Back in November we caught wind that 20th Century Fox had trademarked a new video game title, Alien: Blackout. Fox’s social accounts have also been teasing Amanda Ripley’s return to gaming with their #ReadPlayWatch hastags.
So after some speculation we now know exactly what Alien: Blackout is! It’s a new survival horror game developed by D3 Go! and Rival Games that is coming to iOS and Android!
The terror of Alien is brought to life in Alien: Blackout. Try to stay alive while trapped aboard a crippled Weyland-Yutani space station carrying a deadly Xenomorph as it tirelessly hunts you and the crew. Outsmart the perfect hunter by making perilous choices. Players must rely on the damaged controls of the space station or risk sacrificing crew members to avoid deadly contact, permanently altering the outcome of the game.
Survive seven fear-inducing levels by remotely guiding Amanda Ripley’s crew through increasingly challenging tasks using only the station’s emergency systems. The uncertainty and unpredictability of both the alien and her crew can impose total defeat for Amanda and the entire station.
Alien: Blackout is a unique fear-inducing horror mobile game experience that will test the inner nerves of both Alien and horror fans alike, where life can end in an instant.
SURVIVE OR DIE
Using only the space station’s limited power supply to operate a holographic map, surveillance cameras, and motion tracker, attempt to remain hidden and protect your crew from the perfect hunter in seven fear-inducing levels.A NEW CHAPTER IN THE ALIEN FRANCHISE
A new chapter in the Alien franchise following the saga of Amanda Ripley, Ellen Ripley’s daughter, between the films Alien and Aliens.FIRST CLASS ALIEN MOBILE EXPERIENCE
An immersive and captivating Alien experience, perfectly designed for mobile gaming, bringing the Alien story to life.ENCOUNTER FEAR AGAIN AND AGAIN
Every decision can lead to a different conclusion. Players can test different strategies and theories to outlast the Xenomorph in pursuit of victory!
Blackout looks like it’s using quite a few of Alien: Isolation assets including sound effects. At the minute there’s no release date for Alien: Blackout but keep watching this space.
While it’s unclear at this point, I would guess that Blackout is actually taking place following the events of Aliens: Resistance as that series appears to depict Amanda Ripley’s recovery after the end of the Alien: Isolation. This also means we know what the Read and Play parts of #ReadPlayWatch refer to. That leaves Watch left to be uncovered!
There have been quite a few mobile based Alien games since gaming took to mobile phones. The most recent of which was Angry Mob’s Aliens vs. Predator: Evolution which was actually a pretty good game! You can check out RidgeTop’s review of that game here.
I would also like to make it perfectly clear that Alien: Blackout is a completely separate game to the still mysterious game that Cold Iron Studios is working on. So in addition to Alien: Blackout, we still have another Alien game due out in the future to look forward!
Make sure you keep checking in with Alien vs. Predator Galaxy for the latest on Alien: Blackout! You can follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube to get the latest on your social media walls. You can also join in with fellow Alien and Predator fans on our forums!
Updated: Alien: Blackout is currently available for pre-order on both Android and Apple stores. It is slated for release on January 24th at a price of £/$4.99.
Literally almost nobody is complaining about mobile exclusivity.
https://www.destructoid.com/future-plans-for-five-nights-at-freddy-s-include-console-ports-and-a-big-budget-game--530990.phtml
Actually the ratio is about 2000-1, Blizz took the video down three times previous to attempt to erase most of the down votes, and youtube let them.
A smarter thing to have done would be this is the story of Axel's attempt to help people during the initial shitstorm before he got all FIPTSD, rather than both kicking fans in the balls over broken sequels and mitigating the actual good will they'd garnered from that versus their other offerings over the subsequent time.
But insulation and only listening to those whom evangelize in your favor tends to make you a moron over time.
Obviously, but that's irrelevant in the case of TCF.
Slapping a franchise title on something doesn't automatically make it good. If the content is less than what came before it, nobody will invest in it.
Look at the Star Wars movies...they are in sharp decline. The merchandise doesn't sell. The books and comics have suffered as well. The games are abysmal because EA/Lucasfilm turned it into gambling with microtransactions through loot boxes for in game powerups/shortcuts to beat other players (Battlefront 2, 2017)The campaign has nothing to offer because it was one thing in advertisement and something else entirely in reality.
It's a weakness if it was their goal to create a solid connection, because they failed to achieve that goal. That's probably neither here nor there, because investigating their intent doesn't change the final product sitting in front of us. It's whatever. I think the book is good but I'm not flying off the handle about it. Maybe after a second read. *shrugs*
For Blackout it will probably be a weakness, but I doubt there's a lot of intentional depth behind it.
Fair, but that makes its connections empty and unsatisfying. There's more of a connection to Aliens in the paratext on the back of the book than within the text itself.
