I’m pretty sure most people remember the unspeakable (yet… hilarious) abomination that was Aliens: Colonial Marines. Granted, it was funny and had its moments. However, those are completely overshadowed by the launch fiasco and the damage control by SEGA and Gearbox.
Basically, the game we saw and the game we received… well, you know what happened. Everyone knows what happened. That’s why Alien: Isolation needs to redeem the franchise not only for Alien fans, but for gamers and gaming companies everywhere.
Why Alien: Isolation needs to be the shit
Alien: Isolation takes place between the first and second Alien movies. Amanda goes in search of her mother, Ripley, who will spend the next 50-someodd years in hypersleep after the events of LV426 (and the slaughter of her crew on the Nostromo). If you’re lost, watching Alien is definitely worth your time; it may even be crucial to appreciating the entire plot of this title.
However, due to my die-hard fan obsession with the Alien franchise, I’m nervous about Isolation, especially given the fact that it’s SEGA’s second try. Sure, it looks great, and I can appreciate that SEGA is making another attempt at redemption. Aliens: Colonial Marines received a scathing 45 on Metacritic, and with good reason. It looked great on paper and in the trailers… and then the game was released. I wonder if Isolation will suffer the same fate.
Let me remind you that Colonial Marines was so bad that SEGA and Gearbox were sued for false advertising. The trailer above has a disclaimer that states the trailer is made from actual gameplay footage–yeah, sure, I’ve heard that before.
Alien: Isolation needs to succeed, or it’ll probably ruin the franchise for future developers and gamers. No one wants to touch a cursed (or shat upon) title. It will either go one of two ways–gamers will love it, and your company will have single-handedly saved the franchise; or, gamers will absolutely hate it, and you’ll be added to the long laundry list of failed attempts.
What do you think?
The gameplay footage at the top of this article shows off what appears to be a great survival horror game, and the host seems really excited about it and its intensity. While this reassures me to an extent, I’m still incredibly nervous after the disaster SEGA put out last year.
Do you think SEGA struck gold with Creative Assembly, or will they fail just as hard as they did with Colonial Marines?
