Latest News

Aliens: Colonial Marines Previews Roundup

Last week, a good number of press members went hands-on with Aliens: Colonial Marines’ multiplayer, got a fresh look at the single-player campaign and spent some time with the developers. The embargo lifted today and many new materials, interviews and previews went live at numerous gaming websites. Instead of detailing what each article contains, please follow the links from the list linked here to each individual site to read their own impressions on the game. Below you can also find several gameplay videos from today. Alternately, you can download the videos in HQ here and here.



Post Comment
Comments: 104
« Newer Comments 123 Older Comments »
  1. Xeno Killer 2179
    Quote from: newbeing on Apr 10, 2012, 03:53:48 PM
    Yeah the article points out something that does make me nervous when thinking about how well this game will sell, especially if placed next to games such as CoD, Resident Evil and Halo. It surprises me to see just how many young adults 16-21 have never seen any of these films, but love CoD and many of the action and horror games that take material from this franchise.
    Same here. I was lucky enough to be born into a family that likes it's horror films. I practically grew up watching the original alien films on VHS, and I'm still a teenager.

    I hope Gearbox and Sega get the message that this game needs an SDK and custom player matches if they really want to see longevity. It's a piss poor business model to force people to buy content half as good as what the community could make. We saw how well avp did with it's dlc. I bought them both, being a hardcore fan, but 9 out of 10 people never did. Imagine how many more sales of the game itself could have occurred with free, unlimited maps? Win win. I don't understand why Sega sabotaged themselves like that---unless they were financially in trouble and needed to make a quick buck. Correct me if I'm wrong, but a quick fix isn't a fix at all.


    /end rant

  2. Predaker
    Quote from: RagingDragon on Apr 10, 2012, 06:18:16 PM
    Quote from: newbeing on Apr 10, 2012, 03:53:48 PM
    Yeah the article points out something that does make me nervous when thinking about how well this game will sell, especially if placed next to games such as CoD, Resident Evil and Halo. It surprises me to see just how many young adults 16-21 have never seen any of these films, b ;Dut love CoD and many of the action and horror games that take material from this franchise.
    You're niggling at a larger problem plaguing general culture today: people have forgotten the fundamentals of seemingly everything.  I think that's why so many reboots are happening, is that they try and get the magic back from the first one but it just isn't there no matter how awesome(crappy) the CGI ends up being or how fancy the trailer looks. :laugh:

    They have all the parts, just no soul to really get the thing going.  Reminds me of learning about our favorite xenomorph through AvP, just a really different experience than the old films.
    LOL

    Luckily, my first experience with ALIEN was long before AvP existed.

    The press event has got me excited again. A:CM has much potential.
  3. RagingDragon
    Quote from: newbeing on Apr 10, 2012, 03:53:48 PM
    Yeah the article points out something that does make me nervous when thinking about how well this game will sell, especially if placed next to games such as CoD, Resident Evil and Halo. It surprises me to see just how many young adults 16-21 have never seen any of these films, but love CoD and many of the action and horror games that take material from this franchise.
    You're niggling at a larger problem plaguing general culture today: people have forgotten the fundamentals of seemingly everything.  I think that's why so many reboots are happening, is that they try and get the magic back from the first one but it just isn't there no matter how awesome(crappy) the CGI ends up being or how fancy the trailer looks. :laugh:

    They have all the parts, just no soul to really get the thing going.  Reminds me of learning about our favorite xenomorph through AvP, just a really different experience than the old films. 
  4. newbeing
    Quote from: RagingDragon on Apr 10, 2012, 03:15:39 PM
    Quote from: newbeing on Apr 10, 2012, 01:46:24 AM
    Saw this today. http://www.1up.com/previews/authenticity-aliens-colonial-marines-blockbuster
    Brings up some good points about Authenticity and play-ability among younger generations that have never seen the Alien films before.
    This was a great little article, and I hope GBX understands this.  I'm confident they do, with the effort going into the multiplayer.

    And seeing the glorious history of the AvP mod community, it would be a damn shame if there was no SDK released.

    Yeah the article points out something that does make me nervous when thinking about how well this game will sell, especially if placed next to games such as CoD, Resident Evil and Halo. It surprises me to see just how many young adults 16-21 have never seen any of these films, but love CoD and many of the action and horror games that take material from this franchise.
  5. RagingDragon
    Quote from: newbeing on Apr 10, 2012, 01:46:24 AM
    Saw this today. http://www.1up.com/previews/authenticity-aliens-colonial-marines-blockbuster
    Brings up some good points about Authenticity and play-ability among younger generations that have never seen the Alien films before.
    This was a great little article, and I hope GBX understands this.  I'm confident they do, with the effort going into the multiplayer.

