The Making of Alien: Resurrection - The Game

Started by Corporal Hicks, Sep 10, 2018, 09:52:21 AM

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The Making of Alien: Resurrection - The Game (Read 10,255 times)

Corporal Hicks

I think it would be fair to say that Alien: Resurrection is not a universally praised entry in the Alien franchise. It’s game tie-in, however, is generally very well liked. An early adopter of what has become the standard FPS controls on console, Alien: Resurrection is held in high regard as an authentic and tense Alien gaming experience.

It did, however, have a troubled development. Releasing nearly 3 years after the film itself actually came out, the game went through three different iterations and found it’s developers overwhelmed. Yesterday EuroGamer posted a nice retrospective on the development of Argonaut’s Alien: Resurrection for PlayStation 1.

After a year of work, Resurrection was facing numerous problems. The team had worked incredibly hard but there was a sense that Tim Moss’ original vision for the game wasn’t what they wanted to make anymore. A lot of the work was done, about 60 per cent or so, but with the end of 1996 approaching the team saw more impressive and realistic titles hitting store shelves. Amid a generation that focused on pushing the technical and graphical boundaries of what video games could do, Argonaut would drop what they were doing and follow suit.

 Cold Iron Studios' Alien Game is a "Massively Multiplayer Online Shooter"

It’s a really nice summary of the development of the game and well worth checking out!

Keep a close eye on Alien vs. Predator Galaxy for the latest Alien gaming and on the upcoming Aliens game from Cold Iron Studios! You can follow us on FacebookTwitter and Instagram to get the latest on your social media walls. You can also join in with fellow Alien and Predator fans on our forums!

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Shimmering Canopy

aahhh how i love this game. had to buy a ps mouse to play though. i just couldnt play it with the 2 sticks. i dont think issue was this mechanic per se. issue was, it was just a hard game to play that way. tjis as u needed absolute speed and accuracy, but as it was a ps1 and the game tested the console's limits, it just wasnt responsive enough imo. The ps mouse though changed everything!!! this is one of my fav games, and look forward to having a little time to revisit.
Also it's one oc the handful of FPSs (to this day, which is saying something..!) which allow you to walk as slowly as you want AND have the sound of your footsteps slow down to match your walking speed. Sounds trivial, but imo for a game like this this realism adds inmensely to the buildup of tension IMO (i.e. you are low on health and cant afford another hit, and are creeping ever so slowly. Doing so always reminded me of Elgin's demise scene). FPS developers, seriously take note!

Whiskeybrewer

I love that Tag Line

Wweyland

It is a good game, I completed it this year (after about 15 years of planning to do it).
Probably the 5th best Alien FPS and definitely better than Alien Trilogy.
The game is even referenced at the end of the movie credits.

Corporal Hicks

How so? The game didn't come out for another 3 years. Is the studio credited for their work on the arcade machine?

Wweyland

Quote from: Corporal Hicks on Sep 10, 2018, 12:02:41 PM
How so? The game didn't come out for another 3 years. Is the studio credited for their work on the arcade machine?
They were already developing it and it wasn't supposed to take 3 years.
It is also possible they added this credit to the DVD later.
Proof here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifrPTOBCIfs#t=4m40s

Corporal Hicks

Fair enough! Never noticed that  :o - but I don't generally sit through credits.

Wweyland

There are interesting things here and there. The egg-opening sound at the end of Aliens, the Bishop II name in Alien 3, etc. Alien 3 also shows the title card in the end again. But that is off topic already.

AVP-CAPCOM

AVP-CAPCOM

#8
Amazing article and a nice read. ALIEN Resurrection the movie and long delayed game tie-in gives me 1997-2000 nostalgic chills. It's also a story of an amazing game's potential popularity, lost during fast-moving advances in gaming technology in the transitionary period of new console generations.

I recall the PSOne being long in the tooth around October-December 2000 with the Playstation 2 being demoed in pods HMV and GAME shops in the UK, so the buzz for a PsOne release was over.

