Expectations for Alien Isolation

[PainInTheAssInternet]

What are your expectations for the game?

I expect it to be as bad as Colonial Marines (I just finished playing the game and I now see why it got so much hate). It's being done by Creative Assembly whose last game was Total War; Rome 2, which is reputed to share many issues with Colonial Marines such as persistent bugs and being dull. From the perspective of the last few big-budget Aliens games, all of which were done under Sega, the question is no longer "is there any reason to suspect this game will be sub-par." Rather, the question is " Is there any reason to suspect this game will break the pattern?"

 

[Mezahmay]

I personally doubt this game will be as bad as Colonial Marines, but as far as I know the whole original cast of Alien is still pre-order exclusive or DLC or whatever and I remember seeing a pre-order bonus on Steam for TF2 hats. Fucking really? TF2 hats? I feel that cost the game some credibility. I'll admit I wasn't going to buy it regardless since I'm not that big a fan of the Alien franchise or survival horror, but they're really trying to pre-sell this game to as many consumers as possible. It pains me a little to see people in comments say "Original cast, eh? Take my money," or "best pre-order bonus ever."

 

[PainInTheAssInternet]

I personally doubt this game will be as bad as Colonial Marines, but as far as I know the whole original cast of Alien is still pre-order exclusive or DLC or whatever and I remember seeing a pre-order bonus on Steam for TF2 hats. Fucking really? TF2 hats? I feel that cost the game some credibility. I'll admit I wasn't going to buy it regardless since I'm not that big a fan of the Alien franchise or survival horror, but they're really trying to pre-sell this game to as many consumers as possible. It pains me a little to see people in comments say "Original cast, eh? Take my money," or "best pre-order bonus ever."

I've never responded this early in my own thread before so forgive me for not letting the conversation progress further before I butt back in.

The DLC is another point of contention with me. After the skewering A:CM got, you'd think Sega would want to take a step back to earn the trust of the gaming public again. I don't think I can blame them for the outcome, but at some point someone has to account for basic pattern recognition. If this game turns out crap as well, I will be saying Sega's got something to do with it.

 

[StriderShinryu]

It's not going to be as bad as Colonial Marines but a lot of people are still going to be disappointed partially because it's not going to be gods gift to gaming and partially because it's a game based on a long loved property.

 

[Tuesday Night Fever]

I expect it to be a waste a money, and that makes me quite sad. I freaking love the Alien universe.

After Aliens: Colonial Marines though, I just can't bring myself to make another Day-1 purchase so soon. The original cast preorder bonus is pretty enticing... but it also just makes me very suspicious. They sold me on Aliens: Colonial Marines with the return of Michael Biehn, Lance Henriksen, Al Matthews, and Mark Rolston for voice actors (and though he's not connected to the franchise, Travis Willingham is pretty great too)... so bringing back the Alien cast seems a bit like deja vu. Like maybe they know they've got a game on their hands that will disappoint a big fan like me, so they're trying to lure me into buying it before I can actually see it.

So yeah... I'm going to probably wait this one out. If it gets great reviews, I'll buy it. If not, I'll wait until it's bargain-bin priced during a Steam sale or something to play it.

 

[Windcaler]

What I expect is what was advertised. A big station to explore with a female character vs an alien. Thats about it.

Its not a day one purchase for me though. Actually it may not be a purchase at all since theres a lot of other games that have come out over the last year that I still have to get to. Plus the aliens franchise in recent years just hasnt been used very well. We had that god awful prometheus movie which for some reason beyond my comprehension is getting a sequel, We got aliens colonial marines (a legendarily bad game by itself but also the poster child for why you should wait for reviews before making a purchase), then there was Aliens vs predator (2010) which was alright but could have been a lot better if they had just done one campaign instead of 3.