    And seeing the glorious history of the AvP mod community, it would be a damn shame if there was no SDK released.
  6. Nero the Jackal
    Well it is true, that explosion was massive and easily took out the AP and colony complex, the only thing that would perhaps be believable would be the derelict as that was quite a distance but even then the shock wave would have perhaps knocked it back or worse.

    The game would be better if it only had the sulaco and derelict being investigated as while aliens over-running the sulaco is odd, it lends proof that the alien queen either laid eggs in the drop ship or a few facehuggers hitched a ride on her back and make smore sense than something that was blown up reappearing with just some slight damage. I consider all games to be non-canon because its EU but i would have perhaps viewed A:CM as canon if it was done properly and as realistic as possible because at the end of the day Aliens is sci/fi which means it needs some scientific plausibility and massive nuclear explosions not only destroys things but irradiates them.

    My own personal criticism of the game so far is the design of the aliens and their stance. The alien heads are much better that avp 2010's warriors but they still have dog-alien legs and walk on all fours, i understand the need to crawl when in vents on on walls but as human-spawned aliens they should be bipedal. If one were to view pictures of the original alien warrior and drone from the first film you will see it had humanoid legs, only alien 3 and the other films started using those legs which was justified in alien 3 because it was a dog-alien (runner) but the other films were crap which messed things up.

    here is the pics again. http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQLYEqg0YPgj7pxwXcdeG-y_EgBEpanXbSFseFTQDdiyrUv48pk and http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRYWlQAWLWUwrtgI3J-sjfz1uvmduPOeaPOvFKM3rEWmFs32-hsVQ and http://www.toyark.com/news/revoltech-toy-news-14/new-photos-alien-warrior-revoltech-3239/ and http://www.monstergalaxy.com/lifesize_alien_figure.php

    Notice the human-like legs? these are what human-spawned aliens are supposed to look like.

    For a game that is "supposedly" trying to be faithful to aliens and the original, they are doing a poor job so far, whether the gameplay and plot are decent remains to be seen but i ain't holding my breath.

    Some of you probably know this by now but in multiplayer, aliens will apparently be played in the third person sadly. while i have no problem with third-person views,  A:CM is a FPS and so changing gameplay POV could be disorienting for some players. here is the video that mentions it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VG4opj3dMxc#ws
  7. Bio Mech Hunter
    Quote from: Predaker on Apr 10, 2012, 01:52:55 AM
    Has anyone used the flamethrower, yet? I hope it is powerful.

    Thanks for answering questions newbeing and husky!
    If it's powerful against Aliens, it's not authentic. :laugh:

    Quote from: SM on Apr 10, 2012, 01:53:42 AM
    Quote from: newbeing on Apr 10, 2012, 01:46:24 AM
    Saw this today. http://www.1up.com/previews/authenticity-aliens-colonial-marines-blockbuster
    Brings up some good points about Authenticity and play-ability among younger generations that have never seen the Alien films before.

    It sure does look authentically like Hadley.

    Before it was vapourised...
    lol
  8. alanwu1233
    Quote from: Bio Mech Hunter on Apr 08, 2012, 08:36:40 PM
    Monolith severely screwed up the Runners in AVP2. More so than the Warriors (who'd thought that was possible? lol). It drove me crazy.

    Still, at least the Warriors were a major step up from Rebellion's original AVP PC game. lol

    Quote from: Le Celticant on Apr 08, 2012, 07:32:08 PM...could do everything you want even if it is Godzilla running into Hadley's hope kicking ass.  ;D
    f**k yeah. I'd kill to see that. 8)

    ゴジラ!!!!!

    If Godzilla was there, they better brought us Ghidorah .
  9. Le Celticant
    Quote from: chupacabras acheronsis on Apr 07, 2012, 03:03:56 PM
    wonder how did they make the game in the first place like that.

    Because they had the right plugin that never got release and they had also the source of the models as 3ds files.
    They haven't release it which is why nobody tried to modify a model unless using the attributes thing as seen in Balistic from Herr_Alien.
    Though, there were some POV models made in time such as the single blade in Projam, the Shuriken, etc. but those models required only a few animations and few bones to be code.
    And it was already tough work to do  :D

    Happily, engine have grown nowadays in a very flexible way and UDK is probably the best for it because no matter what software you use, there are hundreds of plugins to convert files, import nodes, etc.
    If A:CM gets a SDK, modable community will have unlimited power over the game and could do everything you want even if it is Godzilla running into Hadley's hope kicking ass.  ;D
  10. Le Celticant
    Quote from: chupacabras acheronsis on Apr 07, 2012, 03:22:42 AM
    once again, pose is everything.

    i always wondered why no modder tried to correct the pose or make animations similar to the ones in AvP '99. it seems like a logical thing to do.

