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Alien Encounters Convention – Cast Panel Video

Community News | By Corporal Hicks on 19 May 2013 3:59 PM

You may remember that I posted other panel videos from the fantastic Alien Encounters – 25 Years of Aliens convention, the event organizers have now uploaded the video of their cast panel. The cast that attended the event were Daniel Kash, Cynthia Scott, Ricco Ross and Trevor Steedman. Check out the video of their panel below and be sure to comment on the video!

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AvPGalaxy Reviews Aliens: Colonial Marines

Aliens CM News | By Corporal Hicks on 03 Mar 2013 4:53 PM

I know I’m pretty late to the party but I just couldn’t bring myself to write this thing any earlier…As we all know Gearbox and Sega released the eagerly anticipated Aliens: Colonial Marines mid-last month and here’s what I’ve got to say:

“I’m not going to mercilessly slaughter this game because I’m not interested in coasting along with the craze that has become the mocking of this game. I’m just so disappointed in what we, as the consumer, were fed. I imagine this is what it feels like, as a parent, when you utter those words to your spawn: “ I’m not angry. I’m just disappointed.””

You can read the entirety of my thoughts here. Agree or disagree with anything I’ve said? We’d love to hear your comments in the forum.

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AvPG Colonial Marines 360 Game Night

Aliens CM News, Community News | By Corporal Hicks on 24 Feb 2013 4:39 PM

Like I did with Rebellion’s AvP, I am running a community night for Aliens: Colonial Marines.

The game nights will be on X-Box 360 and take place weekly on Sunday nights. We’ll be beginning 8pm(ish) GMT. If you’re interested then just add me (gamertag is cplhicks2310) and let me know you’re up for game night. Tonight will be our 2nd session after a very successful 1st session last week.

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Alien Encounters Presents – Convention Panel Videos

Community News | By Corporal Hicks on 24 Feb 2013 4:19 PM

I’m sure many of you will remember the amazing Aliens 25th Anniversary convention that took place in England in September 2011. For those of you who didn’t get the chance to attend, convention organizer Andrew David Clark has been uploading the panel videos onto YouTube:

The above is the fantastic panel that Charles de Lauzirika did, discussing his work on the Alien Quadrilogy, Anthology, Blade Runner and his career. There are also videos of Chrissie Overs and Terry English. Be sure to subscribe to the Alien Encounter YouTube channel and check them out on Facebook.

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AvPGalaxy Podcast Episode #9

Site Update | By Corporal Hicks on 20 Feb 2013 6:07 PM

We’re back with another podcast for you! This one focuses on memories revolving around our involvement with the franchise and also introduces you all to fellow staffer Xenomorphine:

It’s a bit of a long one (Xenomorphine has quite a few memories to share ) but it was good fun all around. Next episode we’ll be chatting about Aliens: Colonial Marines. Hope you all enjoy and remember if you haven’t heard our earlier episodes you can find them in the podcast section.

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QA Tester Talks ACM, Gearbox & Creative Assembly

Aliens CM News | By Corporal Hicks on 17 Feb 2013 7:21 PM

Continuing the saga that is the truth behind Aliens: Colonial Marines a tester for the game recently posted on Reddit:

“Gearbox didn’t care about the game. They spent the money from ACM on the Borderlands games…When they got the game back, Timegate had done a terrible job. When it came into Sega it was shit basically. Gearbox only cared about fixing “progression blockers” (thinks that stop a player from getting through a level) or crashes.”

The poster also mentioned the Wii U Version is even worse than what’s already been released on other formats.

“Oh wow. Yes okay. I was hoping someone would ask this. I have played the WiiU version. The one that is supposedly the best of all of them? It is not. It is the worst. It is a bit of a joke. The WiiU is basically the same game as the console version but with framerate issues, worse texture loading, and horrendously misguided minigames thrown in. You get a ‘scanner’ to scan enemies and get bonus points that aid your harming them. When you cut open doors (which happens a lot in the game) you have a game where you have to keep the heat ‘optimal’. They just add frustration, and take away even more from the fun. We don’t know if it will come out, Sega are conisdering canceling it, but right now its still going.”

