Retro Gadgets in Alien: Isolation

[ikarop]

http://news.xbox.com/2014/09/games-8-awesome-retro-gadgets-in-alien-isolation

[Russ]

I'm not convinced that the save station is a great idea.

[Seegson]

Love it! The eviroment its so "alien1979" i just cant believe it

[PRI. HUDSON]

I'm not convinced that the save station is a great idea.

I love it.

[Snark]

That save system just made me think this game might be even harder to get through playing day by day.

[SM]

Motion Tracker

If you've seen Aliens – and if you haven't, what's wrong with you? – you'll remember the pulse-pounding feeling of the motion tracker's ping!  If you've seen Alien, you'd know that Cameron nicked the idea from that film and remember the tension of the beeping dot of the Alien closing in on Dallas in the airduct...

[SpeedyMaxx]

What's particularly harrowing is watching the hour-plus of gameplay posted in the Story thread, all of which is done before Amanda has a tracker. Granted, the alien only makes its presence known very late in, but...

[Russ]

I love it.

I think it'd get pretty frustrating after a while if this game is as hard as they say it is. But that's just me, I don't really play games that often and when I do, I want to be challenged and have a good time, not get pissed off because I keep dying and having to do the same thing over and over again only to keep dying at the same point.

At least with the "chapter save" thing you know that there was an end in sight!

[WinterActual]

I hate such save systems. What's this console bullshit? Its 2014 for god's sake... Save on the spot + quick save/quick load are a must.

[SpeedyMaxx]

I also love it.

[reecebomb]

Rad! But i think they went a little overboard with boomboxes. Alien computer technology looks very retro by today's standard, but i don't remember seeing any analog tape recorders in the film.

[𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔈𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱𝔥 𝔓𝔞𝔰𝔰𝔢𝔫𝔤𝔢𝔯]

Rad! But i think they went a little overboard with boomboxes. Alien computer technology looks very retro by today's standard, but i don't remember seeing any analog tape recorders in the film.

Agreed. Ridley went to great pains to future proof both Alien and Blade Runner. When you look at those two films you'll see they haven't aged as much as other Sci-Fi films of that era, apart from unavoidable stuff like the CRT monitors.

Even the off-the-shelf stuff he used such as the Braun Aromaster KF 20 coffee maker still looks modern and high-tech by today's standards. Cassette tape boomboxes not so much especially considering that they already had laser discs back in '78.

[Corporal Hicks]

The CRT screens are the greatest indication of age though. And they're everywhere. As much as he'd have liked to have future proved it, it looks like it was conceived in the 70s, no avoiding it. And it was one of the big complaints against Prometheus. I don't mind AI having the design philosophy they've been using.

[SM]

I hate such save systems.

All the people who didn't see that coming.

[WinterActual]

Back then this was hardware limitation. Some engines couldn't handle save state done at any spot/part of the level so the developers had to make "safe heaven" places for the player to save his progress, with no enemies and/or items around, making the save file less "heavy" to handle. These times are long time gone. We are not living in the PS1 era any more.

Sometimes this can be overcome with modding but why it have to be this way