    Because AVP2 .abc models were a pain in the ass.
    You had to export it to a very very very old version of 3DS Max and while converting it you would have LOOSE EVERY INFOS such as Bones, rigging stuff, UV MAP etc.
    Which in a manner means you had to redo the whole bones & rigging stuff plus 300 animations pose.
    But because you would have redo everything and would not have place it at the exact nanometer you would have had to re-code the whole source code to make it works properly plus the attributes.
    And by doing so when processing the source code to make the .lot & .dll files you could have had many errors resulting into crash in games.

    It is a titan works and nobody succeed because make an entirely new game would have been easier.  ::)
    People have tried and all noticed they couldn't because this would have need about one full year of works for just changing ONE model.

    Completely useless.
  11. CyberDemon13
    Quote from: Bio Mech Hunter on Apr 06, 2012, 10:18:06 PM
    Quote from: PVTDukeMorrison on Apr 06, 2012, 04:35:07 AM
    Quote from: Bio Mech Hunter on Apr 05, 2012, 11:09:27 PM
    It's looking good, but the Pulse Rifle and Smart Gun sfx are wrong and need to be fixed. They sound terrible.

    We also now have undeniable proof the Alien Warriors are indeed... wait for it... TOO SMALL. AGAIN. >:( I'd like to take this moment and just say, TOLD YOU SO. :P

    What happened to GB's commitment to making A:CM an authentic Aliens experience? The sfx are jacked and, yet again, the Aliens are stunted cannon fodder. ???

    Other than that, the gfx look superb and I'm digging the game-play mechanics.

    I can let the Smart Gun's targeting system slide as keeping it canonically accurate would render it useless (the targeting system - not the weapon itself). Since it tracks heat signatures and Aliens don't give off heat, you'd be at a big disadvantage lugging that big thing around with quick and nimble Aliens hunting you.
    https://www.avpgalaxy.net/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1228.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fee450%2Fpoisonstrudel%2Faliens-colonial-marines-20120403083624100_640w.jpg&hash=5f0bbf86642b3cd00b726571b14307bb779ac41f

    That size looks about right to me, and as for the Alien being CF, it looks like when online they can kill you in up to 2 hits.
    It's hard to tell in that pic 'cause you can't see either of their feet placement and the Marine is not standing up straight. It might be a perspective issue in that pic, but if you watch the recent multi-player footage, you see the Warriors are definitely too thin and too short. Not enough height, and not enough mass.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVkAKknz-F8#ws

    Everybody pause this video at 0:15. I rest my case lol.
    Seriously though, look at where the xeno's head lines up with the marine's, they are about even. Now factor in that 1. it is clearly farther back in the depth of field than your marine buddy, and 2. it is severely hunched over. I'd imagine it would tower over the marine if it were on the same plane as him and standing up perfectly straight. :)

    EDIT: So, I uh... just realized that the xeno is, uh... standing on something. Haha... yeah. :'(
    Although, I still think it's got a nice height advantage over the marine, even if it isn't as substantial as I first thought lol. Sorry aboot that guys! No harm no foul? ;)
  12. Chris!(($$))!
    Quote from: Predaker on Apr 06, 2012, 04:28:19 PM
    Quote from: Nero the Jackal on Apr 06, 2012, 11:08:46 AMYou do know that the guy with the smart gun is not standing up straight right?
    Neither is the Alien... they both have bent knees.

    If the humans can weld doors in MP, will the aliens be able to tear through "inches of reinforced steel?" Or maybe use their heads as battering rams to break them down?

    Also like to say that the Marine in that pic is O'Neil who is clearly bigger than the other Marines. He is a big guy.
  13. CyberDemon13
    Quote from: OpenMaw on Apr 06, 2012, 06:57:23 PM
    Quote from: HicksUSCM on Apr 06, 2012, 06:03:44 PM
    Quote from: CyberDemon13 on Apr 06, 2012, 05:48:45 PM
    It's not...
    Actually it is.

    It's very obviously a posed shot. It's not literally gameplay in that shot. In game assets, in game environment, posed shot.

    Whoops! My comment was a bit late lol. I was saying that the xenos are not actually smaller than the humans, it was a reply to  Spoon who was saying that they were... which, as I said, they are not haha. :laugh:
  14. Le Celticant
    Yup RagingDragon, that's what I wondered at least. Runner was really small on fours legs indeed  ;D
    Also it is not clear but for example the warrior in AVP2 is much taller than a human (if you compare both .abc models from source files you can see that the Alien has at last 30 to 40cm) but weirdly in POV vision of the game it makes you feel that Aliens were small and even sometimes smaller than you. It's an interesting trick to mention.
    Even by making alien as accurate to the movies they will seems small due to the POV but they'll cover in the same time a larger area and be easier to shoot.
  15. RagingDragon
    Interesting, Le Celticant, maybe GBX made them a bit smaller on purpose to help make them harder to hit.

