Alien: Isolation Will Have Non-Alien Enemies
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That and the presence of humans were both covered all the way back at the game's announcement.Kopikatsu said:
They've pitched this as closer to Amnesia than Doom as far as FPS games go, there's only going to one Alien, but since you're both a civilian and nominally unarmed it's going to be a colossal threat compared one Alien in any Aliens FPS to date.
I think that's the point though. In all of the other games the Xenos never really felt scary. This game is trying to bring back the terror to the franchise. Look at the first film. There is only one Xeno in that and you can't deny that it's a genuinely creepy experience seeing the crew get taken down one by one and slowly loosing it to the fear. I hope this game can capture that feeling coz that would be an awesome game!Kopikatsu said:
sounds actually alright. if executed well, this could work. really wondering if we have the choice if we have to fight these human enemies or not. looking forward to more infos. so far it has my interest.
Let me guess, it's Putin trying to take over the Sevastopol? 
Seriously though, I hope they don't draw too much attention away from the alien with this. It could go well for them if they capture the resulting power struggles and panic amongst the survivors well, but it could also easily go the other way.
Seriously though, I hope they don't draw too much attention away from the alien with this. It could go well for them if they capture the resulting power struggles and panic amongst the survivors well, but it could also easily go the other way.
Called this.
Seriously, this whole "There's only one enemy" thing had me rolling my eyes from the start.
There are always sections in a game's development, the first section is where everything is really free floating and there is a lot of wayward talk about this and that, and how it's going too revolutionize whatever and be so unique and interesting. But then there is the second section, where a corporate overlord who is paying for the project sends his minions in too violently punch all of the creativity out of the game makers in favor of turning their vision into a bland samey boring dime a dozen shooter.
Seriously, this whole "There's only one enemy" thing had me rolling my eyes from the start.
There are always sections in a game's development, the first section is where everything is really free floating and there is a lot of wayward talk about this and that, and how it's going too revolutionize whatever and be so unique and interesting. But then there is the second section, where a corporate overlord who is paying for the project sends his minions in too violently punch all of the creativity out of the game makers in favor of turning their vision into a bland samey boring dime a dozen shooter.
Character interaction and having other options for escaping the Alien besides curling into a ball and praying does not equal a shooter.Tradjus said:
Not the least surprised. I mean, I didn't rule out entirely that "one Xeno and that's it for enemies" is going to be a posibility but "One Xeno and some other stuff, like robots" was more likely to happen. And it did.
Normally, you're also armed to the teeth (or at least got enough ammo to shoot a mayority of the xenos). Here, you're basically unarmed so a single Xeno is enough of a threat.Kopikatsu said:
The original movie only had one alien, and that seems to be where most of the inspiration is coming from for this game.truckspond said:
Also, if you read the article, they aren't just throwing a bunch of human enemies at the players to help build the mandatory body count. The other humans are meant to be survivors similar to the player, and they may help or harm the player. That hardly sounds like a standard CoD-styled FPS.
Is there anything in the article claiming it will be "a bland samey boring dime a dozen shooter"? No, he said there will be other survivors that may help or harm the player, and the player will likely have to defend themselves against the latter category. That's not the same as your standard shooter.Tradjus said:
true. who knows if we would have any firearm at all. if then maybe a pistol but that would be it with limited ammo. something similar to "i am alive".MysticSlayer said:
Ahhhhhh this game makes me so nervous. On the one hand, this is a game I've wanted for years (I think Aliens is overrated and Alien far superior), but it isn't going to be easy to execute, especially since capturing what made Alien Alien means consciously avoiding everything that made Aliens Aliens, and video games fucking love Aliens.
So far, I'm not crazy about it. Early footage of the alien just shows it wandering around in plain view like it's got nowhere to be for the next hour. Too much like Amnesia, not enough like Verdugo from Resident Evil 4. The focus is on sneaking around a stupid brute, and that's a cool way to do Horror, but Alien was about being actively hunted. The thing spent most of the movie completely silent, hiding in shadows and camouflaged against pipes, and when it did show up it didn't snap like an attack dog - it slithered like a sex kitten and looked like it was going to kiss you (the original alien had lips and wasn't always snarling at everything). It wasn't scary because it was powerful; it was scary because you didn't know where it was, and you didn't understand what it was doing.
The first part of that, being hunted, isn't too difficult. There was a Sega Saturn game called Enemy Zero that was basically Alien: The Game. You were a woman trapped on a nearly derelict space vessel that consisted entirely of branching hallways with poor lighting, and you had to run around finding your crewmates and doing Isaac Clarke chores to try to escape. The aliens were invisible, and killed you in one hit; you located them using a motion tracker that pinged faster when they were close by. It's worth looking up on Youtube. And fortunately, Isolation has that same motion tracker paradigm already, so we could actually get this, if they nail the execution, i.e. keep the alien off the damn screen.
The second part, what the alien should actually do when you encounter it, is a tougher question. On the one hand, just being killed in one hit could potentially work. It needs to be intense and unpleasant so that it's actually scary, slow enough that it's clear that you've died, and fast enough that it isn't wasting your time (so none of that being dragged on the floor shit that was in the demo - that's a waste of time, and stupid). You could probably just go with the split-second jump-out scare from the movie where the alien seizes Dallas in the vents (your motion tracker would be wetting its pants at that point, so it wouldn't be too jarring I think).
