aliens essentially on patrol guarding them
however I do think it was stretched to far as a cencept in terms of their number and spread.
While I was fine with the overall idea of final chapters I think the balance of plausible narrative and gameplay requirements wobbled a bit
in that there were too many eggs spread too far apart with too many face huggers running around. Gameplay need for foes/action slightly took over there.
It is interesting though in that if you look at it the game in many ways encapsulates the main arc of both Alien and
I disagree. Every single thing you mentioned would be completely obvious to anyone who had seen Alien only once.
The resemblance between the Apollo scene and the MUTHR scene in Alien wasn't even close to ambiguous. It's very obviously intended to a similar scene
THe magazine stuffing was one of the films most memorable moments. Same with the Nostromo.
I seriously doubt many people who have played this game hadn't seen Alien at least once.
Statistically it wasn't mixed. By far majority of reviews were positive however as metacritic gives its own funky average that was brought down by two heavy outliers. I wish people would look at the actual spread and distribution of scores.
Also regarding CH18
Eggs
it is plausible to explain them
as the whole design of the level implies they've been dumped there in a hurry by Aliens that carried them from the reactor and you see two Aliens essentially on patrol guarding them
however I do think it was stretched to far as a cencept in terms of their number and spread.
While I was fine with the overall idea of final chapters I think the balance of plausible narrative and gameplay requirements wobbled a bit
in that there were too many eggs spread too far apart with too many face huggers running around. Gameplay need for foes/action slightly took over there.
It is interesting though in that if you look at it the game in many ways encapsulates the main arc of both Alien and
Yeah that's kind of my point. Myself I'd either have ditched the whole
youve been grabbed and shoved in a makeshift nest as Aliens scrabble to recover from your actions in Hive
and instead just had your escape thwarted by damage and go for the "final desperate detour" approach they kind of do anyway or cut back massively on number of
eggs and show Aliens bringing in a few eggs while you're encased and then have you escape and more quickly move beyond the makeshift nest
.
Felt like they were trying to channel Alien's "forth act structure" (which Aliens did too) and didn't quite pull it off. It was worth it for the
transit car dodging as if you got hit I think it was mat terrifying jump in the whole game
Started playing this today based on all the good feedback from Gaf on this game. The atmosphere. The tension. Amazeballs. I'm just a few minutes out from the first encounter with the Xenomorph and the game is starting to open up in how careful you have to be when moving around. Also, fuck that first encounter with the humans and the Working Joes are crazy. I found hiding in vents when spotted by the Joes as a means to get by them because they are slow and you can basically sprint passed them to a vent (provided one is nearby). My only gripe is that when crouched you move a lot slower and it makes my asshole pucker up because the Xenomorph moves so much quicker and I'm always scared its going to round the next corner and spot me. Wish there was sort of faster movement when crouched to make a quick escape (without making much noise) to a hiding spot of some sort. But brilliant game. Watching Alien and Aliens tonight and will continue my game session later. Its all Alien this side
I still have a few games from my 2014 backlog yet to play but I think it's safe to say that this and wolfenstein are my contenders for GOTY.
Played on hard mode first time around because I love a challenge and I want them trophies
Very stressful and tense game and It took we a while and many deaths to learn that the best way to stay alive is to be fairly bold and keep moving to the objective, and not to use the motion tracker too much.
Awesome game and I can't wait to play the DLCs and try for the platinum ( the complete the game without dying might be a bugger )
The only downside for me was that it dragged on and on.
To answer your question OP, Yes. I'd give this a 9/10.
This is a fantastic game. The inventory system and crafting are satisfying, especially when you explore to find upgrades. You must search every nook and cranny of the ship. I was seriously surprised how the story actually ended up resonating with me so much - partly due to the game's questionable length. Is it too long? I don't think so, after completing it. Before completing it, I was starting to feel that way. Things really come together in the end.
Alien Isolation is one of the best games I played last year, and stands among Mordor and Dragon Age in my book.
I disagree. Every single thing you mentioned would be completely obvious to anyone who had seen Alien only once.
The resemblance between the Apollo scene and the MUTHR scene in Alien wasn't even close to ambiguous. It's very obviously intended to a similar scene
THe magazine stuffing was one of the films most memorable moments. Same with the Nostromo.
I seriously doubt many people who have played this game hadn't seen Alien at least once.
Just setting up my settings so I can start right away after I watch Alien (and maybe Aliens) on Friday. Would you guys recommend Preset 0 or Preset 1? 0 has Peek and Scanner on the bumpers with Aim and Shoot on the triggers, Preset 1 swaps the two. Do you Peek and/or scan a lot more than aiming and shooting? Sounds like it'd be easier with Preset 1, but annoying to actually fight stuff with the bumpers.