Blackout is likely to feel the same way, even with Amanda Ripley returning from Isolation. I mean, all those characters died in the game, so what's left to provide any continuity? The plot will probably be unsatisfying in that way, or even nonexistent.
APATHY is DEATH.
The Cold Forge's lack of connections to the films is a strength.
It's highly, highly unlikely to be overridden.
And more Alien stories should divorce themselves
from the events and characters we already know.
You're going to have a hard time convincing me that Alien Blackout is being created with even remotely the same level of zeal. They're not taking a single risk with it. Yes, every one of these films, books, games, etc. is a Fox cash grab through a certain lens, but this game feels merely like a cash grab that isn't trying to transcend anything else happening in the industry. It's falling in line with what's becoming standard, which is a boring, cynical decision. And let's not pretend like this game's profits are going to feed directly into more efforts to make Alien games. It's going to drop into the Disneyfox fund and go wherever they need it, like our tax money in the US.
Isolation deviated from the expected norm, and the fans were rewarded by supporting the experiment. Alien Blackout, if you take 30 seconds to read a couple lines of the Diablo Immortal wikipedia section on its reception, is hitting all the same notes. I mean, it's $5. Maybe I'll buy it, but definitely not until I see some reviews, and I don't have a single objective reason to feel optimistic.
I get that we all like The Cold Forge, and that it's a relevant text in many ways w/r/t both it's quality and the nature of Titan's inclusiveness for hiring a non-binary author, but it's canonical connection to the films is, at best, tenuous. There's a mention of Burke and Van Leuwan.
I know the gaming industry is bigger than the film industry, but you're comparing industries. And we're not talking Fortnite, God of War or NBA2K19 here. Sega themselves said 'Alien Isolation' sales were "weak". And except for the people who played it, I strongly believe that most of the general public is unaware of it, or not conscious of it until reminded (yeah, I do remember seeing that game on the shelf, now that you mention it). But I digress.
I know to the serious Alien fans, "Alien Isolation" is considered canon like the novels and comics, and I wasn't saying that it's illegitimate. I'm not. All I'm saying is the general movie-going public (non fanatic) won't include video games in canon, and that's the way I look at it too. That's why I would like to see Amanda's story on the big screen one day.
Perfect timing.
Until it wasn't.
To most of the public that know it.
And considering that the gaming industry-
is bigger than the film industry, that's lots
of people that recognise Isolation as legitimate.
Especially because it's well-regarded both as a
quality product and for pioneering gaming A.I.
I hope Amanda Ripley never appears in cinemas.
In my ranking of Alien Canon priority it goes;
Films, The Cold Forge, Alien Isolation,
WY Report, David's Drawings,
Other Novels & Comics.
I've mentioned before that in my perspective, Alien is a film franchise, and any of its side dishes are not accepted as canon to me (like most of the casual movie going public). Not video games, comics, or novels. But what I do hope comes out of this product, is more goodwill towards Amanda Ripley, enough to convince studios to proceed with her story theatrically, with an adaptation of her alternate media stories. That's my hope at least, and if this mobile game is received well and very successful financially, it can lead to that.
Uh...I couldn't be arsed to play Isolation, but if that was Amanda's first encounter with the alien, how is this not a sequel?
Or has it already been de-canonized out of the gate?
Imagine that. They might not have so much contempt for us gamers that they think we're too stupid to receive concurrent news of multiple games not all featuring the same protagonist.
possibly as a response to fans' backlash to Blackout's announcement.
What #ReadPlayWATCH means is anyone's guess at this point but that likely means more games as well,
including hopefully a look at the Aliens shooter that Cold Iron Studios is working on."
Uh...
https://i.imgur.com/4YlXChN.gif
Hopefully a look at the Aliens shooter that Cold Iron Studios is working on.
https://thumbs.gfycat.com/SociableBleakAssassinbug-small.gif
Reads like a lot of "ehh" and nothingness. Of course it's related to Isolation if it's featuring Amanda.
I was always advocating for that, and yes-
I think the initial mistake is centring the marketing campaign,
around a character known from a Triple AAA videogame.
With READ.PLAY.WATCH being a major element-
people are then going to expect a Triple AAA videogame.
Not Alien Blackout. (Mobile Phone Game)
I think the benefits the other two pieces will receive are going to end up outweighing the game's poor reaction.
But as it stands you're really not selling the "avoid a negative reaction by dashing people's hopes twice in fast succession" angle here."
So, when you see the reaction to Diablo Immortal.
And you've got an Amanda Ripley Mobile game-
don't make the marketing all about Amanda Ripley-
Or Alien Isolation.
I thought you'd take it for granted that in my hypothetical,
this would be the case- I wasn't being disingenuous.
The examples of people actually acting like entitled snobs.
I haven't had anything to say about people saying they were disappointed that it's not the game they hoped for; just how some people have decided to express that.
