Seeing i managed to get this early via work, i figured i'd just give everybody my perspective on the game, considering a lot of negativity has come out so far. This is just for Single Player though, as i can't play MP, although i have looked about in the loadouts and challenges etc. This is only from the first mission so far.
Graphics:
Well, right off the bat the graphics aren't terrible, certainly not last gen quality as people have been saying. There are quite a few dodgy looking textures here and there, some of which can be very prominent when your running around searching for collectibles as i tend to, but overall they aren't dreadful, the majority in gameplay look pretty good. I;ve certainly seen a lot worse in current gen games.
A.I.
Again a lot of people saying the Aliens A.I. is terrible, IMO it seems ok to me, nothing groundbreaking but i wouldn't call it bad. Very much standard FPS AI, with some smart bits thrown in here and there, i've noticed the Xeno's will tend to try and swarm when in groups, but when theres only one or two left, they will go hide behind cover, or underneath platforms, which i thought was nice. One or two times i've noticed them just standing around, but its been very rare. Teammate AI, again standard FPS fare, they run around and shoot the Aliens. Again it just seems like standard AI to me, dunno how much it changes between difficulty levels though.
Gameplay
First of all, i just want to say as well, that i am really enjoying this. The Shooting feels very solid, with the Pulse Rifle, Shotgun and Pistol, all feeling completely different like they should. The Aliens seem able to take a fair bit of a beating, with a few even taking around 2-3 shotgun blasts from close before dying, with melee attacks being next to useless except for making some space between you and the Aliens. The game also does set up tension quite well, as noted with the first lurker fight, but especially just walking through dimly lit corridors, your always staying alert, watching for aliens, something which i don't think comes across when just watching a youtube vid, as hearing somebody talk over something does ruin any sense of immersion for me.
I think i've covered a lot of the issues i've read so far, so any questions fire away.
For all the people who have seen some of these fan reviews, first off i'd just say don't write the game off yet, i'd seen a lot of the comments before playing and i disagree with most of them, so definitely try to play it before casting judgement.
I'd not gonna go and say this is TEH BESTEST GAME EVAR, because it's not, it does have its flaws, with the occasionally poor textures, and moments of bad AI.
So far, i'd give it a solid 7/10. I think a lot of people had very high expectations for this, which GBX didn't help with comments they made over the authenticity of all the events and canon and blah blah. For me at least, it's an enjoyable FPS in a universe i know and love.