Alien: Blackout First Impressions Are In & They’re Pretty Good!

Started by Corporal Hicks, Jan 11, 2019, 07:56:37 PM

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Alien: Blackout First Impressions Are In & They’re Pretty Good! (Read 32,073 times)

Corporal Hicks

Corporal Hicks

Following a somewhat disastrous announcement, several outlets have posted up early impressions of the upcoming game and they're pretty positive! !

QuoteAnd in the case of Alien Blackout, developers Rival Games and Theory Interactive and publishers FoxNext/D3 Go! are about to remind us that the platform doesn't dictate the quality of the product. More specifically, mobile doesn't automatically equal suck for triple-A franchises. And more broadly, don't just assume what a game is until you're playing it.

Hey, I sympathize with the whole knee-jerk reaction towards mobile spinoffs. I've run into my fair share of used-car salesman in this industry.

But the Alien Blackout demo wasn't what I was afraid it was going to be. It's a legit standalone Alien game that happens to be on a mobile platform.

As I said in the beginning, Alien Blackout is a lesson in assumptions. They're stupid. I'm stupid for having them. Do yourselves a favor, really investigate a game before judging it harshly, and you'll avoid being stupid as well.



IGN also had the chance to chat to Alien: Blackout's Senior Producer Josh Austin, about the upcoming Alien: Blackout, discussing some of the inspirations for the game. Talking about the genesis of Blackout, Josh revealed that a specific scene within Alien: Covenant served as inspiration for the game.

QuoteThe idea was born from, of all things, Alien Covenant, Senior Producer Josh Austin tells me. "You know that part with David closing all the doors to funnel the alien through? I thought: this would be an extremely fun mechanic."



Both IGN and VentureBeat go into detail about Alien: Blackout's gameplay, with IGN discussing how (like Alien: Isolation) sound is a large component of the game and the Alien itself (again, like Isolation) is unpredictable in how it will react.

QuoteYou can also hear it. Sound is a big part of Blackout, as it was in Isolation, and can be used in a number of ways. The xenomorph is triggered by sound, so you can shut doors in random parts of the station to throw it off the crew's scent. Conversely, if you make too much noise while directing your crew, the xenomorph will come for you, in which case you'll need to trip the emergency door and power down the entire station.

In other words, it's a classic Alien cat-and-mouse dynamic, and that means it's hard. Though you carry on if you lose a crew member, if you lose all of them, you'll be sent back to the beginning of the level. "The Xenomorph doesn't do the same thing twice," says Austin. "So you might play a level and it might come from here or it might come from somewhere else. It's very unpredictable but we fought very hard to keep it that way so that we could make it a really good Alien experience."



Talking to Syfy Wire, Jukka Laakso (CEO/founder of co-developers Rival Games) also re-iterated the sound of Alien: Blackout.

Quote"[Fans] get to experience the fear for the first time on mobile, something that the first movie is famous for, that suspense, that fear. It's right there to be experienced on mobile, especially I would recommend you using headphones because that brings a whole different level to the immersion of the player," Jukka Laakso, CEO/founder of Rival Games, told SYFY WIRE earlier in the week during a live demonstration of the game in Manhattan.

IGN was famously one of the few outlets that gave Alien: Isolation a negative review and took quite a lot of flack for it, many criticising the criticisms within the review itself. So amusingly, IGN are actually  quite optimistic about the quasi-follow-up!

QuoteFrom what I played, Alien: Blackout certainly looks like it could be a really good Alien experience, and what's more, it's a full game without the baggage of microtransactions that we have come to dread from mobile titles (to be clear, there are zero microtransactions. It's $4.99 for the game and then you're done). I certainly spent some time panicking while playing it, but not because of the reasons I thought going in.



TQ Jefferson, the VP of External Development at FoxNext, told Syfy Wire that there's much more on the horizon for Alien fans this year!

Quote"This is the tip of the spear for a lot of activity that's going to roll out or get announced fairly soon for the Alien franchise. This being the 40th anniversary year and Alien Day being in April just three-and-a-half months from now, I think everyone's gonna be fairly pleased with some of the things that we've got brewing and that we're gonna start announcing and rolling out in quick succession."

Jefferson talked about the topic of Alien: Isolation 2 with Variety, and while re-affirming that a sequel wasn't currently in the works, Alien: Blackout doesn't nessarily get in the way of a sequel.

Quote"There is room for an 'Isolation 2,'" he said, "Or beyond that. We know fans are really excited about 'Isolation 2,'so we're not going to dash that opportunity. When we started this project we thought about things like, is this going to get in the way of 'Isolation 2'?"

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!

P1NK8C1DBOOTS

I know there were emixed feelings about this but I'm excited for it! Sure it's not what we were hoping for but it's new Alien content until we get the console game so happy days 😀

SM


Voodoo Magic

"None of the fans want this!"   ;)

Jango1201

I'm not bothered at all by this because it sounds like theres something for everybody this year. Is the last statement confirming Isolation 2 or just open to the idea? Very exciting details overall.

Vrastal

Quote from: Jango1201 on Jan 11, 2019, 08:49:17 PM
I'm not bothered at all by this because it sounds like theres something for everybody this year. Is the last statement confirming Isolation 2 or just open to the idea? Very exciting details overall.

Probably that fox is open and willjng to think about an isolation 2.

So it sounds like gameplay draws from five nights but has a few more mechanics to it?

whiterabbit

So the game isn't that bad? Wow! Who knew with all of the hate out there. :)

Still Collating...

Nice! Now I'm actually bummed I wont be able to play it, damn stupid phone...  :'(

windebieste

All the hate comes from mis-marketing.  I personally think it's a hoot.  Hilarious and expected. 