Honestly from the one trailer Ive seen I dont think it'll be that good but who knows. Maybe it'll be the best alien game ever. Maybe it'll set a new bar for how franchise games should be done. I guess Ill see when it finally comes out but Im not going into any game blind anymore. Ive been burned to many times to take any marketing material seriously

 

[Extra-Ordinary]

I'm going to be a positive one here and say I expect it to be flippin' great, or at least want it to do really well for reasons including but other than my own enjoyment. Although I will state that I am a little biased. I was going to get the game anyway and then I had a chance to play it at PAX and I won their challenge mode and that really kickstarted my heart so yeah, eager fanboy incoming.

Anyway.

I just hope it delivers on the scares. It says that the Alien is ninety percent unscripted and that number sounds a little high to me but even if it's just seventy percent unscripted, I'll be satisfied. They're selling more than anything else on this game the AI behind the Xenomorph and having played the demo myself, the Alien is very smart and very unpredictable, it's exactly how an Alien should act. But it was just a demo, I just have to hope it all carries over into the final game.

I understand everyone's hesitation, I really do, it's still a day-1 purchase for me. I'm a big fan of Alien, not huge, I haven't even seen Resurrection (although from what I hear, I'm better off) but I'm pretty into Alien and this is a day-one purchase for me.

And alas we come to the break: I pre-ordered this game. Their pre-order incentive is one of the dirtiest I've seen I will admit, but I was going to get this day one and I did not want to pay extra for missions that I really want to play. Generally, I don't pre-order unless it's a part of a series and I happened to break that rule with what is probably the dirtiest pre-order I've ever done. I'm not going to defend my stance, I fed into the machine and maybe I'll have to eat that money but I certainly hope not.

I want it to do really well because at the very least, we'll hopefully see more games like it. The horror run/hide/die formula is usually only reserved for indie PC titles and as a fan of that genre I'd like to see it really bust into the AAA market. I understand that too much of it will eventually make me get annoyed by it but hey, it'll be a fun ride.

In the end, the trailers looked good, the demo played good, let's hope the final game reflects these things, eh?

 

[MirenBainesUSMC]

I could care less if the threw in a .22 caliber firing replica of a Marine pulse rifle with the pre-order, I still wouldn't put any of my money down until I've seen the reviews of the reviews.

After AVP2 it went all down hill from there. Their track record is garbage.

 

[Gethsemani_v1legacy]

Let us never forget that Aliens: Colonial Marines could be seen for a mediocre game from miles away (I still liked it though). Before release the screenshots were lackluster, the same trailer material was re-used all the time and it had a development cycle that included several developer changes, multiple delays and a seemingly endless row of design revisions. Anyone who knew anything about game development should have realized that A:CM showed all the signs of a troubled development.

Alien: Isolation shows none of those signs. It is done by a studio that obviously loves the franchise they are making a game for, the screenshots doesn't look like they come from a game that's 4+ years old and the hands-on previews have all expressed satisfaction at how the game plays. I don't know if it will be great, but it should not be associated in anyway with A:CM just because the two share franchise and publisher.

 

[LaoJim]

Let us never forget that Aliens: Colonial Marines could be seen for a mediocre game from miles away (I still liked it though). Before release the screenshots were lackluster, the same trailer material was re-used all the time and it had a development cycle that included several developer changes, multiple delays and a seemingly endless row of design revisions. Anyone who knew anything about game development should have realized that A:CM showed all the signs of a troubled development.

What's interesting to me is that, with Colonial Marines, it seemed like a lot of journalists, including Jim Sterling, were taken in by the trailers and bullshots and were prepared to assume that a lot of the problems they saw in preview were going to be ironed out for the release. Isolation is a very different game from Marines and we're seeing it being talked up a lot as being completely different. Its either a case of the game genuinely being very good or alternatively some very canny marketing. In any case if it does turn out to be as bad as Marines there should probably be some questions asked about how much optimism journalists should report previews with. I hope that doesn't happen (again).