    Probably not, but it's a remote possibility. :laugh:  Personally I find it scarier, since they can still jump on you and rape you to death.  Spike seemed a bit smaller in A3, maybe it's just me, or the lack of dorsal tubes.  I remember the runner in AvP2 was small, so was the warrior, but he stood up like a human and had a cool running animation.

    https://www.avpgalaxy.net/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fpobierz.pl%2Fdata%2Fgallery%2F1172501835.jpg&hash=812501562cdff8c95bbc0cef57dda85c17a0f5ad

    I remember the runners were so damned small, and could do the old superman across open levels.  Used to get so many kills as the runner.  Mmm...
  16. Le Celticant
    The shoulders aren't the right one also.
    I would just scale a "bit" up the overall size but not too much as accurate to the movie.
    Otherwise we would have big things taking the whole corridors. Too easy target.
  17. RagingDragon
    I don't think the xenos are too small, I've said that already :laugh: but at the same time I'm not against bigger models.  I think the height doesn't bother me, but they are incredibly skinny.  They seemed a bit more jacked in Aliens.

    Still, it's not really going to effect the experience as long as they act like xenomorphs, for me at least.  I just want them to be scary as hell.
  18. Bio Mech Hunter
    Quote from: PVTDukeMorrison on Apr 06, 2012, 04:35:07 AM
    Quote from: Bio Mech Hunter on Apr 05, 2012, 11:09:27 PM
    It's looking good, but the Pulse Rifle and Smart Gun sfx are wrong and need to be fixed. They sound terrible.

    We also now have undeniable proof the Alien Warriors are indeed... wait for it... TOO SMALL. AGAIN. >:( I'd like to take this moment and just say, TOLD YOU SO. :P

    What happened to GB's commitment to making A:CM an authentic Aliens experience? The sfx are jacked and, yet again, the Aliens are stunted cannon fodder. ???

    Other than that, the gfx look superb and I'm digging the game-play mechanics.

    I can let the Smart Gun's targeting system slide as keeping it canonically accurate would render it useless (the targeting system - not the weapon itself). Since it tracks heat signatures and Aliens don't give off heat, you'd be at a big disadvantage lugging that big thing around with quick and nimble Aliens hunting you.
    https://www.avpgalaxy.net/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1228.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fee450%2Fpoisonstrudel%2Faliens-colonial-marines-20120403083624100_640w.jpg&hash=5f0bbf86642b3cd00b726571b14307bb779ac41f

    That size looks about right to me, and as for the Alien being CF, it looks like when online they can kill you in up to 2 hits.
    It's hard to tell in that pic 'cause you can't see either of their feet placement and the Marine is not standing up straight. It might be a perspective issue in that pic, but if you watch the recent multi-player footage, you see the Warriors are definitely too thin and too short. Not enough height, and not enough mass.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVkAKknz-F8#ws
  19. Nero the Jackal
    It is standing more straighter than the marine and since its legs are like the runner's then it is more or less standing near as straight as it can. GB has made no effort at all to use the original stances and leg designs of both the xeno from alien and aliens.
  20. Le Celticant
    Quote from: Nero the Jackal on Apr 06, 2012, 11:08:46 AM
    Quote from: PVTDukeMorrison on Apr 06, 2012, 04:35:07 AM
    Quote from: Bio Mech Hunter on Apr 05, 2012, 11:09:27 PM
    It's looking good, but the Pulse Rifle and Smart Gun sfx are wrong and need to be fixed. They sound terrible.

    We also now have undeniable proof the Alien Warriors are indeed... wait for it... TOO SMALL. AGAIN. >:( I'd like to take this moment and just say, TOLD YOU SO. :P

    What happened to GB's commitment to making A:CM an authentic Aliens experience? The sfx are jacked and, yet again, the Aliens are stunted cannon fodder. ???

    Other than that, the gfx look superb and I'm digging the game-play mechanics.

    I can let the Smart Gun's targeting system slide as keeping it canonically accurate would render it useless (the targeting system - not the weapon itself). Since it tracks heat signatures and Aliens don't give off heat, you'd be at a big disadvantage lugging that big thing around with quick and nimble Aliens hunting you.
    https://www.avpgalaxy.net/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1228.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fee450%2Fpoisonstrudel%2Faliens-colonial-marines-20120403083624100_640w.jpg&hash=5f0bbf86642b3cd00b726571b14307bb779ac41f

    That size looks about right to me, and as for the Alien being CF, it looks like when online they can kill you in up to 2 hits.

    You do know that the guy with the smart gun is not standing up straight right?
    You do know that the alien is not standing up straight right?
« Newer Comments 123 Older Comments »
AvPGalaxy: About | Contact | Cookie Policy | Manage Cookie Settings | Privacy Policy | Legal Info
Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube Patreon RSS Feed
Contact: General Queries | Submit News