Reddit verified the poster’s identity, leading some credibility to the information posted by the tester. He also talked briefly about the upcoming title from Creative Assembly:

“That game looks amazing. Very dark, very slow (in a good way). The textures and lighting look really really good. I’ve seen it running on a PC. The PS4 devkit looks like a computer. It looks as good, if not better, running as any super high end pc. We did not have those controllers, but they look like what was promised.”

The tester has since deleted his account and posts but the conversation was saved and has been reported at other sites.

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Who Really Made Aliens: Colonial Marines?

Aliens CM News | By Corporal Hicks on 16 Feb 2013 2:14 PM

By now I imagine most of you will have seen the debacle surrounding Sega’s recent release Aliens: Colonial Marines. There has been numerous comments from alleged ex-Gearbox developers and Timegate staff. The following is a quote from the first comment to be made regarding A: CM’s development:

“Hate to say it, but I wouldn’t get your hopes up too high for Colonial Marines. I used to work at Gearbox, and the development of that game has been a total train wreck, going on what, 6 years now? Gearbox isn’t even making the game, except for the multiplayer. Primary development was outsourced to TimeGate Studios, which has a less than stellar past.”

Further quotes and information regarding the, dare I call it a controversy, can be found in this Destructoid article. You can also find further information in our thread regarding the matter and some of Randy Pitchford’s responses to the criticism.

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AvPGalaxy’s Aliens:Colonial Marines Pre-Release Community Week

Community News | By Corporal Hicks on 03 Feb 2013 8:29 PM

With the latest Aliens game, Colonial Marines, due out in just over a week we at AvPGalaxy plan to celebrate with a week’s worth of community events!

• Monday 4th February – Aliens Community Watch
• Tuesday 5th February – Alien vs Predator Classic Game Night
• Wednesday 6th February – Alien vs Predator 2 Game Night
• Thursday 7th February – Alien Community Watch
• Friday 8th February – Aliens vs Predator (2010) Survivor Game Night (360)
• Saturday 9th February – Aliens vs Predator (2010) Survivor Game Night (PC)

As some of you may have noticed the AvPGalaxy chatroom is back online. This is to play host to the community chats as we watch the films.  All you need to do to take part in the chat is be a registered member of the forum.

AvP Classic night will be via the Steam version of the game. If you haven’t got it already, it can be picked up for a measley price of £2.99. And for those of you that thought AvP2 was dead…think again! So crack that disk out!

All events will begin at approximately 8pm GMT. They’ll be a thread for each event so keep your eyes out on the forum for more details!

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Aliens – Inhuman Condition Novella

Literature News | By Corporal Hicks on 26 Jan 2013 8:57 PM

Dark Horse is publishing a new Aliens book, this the first one since Fast Track to Heaven in August 2010:

“On a distant, frozen world, “artificial persons” are manufactured in discreet seclusion. With formidable new security synthetics coming online, how better to test their mettle than against a hive of deadly xenomorphs? But as Socialization Specialist Jean DuPaul sees her ever-more-human android charges sent to their destruction, she learns that the most savage species in the universe is man.”

Inhuman Conditions collects the Aliens story written by John Layman, drawn by Sam Kieth and published in Dark Horse Presents #12-17. According to Dark Horse’s website the novella is currently due for release on the 10th of April 2013. Thanks to predxeno for the news.

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AvPG Podcast Episode #8 Online

Site Update | By Corporal Hicks on 20 Jan 2013 11:39 AM

It’s been sometime since we released our last podcast but coming into 2013 and we aim to be back into the swing of things and as such, here is our first brand new podcast!

Episode #8 includes an interview with Charles de Lauzirika, the producer responsible for the Alien Quadrilogy DVD set, the Alien Anthology Blu-ray set and most recently the Prometheus set. He also recently directed the movie Crave. The discussion revolves primarily around his work on the Prometheus set. Make sure you listen!

You can find our previous episodes in the podcast section of the website.

Update 26/01/2013 - Episode #8 is back online. Unfortunately the traffic upset my Dropbox and the account was suspended. Enjoy!