You're very disingenuously missing out crucial information.
"We're running a cryptic campaign about three Alien Isolation-related media -- something to read, a game to play, and something to watch. The 'Read' is a comic. Now here's Cold Iron's Alien game, a PC/console shooter ... which has nothing to do with all this Isolation stuff we're advertising. Nothing to do with Isolation at all, in fact. Meanwhile, here's the actual Isolation offering. Mobile game. Hope you like it."
If they hadn't pushed the Amanda Ripley/Isolation angle at all, again, I'd concede the point. But as it stands you're really not selling the "avoid a negative reaction by dashing people's hopes twice in fast succession" angle here.
SiL, sir. He's SM.
Are you mixing SiL up with me?
Absolute nonsense.
It would've gone down much better,
if you'd shown them at the same time.
If you'd put out a PLAY announcement video-
that's literally this:
"Here's Cold Iron's Alien game, coming when it's ready."
"In the meantime there's this mobile offering."
It would've garnered a much better reaction, to argue otherwise is silly.
Actually, you looked down your nose and accused people of being entitled snobs. Don't sell yourself short.
Let this be known: There hasn't been a single entitled negative reaction to this news yet. How, you're probably asking? Because no one is being given anything. If someone receives a gift for Christmas, says, "I don't want this" and gives it back, they may be entitled. They might even be a spoiled brat. If someone says "I don't want this" in the context of being sold something they never asked for, that a community of fans never gave any indication of asking for, they are not entitled.
Telling people they should feel grateful for having the opportunity to buy something is about as shamelessly capitalist as one can get short of being an NFL team owner.
Throwing out the Cold Iron game, then saying "That's not actually it, that's it's just something else", then showing the mobile game, would not have gone down any better. Quite possibly it would have made everything worse, by dangling a project that looks like what they want -- a console/PC Alien game -- then swapping it out for the mobile offering.
The Gears of War analogy you offered isn't accurate at all because people still got the GoW 5 they expected. If they'd announced the "proper" Isolation II, then this on top, yeah; people would care less. But that was never on the tables.
It's not pointless.
It would mitigate the response that Blackout has gotten is the point.
By drawing the gaming community's response to Cold Iron's game.
Regardless of whether it's part of the READ.PLAY.WATCH
initiative or just alongside it.
I don't give a shit if people are disappointed and let it be known.
It's the "Nobody wants this", "This is going to be awful" bull crap I care about. Which I've said repeatedly.
Wait, so now you don't care about people complaining? Which is it?
An announcement of:
"Alien X" - with a piece of concept art.
Alongside the mobile game.
Wouldn't be all that much work.
&
Yes, I think it would be worth it
to prevent the current PR situation.
... Seems an awful lot of work just so people would complain a little less.
People would still complain- but you're wrong;
I know from watching hundreds of gaming conferences-
For example;
Gears of War POP Edition, hurt significantly less
because it came immediately after a GOW 5 announcement.
If they put out the WATCH announcement out at the same time,
or immediately after the PLAY announcement-
There would still be backlash, but it'd be mitigated.
Then make it part of the initiative.
They should've done.
They should've had the foresight to
after the Diablo Immortal fiasco.
We'll forget about any of those missteps when Blackout goes full diamond in multiple countries. My mom will be playing it on her iPad. My dad will upgrade to smartphone so he can play it. My sister will play it even though she's a console gamer. If I'm still teaching at that point I'm sure all of my students will be playing it during class, but shit I won't care because I'll be playing it too!
Pardon my French, but horseshit. People would still complain it's a mobile game and feel let down that it's not a "true" sequel. They might even feel it was more of a letdown if the "watch" part is good.
EDIT
...yes I appreciate the irony of these two paragraphs.
That's not part of this multimedia initiative.
That would at least mitigate the problem.
Or announce something about the Cold Iron game if fiesable.
Even if it's just a piece of concept art and the title,
the title doesn't even need to be the real title-
The Witcher 3's title changed a year before it came out.
You're having an emotional reaction to people's emotional reactions. It's okay, We'll get through this. I'm here to help. Let me hold you close if that's what you need.
Justin Bieber's Baby was the most disliked video for years. It went gold and platinum across multiple countries. It's a piece of shit song to be sure -- but acting like YouTube likes and dislikes is an indication of financial performance is really desperate.
https://pics.ballmemes.com/you-guys-all-do-anal-right-diablo-immortal-a-37485158.png
I had not actually watched the Diablo Immortal Q&A/reveal yet. Deliciously awkward. The folks behind Alien Blackout were smart not to put themselves up on a stage when they announced this game.
SEGA's Isolation expectations, projections...
Unrealistic.
Isolation sold incredibly well.
Considering it's Genre, ACM &
the history of movie-licensed games.
(& Cheaper alternatives.)