I liked ALIEN Resurrection the movie enough (at the time) November 1997 but I'll admit it was a short-lived infatuation, only stoked by ongoing news of a game tie-in. I was more optimistic as ALIEN-Trilogy (also PSone) proved popular amongst gamers, critics and videogame sales in 1996.
I recall the "Teletext" gaming news feed on old-school tv sets (remember that service which rivaled the pre-dial-up internet?) I think it was GameCentral (which lives on to present day via METRO.co.uk free Newspaper) reporting extensively on the development of the Resurrection game 1997-2000.
I recall talk of a Tomb Raider style third person game and the News team had almost monthly updates on ALIEN-Resurrection (along with a very early incarnation of DUKE NUKEM Forever by another development team). Developers would write in the feedback section with updates, team changes or  handing in notices in frustration!
I can't remember if any video demo of the "TOMB RAIDER" style gameplay ever saw the light of day but I did see screenshots and talk of the character Dom Vriess.(wheelchair guy) being a reverse aiming gun strapped to your back in harder levels.

Didn't know the Moss Brothers (Argonaut games) were originally planning to do a game based on the game LOADED-1995. Although to clarify that was a GREMLIN Interactive game based on "ALIEN BREED" which was ironically a topdown "ALIENS" style rip-off.
I don't know anyone who owned LOADED but a lot of high school friends played the shit out of the DEMO that came with the PSone.

The change to a TOMB RAIDER clone would've sucked as too many games who tried to emulate were inferior knock-offs. They did not understand why the gaming mechanic of Lara Croft was ideal for her global travel but unsuitable for anything else.
You only need PsOne games like the FIFTH ELEMENT, BATMAN AND ROBIN, Deathtrap Dungeon to prove this point.

I'll admit I raised my eyebrows when the Resurrection team finally came back and said a first person shooter was in the works. At best PsOne FPSs were for the larger part, unplayable. Low polygon count, low frame rates, game slowdown and blocky enemies (Star Wars Dark Forces or Duke Nukem).

The end product though was, IMO, better than ALIEN Trilogy and far more intense and satisfying. I didn't feel the need to upgrade to a PC to play ALIENS VS PREDATOR 1999 as Resurrection was on par with graphics and physics.
Speaking of which; it's interesting that Argonaut thought the next ALIEN movie (following Alien 3) being drafted by 20th Century Fox in 1996 would be an Aliens Vs Predator movie. I think many high school friends and their parents in this era shared the same hope with talk and rumours.

Alas, ALIEN- Resurrection was a safe but ultimately boring movie. A sentiment shared by its game developers who did better work on the franchise than the movie itself.
It's not like ALIEN 3 had that problem too.........oh wait.

MU-TH-UR 6000

Ah man, I was always bummed I couldn't play this back then since I was Sega Saturn boi and my next console was a PS2 many years later after this game came out. Must've forgot about it meanwhile. I'll def try to give this a go with some emulator. Hell, might even clean the dust of my Sega Saturn and play Trilogy before as well.

Wweyland

The game was hard as hell though. You have to conserve ammo at every step, otherwise you will end up in an unwinnable situation where a pistol is not enough.

AVP-CAPCOM

Quote from: MU-TH-UR 6000 on Sep 10, 2018, 02:47:30 PM
Ah man, I was always bummed I couldn't play this back then since I was Sega Saturn boi and my next console was a PS2 many years later after this game came out. Must've forgot about it meanwhile. I'll def try to give this a go with some emulator. Hell, might even clean the dust of my Sega Saturn and play Trilogy before as well.

Worth mentioning backwards compatibility here.

You can only play ALIEN Resurrection on the original PsOne console and not PlayStation 3 (unsure about PS2?) like other PsOne games. A YouTube reviewer said various game code doesn't work and there are glitches with backwards compatible consoles.

I downloaded the emulator version and it works a treat. You might need to add in the dual stick and rumble features if your USB controller has that function. I only use the D-pad and shoulder buttons.

bobcunk

Didn't ps1 games work on ps2?  Original stations are not very rare or expensive. If seen used o es for under $10.

AVP-CAPCOM

Quote from: bobcunk on Sep 10, 2018, 05:52:11 PM
Didn't ps1 games work on ps2?  Original stations are not very rare or expensive. If seen used o es for under $10.

Its a case by case basis.depending on the game.

No mention of the PS2 on gamefaqs having issues with ALIEN-Resurrection but the PS3 is well documented.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_PlayStation_games_incompatible_with_PlayStation_2

MU-TH-UR 6000

Aye, backwards compatibility is an option for me as well if I can find the game somewhere. I just completely forgot about it once I got the PS2 back then.

Quote from: AVP-CAPCOM on Sep 10, 2018, 04:37:41 PM
I downloaded the emulator version and it works a treat. You might need to add in the dual stick and rumble features if your USB controller has that function. I only use the D-pad and shoulder buttons.

That sounds great! I'll probably try it this way.

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