Between this thread and the OT I am really enjoying how people are gradually discovering this game. I have noticed that in the GOTY thread that AI, when nominated by a Gaffer, is rarely outside their top 3.
The fans of this game really like it, it could end up being a cult game.
Just setting up my settings so I can start right away after I watch Alien (and maybe Aliens) on Friday. Would you guys recommend Preset 0 or Preset 1? 0 has Peek and Scanner on the bumpers with Aim and Shoot on the triggers, Preset 1 swaps the two. Do you Peek and/or scan a lot more than aiming and shooting? Sounds like it'd be easier with Preset 1, but annoying to actually fight stuff with the bumpers.
Tbh it really doesn't matter as you will not be using any of those buttons much. I would still recommend the default though, as it may feel slightly more natural.
it's worth playing because it's such a unique experience. it's not a typical action game where you kill things with guns or swords. You have to think about the environment and carefully use stealth and the atmosphere is one of the best in gaming. it very faithfully recreates the the original alien atmosphere.
Thanks for the clarification, I'm currently in the middle of chapter 17, so I'll have to see for myself!
And the drones guiding some eggs to safety makes sense, even though it's never established in the movie universe. I like to think that the writers tried to expand on the Alien's behaviours and abilities; such as the Alien seen alive and agile in outer space.
Yeah, I had no problem with it as there's no reason why they shouldn't be able to rescue&move eggs. In fact, it would fit the theme with ant colonies in which the workers carry the eggs&larva to safety, as they are their most valuable assets besides their queen.
Btw, something I was missing was the acid blood. Was there any sign of that? Even when you shotgun the Alien in the back, there's nothing. Would have been a neat idea to have you instant-die from it if you attempt such an attack, instead of literally making the Alien invulnerable.
Reporting in, my very first Death by Alien! I thought I locked him out of the room, then I look left to see he just waltzed through the side door I didn't even know was there lol
WOW THIS IS SO AWESOME. Still in the Medlab, but the feel of being searched for by the Alien is crazy!
It saw me go into an office and I hide under a desk while it's sprinting in. It ducks to look under the desk next to me, then I see it motion to look under mine so I crawl out the opposite end to find a new spot. It searches the others and I'm zigzagging through the darkness without getting seen. It gets bored and leaves.
This may be the best game I've played in years. I had a couple people watching my Steam Broadcast too, my first ever stream of anything ever, I'm a star! :>
This is my review, and no it's not better than I indicate, cuz it's at max already
I've played about a couple of hours so far. Absolutely loving it so far. I haven't watched Alien in a while but it was giving me major nostalgia trips while I was exploring. I haven't been scared yet and have only seen a glimpse of the Alien but its still very tense dealing with these people who keep shooting at me.
Statistically it wasn't mixed. By far majority of reviews were positive however as metacritic gives its own funky average that was brought down by two heavy outliers. I wish people would look at the actual spread and distribution of scores.
Also regarding CH18
Eggs
it is plausible to explain them
as the whole design of the level implies they've been dumped there in a hurry by Aliens that carried them from the reactor and you see two Aliens essentially on patrol guarding them
however I do think it was stretched to far as a cencept in terms of their number and spread.
While I was fine with the overall idea of final chapters I think the balance of plausible narrative and gameplay requirements wobbled a bit
in that there were too many eggs spread too far apart with too many face huggers running around. Gameplay need for foes/action slightly took over there.
It is interesting though in that if you look at it the game in many ways encapsulates the main arc of both Alien and
Sorry, by mixed I meant that a couple of major reviewers didn't like it. A metacritic of 80 is still a damn good score these days although I would agree that it probably should have been higher. PCGamer named it as their choice for GOTY.
I bought this game over Christmas when it was in the Xbox sale. It is highly unlikely that I will finish it since it's very long and I am a terrible wimp when it comes to first-person horror titles however I want to support games like this and I want more of them to be made.
IMHO, it was the first Alien game in a very long time that showed not only respect but also genuine admiration for the source material.
Yeah, I had no problem with it as there's no reason why they shouldn't be able to rescue&move eggs. In fact, it would fit the theme with ant colonies in which the workers carry the eggs&larva to safety, as they are their most valuable assets besides their queen.
Btw, something I was missing was the acid blood. Was there any sign of that? Even when you shotgun the Alien in the back, there's nothing. Would have been a neat idea to have you instant-die from it if you attempt such an attack, instead of literally making the Alien invulnerable.
I am sure that the early build that I played almost a year ago included that feature but I could be wrong.
In order for the acid spit/blood to be done properly though, it would need to be able to penetrate certain surfaces etc and maybe that could be tricky for the PS3 and 360 to pull off. The same probably applies to why the Xeno doesn't crawl along the ceiling etc.