The game does look good and moreover it looks interesting. However having one xenomorph in the entire game will mean that the game design and AI will have to be extraordinarily good for it to really work.

 

[Casual Shinji]

I would love for this game to pleasantly surprise me, but from everything I've seen it's just you with an Alien running after you. And the Alien itself just isn't scary anymore, and has never even been scary in a videogame.

 

[loa]

The original cast is a freaking preorder DLC bonus.
It starts right off with the underhanded ransom holding nonsense which is meaningless consmetic elements at best and an entire part of the game cut out of it at worst.
Either way, we lose.
I can't imagine this being worthwhile at all.

 

[rbstewart7263]

Can someone explain to me why the dlc is required content for the main game for some people? Its an EXTRA story. Im more interested in the main game and of learning more about ripley's daughter and the main protagonist. I mean as dlc im sure it will be fun but watching the movie I dont think theres really alot of gameplay content there anyway and yet people act as if some essential main game shit was taken out. its really not essential.

 

[Saltyk]

Sadly, I'm not excited for the game. It's not a style of game I really care about. However, I did watch a video from a Youtuber that relates to this and did find it interesting. And it may give the OP and others in this thread a bit of confidence.

Hope that helps.​

 

[rbstewart7263]

Let us never forget that Aliens: Colonial Marines could be seen for a mediocre game from miles away (I still liked it though). Before release the screenshots were lackluster, the same trailer material was re-used all the time and it had a development cycle that included several developer changes, multiple delays and a seemingly endless row of design revisions. Anyone who knew anything about game development should have realized that A:CM showed all the signs of a troubled development.

What's interesting to me is that, with Colonial Marines, it seemed like a lot of journalists, including Jim Sterling, were taken in by the trailers and bullshots and were prepared to assume that a lot of the problems they saw in preview were going to be ironed out for the release. Isolation is a very different game from Marines and we're seeing it being talked up a lot as being completely different. Its either a case of the game genuinely being very good or alternatively some very canny marketing. In any case if it does turn out to be as bad as Marines there should probably be some questions asked about how much optimism journalists should report previews with. I hope that doesn't happen (again).

The game does look good and moreover it looks interesting. However having one xenomorph in the entire game will mean that the game design and AI will have to be extraordinarily good for it to really work.

it will be you can see that in this video here where caddicarus talks about it. I respect his opinion so im very much looking forward to playing.

itl certainly be better than destiny.(low blow lol)

[video]xOgKvqFZ70[/video]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xOgKvqFZ70

salt beat me to it!!!! lmao

 

[PainInTheAssInternet]

I don't think this post is worth a new thread and it contributes to this one more.

http://www.gamrreview.com/preview/91990/alien-isolation-is-set-to-prove-divisive/

I'm now not just doubtful but worried.

 

[Fdzzaigl]

I don't expect it to be as bad as colonial marines.

I do expect bugs with the AI of the Alien and funny situations.

I also expect to shit my pants.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

I think it looks very good, though I'm still weirded out by the fact the Alien cast is strictly DLC. Or has this been changed?

 

[x EvilErmine x]

I couldn't (or could not) care less if the threw in a .22 caliber firing replica of a Marine pulse rifle with the pre-order, I still wouldn't put any of my money down until I've seen the reviews of the reviews.

After AVP2 it went all down hill from there. Their track record is garbage.

Fixed that expression for you dude. If by chance you didn't see a problem with it in the first place heres and handy explanation. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=om7O0MFkmpw]

OT

I don't know, on the one hand from what's been shown so far it looks like a decent game. They seem to have the atmosphere and feel of the films down well and the whole thing looks quite pretty. As for how it'll actually turn out then I'm not so sure for the reasons that [user]Casual Shinji[/user] stated above.

Guess I'll just have to wait and see how good it is when it's out.

Also what's the deal with the original crew as DLC? How does that even work? Isn't the game meant to be set between Alien and Aliens? Aren't they all dead by this point (bar Ripley and Jones that is)