Aliens: Colonial Marines (Sega)

Posted by Darkness on December 30, 2006 (Updated: 03-Mar-2013)

Gallery | AvPGalaxy Review | Graphics Mods & Add Ons | Videos | News Archive

Information

Release Date: 12-Feb-13 (Wii U – Q1 2013)
Official Site: Sega
Publisher: Sega
Developer: Gearbox
Formats: PC, X360, PS3, Wii U
Genre: First-Person Shooter

Official Description

You and your friends against the deadliest killers in the galaxy. Another glorious day in the corps.

Buckle up, soldier! Welcome to Aliens: Colonial Marines. Created by Gearbox, the critically acclaimed and fan-favourite developers of Borderlands and Brothers In Arms, this first-person shooter is steeped in the eerie, claustrophobic and terrifying atmosphere that made the Aliens films successful worldwide. You and your friends will become the most badass military outfit in the galaxy – the US Colonial Marines. It’s down to you to not just survive but wipe out the Xeno infestation.

Features:

Enlist in the Marine Corps
Bringing you a true sequel to James Cameron’s classic Aliens, get tooled up with classic Marine weapons including pulse rifles, motion trackers and flamethrowers.
The most authentic Aliens experience ever
Using authentic environments inspired by the film series including Hadley’s Hope, the Sulaco and LV-426, you will be immersed in an eerie, atmospheric world where any moment could bring your death.
Drop-in / Drop-out co-operative gameplay
The masters of co-op bring their expertise to the Aliens universe. Xenos getting too tough? Call up your buddies so they can drop in with extra firepower. The whole campaign can be played with a squad of up to four players, dropping in and out as necessary through self-contained missions within an over-arching narrative.
Loadouts and upgrades
Create your perfect killing machine. An extensive upgrade system allows players to customise their characters to play the way they want. Earn experience to get perks, new weapons and new looks for your squad.

History

Sega announced on December 15, 2006 that Gearbox Software will be creating a first-person shooter based on the Alien film franchise which will be released on next-generation consoles. Gearbox is no stranger to first-person shooters. They’ve developed many games including Brothers in Arms, Half Life and ported over Halo to PC. This Aliens game will keep “the atmospheric look and feel of the original films while leveraging next-generation technology to create an entirely new interactive Alien experience”.

Simon Jeffery, President of Sega, said “Gearbox Software has a storied history of bringing innovative and compelling design to the FPS category. Combining their design talents with the intense action of the Alien franchise ensures that gamers will have an immersive and action-packed experience.” Randy Pitchford, President of Gearbox Software, also said “The Alien series has been a tremendous influence for myself, the people at Gearbox Software and the video games industry in general. The opportunity to work with the amazing people at SEGA and Fox to build a next generation video game in the Alien universe is one of those dream projects that is a perfect fit for our capability and our passion.”

When the game was first announced, it was due for a 2009 release. The first screenshots were shown in Game Informer magazine in February 2008, and these were leaked online. High-res screenshots were posted online in March 2008. The first footage was posted online in August 2008. Cam footage of a teaser trailer was leaked online in the following month.

Rumours of Cancellation

Rumours circulated at the end of 2008 that Sega were thinking of dropping the game altogether because they were concerned the game wouldn’t be delivered on time and on budget. Development was suspended for a short time. In February 2009, Sega announced Aliens vs. Predator, and Aliens: Colonial Marines was left in limbo. There were rumours Sega had cut funding on the game and was looking for another developer to take over. Gearbox were still developing the game but Sega wanted to put all their effort into AvP which was further in development than ACM. There were occasional news articles throughout 2009 insisting ACM was still alive. 2010 was another quiet year for ACM. In September 2010, Gearbox showed some screenshots of ACM at the PAX convention. In December 2010, high quality footage of the 2008 teaser trailer leaked online.

Looking Forward

In June 2010, Sega announced the game will be released in Spring 2012. They released a teaser trailer as well as a new promotional screenshot. The game was featured at E3 2011 and they revealed it would be released for Wii U too. The game featured at Gamescon and PAX. A new trailer was released in August 2011 for the Gamescon/Pax conventions. In September 2011, they released a 11-minute gameplay video that was shown at E3. The game was featured at the PAX East convention in April 2012 where they showed off some singleplayer/multiplayer footage. In May 2012, Sega revealed that that game had been delayed until February 2013. They also posted a new trailer. Some gameplay footage was released for E3 2012 in June. Over the months, developer diaries and various screenshots were released. In December 2012, Corporal Hicks posted a report about a preview event he attended organised by Sega. At the end of the 2012, Sega released a new Story Trailer. A few more trailers have been released in 2013 so far: Alien Hive, TV Commercial and Kick Ass trailer. The PC system requirements was also posted by us in January 2013.

Release & Rumours of Developement Problems

After the release of Aliens Colonial Marines, critical reception was extremely negative. Rumours surfaced that Gearbox outsourced the majority of the game to Timegate Studios. Most recently, a QA Tester posted on Reddit saying that Gearbox didn’t care about the game and that they spent money for ACM on Borderlands.