On the other hand, I would completely love it if there were some way to evoke the "slithering sex kitten" thing, where the alien just creeps on you and it's not clear if it's actually attacking you or not. It's not easy to do with our current gamer habits, though. Gamers don't freeze up when we spot a monster, or wait to see what it does - we book it. If we're trapped, we bob and weave. And you're never getting us to sit still if we're armed. Maybe if we could somehow make the player wary of making sudden movements? Somehow suggest that if you moved slowly, the alien would move slowly too? I don't know. Getting those NPCs to demonstrate this somehow could be a good use for them.
So far, I'm not crazy about it. Early footage of the alien just shows it wandering around in plain view like it's got nowhere to be for the next hour. Too much like Amnesia, not enough like Verdugo from Resident Evil 4. The focus is on sneaking around a stupid brute, and that's a cool way to do Horror, but Alien was about being actively hunted. The thing spent most of the movie completely silent, hiding in shadows and camouflaged against pipes, and when it did show up it didn't snap like an attack dog - it slithered like a sex kitten and looked like it was going to kiss you (the original alien had lips and wasn't always snarling at everything). It wasn't scary because it was powerful; it was scary because you didn't know where it was, and you didn't understand what it was doing.
The first part of that, being hunted, isn't too difficult. There was a Sega Saturn game called Enemy Zero that was basically Alien: The Game. You were a woman trapped on a nearly derelict space vessel that consisted entirely of branching hallways with poor lighting, and you had to run around finding your crewmates and doing Isaac Clarke chores to try to escape. The aliens were invisible, and killed you in one hit; you located them using a motion tracker that pinged faster when they were close by. It's worth looking up on Youtube. And fortunately, Isolation has that same motion tracker paradigm already, so we could actually get this, if they nail the execution, i.e. keep the alien off the damn screen.
The second part, what the alien should actually do when you encounter it, is a tougher question. On the one hand, just being killed in one hit could potentially work. It needs to be intense and unpleasant so that it's actually scary, slow enough that it's clear that you've died, and fast enough that it isn't wasting your time (so none of that being dragged on the floor shit that was in the demo - that's a waste of time, and stupid). You could probably just go with the split-second jump-out scare from the movie where the alien seizes Dallas in the vents (your motion tracker would be wetting its pants at that point, so it wouldn't be too jarring I think).
On the other hand, I would completely love it if there were some way to evoke the "slithering sex kitten" thing, where the alien just creeps on you and it's not clear if it's actually attacking you or not. It's not easy to do with our current gamer habits, though. Gamers don't freeze up when we spot a monster, or wait to see what it does - we book it. If we're trapped, we bob and weave. And you're never getting us to sit still if we're armed. Maybe if we could somehow make the player wary of making sudden movements? Somehow suggest that if you moved slowly, the alien would move slowly too? I don't know. Getting those NPCs to demonstrate this somehow could be a good use for them.
OK so it doesn't sound like another military shooter which is great but I can already see human survivors who either try to murder you for reasons and other human survivors who need help. Human survivors who you can ignore if you want the bad/evil ending. The concept is great but this is another next-gen game I'll likely get in a few years at a huge discount if at all.
Jim already pointed this out in his "survival of horror" Jimquisition, so at that point I lost hope for this game, and this just keeps pushing it
"Inhabitants" covers a lot really, especially in a series filled with both psychotic and helpful androids. Crafting makes sense as well, think of the makeshift flamethrowers and cattleprods the crew of the Nostromo cobbled together. Mix all of that in with some Company workers trying to get their hands on a Xenomorph alive Burke style and there is nothing here that should be entirely surprising or alarming.
I'm with you we need a Xenomorph game. You can even start the game as a facehugger and build up your forces/family until the end where you and your brothers are tearing the place apart. But no, because people don't like playing as someone who isn't exactly like them, or in many cases so bland they project themselves onto them.008Zulu said:
Also as for the Predator part, there was a game called Predator Concrete Jungle. It... wasn't that great.
There was a game like that. In fact, there were three. They were Alien Vs. Predator, Alien Vs. Predator 2, and Alien Vs. Predator (2010)Azure Knight-Zeo said:
Alien Vs. Predator 2 was an absolutely fantastic and amazing game, and it really captures what it feels like to be a xenomorph in the xenomorph story section.
The 2010 version was garbage.
Aw that's a shame and kinda lame if its just gonna be scripted and therefore predictable in multiple playthroughs:/BrotherRool said:
I knew I was letting my imagination get the better of me as I envisioned a completely non scripted free form ship environment inhabited by intelligent npcs and your actions and interactions would affect how the alien AI responds, but we are in 2014 and it's about time games focus on things like uber ai instead of photo realistic graphics.
Dunno imagine a game where besides playing as is intended, you have the option to just go hide in the vents like newt did in aliens, making for a very boring (but safe!) game only punctuated by the screams of the crew being slaughtered echoing across the vents, climaxing in a mad dash for the end of game rescue ship or escape pod. Or just being VERY lucky and managing to kill the alien by accidentally releasing an airlock in the very beginning of the game and therefore saving the entire crew of the ship before most even realized what was happening.
Meh give it another decade and just maybe we might get there...
I'm still hoping it won't be heavily scripted (although whether it will be is up in the air). But if it's not scripted much I still think the way the games going to work is that their are zones and places you need to get to/objectives you need to achieve. And the Alien AI will hunt you (and possibly NPCs?) whilst you're doing that and you have to try and stay alive/out smart it.Frankster said:
And then eventually there'll be some sort of climax and I suspect actually killing the Alien will be totally scripted.
The ship simulator thing sounds like it could be good. But it's one of those things that requires a lot of really fine balance in a lot of systems to actually be fun, and I can't see a AAA game ever risking that.