While this game isn't intended to be a follow-up to 'ALIEN isolation', that's what it was promoted as.  No wonder the negative reaction came thick and fast.  How much better would it have been received if the lead character wasn't Amanda Ripley?  ...and what's her significance in all this, anyway..?  Is it even needed?  I think that's where the marketing - and for that matter game design went wrong.  The perception of the product on offer suffers because of it.

I think a different character entirely would have been a better choice.  This shoe horning of the name Ripley into a game isn't necessarily going to guarantee sales.  Fans expectations are we will one day get a fully featured Triple A 'ALIEN Isolation' sequel.  The perception of it being on mobile phone featuring the game's main character was guaranteed to invoke such reactions. 

Another issue I see here is the very nature of the gameplay and systems being offered.  When the Producer says  "You know that part with David closing all the doors to funnel the alien through? I thought: this would be an extremely fun mechanic." Well, f**k me.  In this regard, I think he's right.  That gameplay would be great!  I'd love to play as David, cold heartedly directing the Alien to attack colonists would be fun!   I'd be up for that, murdering innocent colonists by manipulating doors and vents os Aliens to their location before they escape.  Hell!  I'd be up for that...  sounds like a great and preferable alternative to what is on offer

There's nothing wrong with having the gameplay framed around that idea - but taking it and forcing it into another, more recognisable character - and really it's just for sake of having the name of 'Ripley' prominent in the title - is still going to elicit the response they got. 

I think if the game had been released as an 'ALIEN covenant' title, it would have been much better received on mobile and a tie in to the most recent movie will definitely have appeal. 

The only reason I can see the game wears the 'ALIEN Isolation' badge is because assets from the first game are recycled to fit the title.  They already exist.  Just use 'em. That way design elements don't have to be made - or paid for. 

Just keep pilfering from the past to churn out product for the future.  It works, right?  I think that's at the core of this marketing debacle.  Fans at some level know that's going on and it feels cheap and recycled.

That's because it is.

-Windebieste.

Perfect-Organism

Wonder if this'll work on iPad.  I don't like small screens.

whiterabbit

Quote from: windebieste on Jan 11, 2019, 10:09:42 PM
Another issue I see here is the very nature of the gameplay and systems being offered.  When the Producer says  "You know that part with David closing all the doors to funnel the alien through? I thought: this would be an extremely fun mechanic." Well, f**k me.  In this regard, I think he's right.  That gameplay would be great!  I'd love to play as David, cold heartedly directing the Alien to attack colonists would be fun!   I'd be up for that, murdering innocent colonists by manipulating doors and vents os Aliens to their location before they escape.  Hell!  I'd be up for that...  sounds like a great and preferable alternative to what is on offer.
I'd say think it but don't say it just flew out the airlock. Yea lets murder some juicy colonists.

The Old One

The Old One

#11
Quote from: windebieste on Jan 11, 2019, 10:09:42 PM
All the hate comes from mis-marketing.  I personally think it's a hoot.  Hilarious and expected. 

While this game isn't intended to be a follow-up to 'ALIEN isolation', that's what it was promoted as.  No wonder the negative reaction came thick and fast.  How much better would it have been received if the lead character wasn't Amanda Ripley?  ...and what's her significance in all this, anyway..?  Is it even needed?  I think that's where the marketing - and for that matter game design went wrong.  The perception of the product on offer suffers because of it.

I think a different character entirely would have been a better choice.  This shoe horning of the name Ripley into a game isn't necessarily going to guarantee sales.  Fans expectations are we will one day get a fully featured Triple A 'ALIEN Isolation' sequel.  The perception of it being on mobile phone featuring the game's main character was guaranteed to invoke such reactions. 

Another issue I see here is the very nature of the gameplay and systems being offered.  When the Producer says  "You know that part with David closing all the doors to funnel the alien through? I thought: this would be an extremely fun mechanic." Well, f**k me.  In this regard, I think he's right.  That gameplay would be great!  I'd love to play as David, cold heartedly directing the Alien to attack colonists would be fun!   I'd be up for that, murdering innocent colonists by manipulating doors and vents os Aliens to their location before they escape.  Hell!  I'd be up for that...  sounds like a great and preferable alternative to what is on offer

There's nothing wrong with having the gameplay framed around that idea - but taking it and forcing it into another, more recognisable character - and really it's just for sake of having the name of 'Ripley' prominent in the title - is still going to elicit the response they got. 

I think if the game had been released as an 'ALIEN covenant' title, it would have been much better received on mobile and a tie in to the most recent movie will definitely have appeal. 

The only reason I can see the game wears the 'ALIEN Isolation' badge is because assets from the first game are recycled to fit the title.  They already exist.  Just use 'em. That way design elements don't have to be made - or paid for. 

Just keep pilfering from the past to churn out product for the future.  It works, right?  I think that's at the core of this marketing debacle.  Fans at some level know that's going on and it feels cheap and recycled.

That's because it is.

-Windebieste.

Big mood.

newbeing

I'll probably end up getting it either for my phone or the IPad if they're supported. Can't really go wrong for $5.

I can understand why people are upset, as I would rather Isolation 2, but honestly the fact that we're seeing anything resulting from Isolation is proof they know that the original, while not a huge seller, has a substantial cult following and is generally one of the biggest wins the franchise has had in years. Not holding my breath for Isolation 2, but Blackout makes me more hopeful for a true sequel.

Also are people really having a problem with them reusing assets from Isolation? Why would they go through the trouble of the cost and time it would take to make all new assets that essentially look the same? Of course they're going to be reusing assets where they can.

Space Invader

What Android version do you need for this?

Huggs

Quote from: Aliens Exist on Jan 12, 2019, 05:19:34 AM
What Android version do you need for this?

The 120A-2. They're less twitchy.  ;)

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