Jimquisition: A-LIE-ns: Colonial Marines

[wolfyrik]

In UK law, it is a legal requirement that if you sell goods by sample then, according to the Sale of Goods Act 1979, the product must correspond to the sample.
Now sure how that would work in the case of a video-game, mind you. Also, gearbox could argue it wasn't a sample.
Still, interesting thought, I wonder if we'll ever get an answer.

Indeedy, a further problem is that this is pretty untested. One thing you can say, is that the screenies at the bottom of the steam window for the game, were not/ are not from the game and so their sample is not representitive. I'd say that in the spirit of every consumer law which applies (unfair trading, distance selling regs) , steam and gear box are in breach. Consumers should be able to receive a refund due to misleading practices and Steam is guilty of misleading practices. The Service ( distant seling regs states that d/l media classifies as a service due to no physical goods)supplied by steam (valve/steam is the merchant here and so they are responsible), does not fit the description/is not up to the standard described.

Where this gets iffy and is untested: It could be argued that the game does live up the description given, at least as far as the text describes it, however the clip and screenies do not represent the game. There is no clear disclaimer as to whether they are supposed to be respresentitive or not. The further evidence of the demo may or may not be much use given that steam haven't (at least to my knowledge) used the demo as evidence of gameplay.
The fact that there is no disclaimer, under normal circumstances (tested with distance selling of actual goods, trading of actual goods as opposed to digital services) would be likely to 'mislead the average consumer'. Parentheses cos in UK trading law this is extremely important. Being likely to mislead the average consumer would be a breach, meaning the contract is unfair ie refund due to consumer and possibly action from Trading Standards. This would require A LOT of complaints to Trading Standards and only after exhausting other attempts at getting a refund.

Steam do have a defence in that a contract for digital services does not have to be cancelled because the consumer changes their minds, once services have commenced ie with A:CM; the consumer has purchased and played the game.
This of course "should" fail to be the case if it is demonstrated that the contract was unfair ie Not up to standard, does not match descrip, misleading etc. etc.

I say "should" because this is AFAIK mostl, if not, entirely untested.

If you are not happy with A:CM (and bought it):
1. take screenies. Steam store, pics, videos, description, actual game pics.

2. Complain through usual channels to steam, lay out your reasons, refer to trading regs (they are easy to find, lots of .gov.uk websites display the info clearly which can be found easily with google or whatever). If they refuse, you write to them in good old paper and snail mail, again stating reasons and asking for a refund. If this fails Try to telephone them.

3. If that fails, write to or phone the Office of Fair Trading, again easy websites, or Consumer Direct (CD are like the consumer side reception and help desk for OFT). They have phone numbers and contact details aplenty on their website.
If enough people complain to OFT having exhausted other options, then steam will be forced to deal with it, assuming OFT agrees with your complaint.

4. ????

5. Profit...well, get your cash back at least, with luck.

N.B If you live in and/or purchased the game in the UK/ using UK currency

 

[MB202]

Well, the whole point of a demo is to make you buy the game... unfortunately, I don't give a crap about demos in general. Still, this doesn't surprise me, not after seeing all the other crap game companies pull to get you to buy their crap and suck all the money they can out of your wallets.

 

[Detroit]

I didn't know, you guys, I didn't know. Damn, that demo was sooo good, I felt the pain.

 

[Cobalt180]

It seems to me that much of this is our fault. As gamers, is it not our duty to exert the vigilance and willpower to protest/boycott games such as this? Of course, we fell for the ploy on this game, clearly, a web of lies that truly did have us viewing a end product that simply wasn't there. However, they have their money, but, perhaps it would be wise to be very wary of games that look too good to be true in the future.

In this particular instance, I have to wonder whether or not we have a collective voice strong enough to show that we, being gamers demand a better service. Jim Sterling has said, last week if I am not mistaken, that companies do not exist to make money, they exist to provide a service, and when that service is not up to snuff, then we are under no obligations to accept it.

In this instance, it would be a powerful statement to simply not buy this game, and save your money for better things, and perhaps not pre-order the next big thing, and wait to see what reviews and sentiments come out, exert the willpower to make the better judgment until the time is right, and buy a game you feel you can enjoy to it's fullest.

 

[Jfswift]

That really sucks because I was considering grabbing this game too. This reminds me a little bit of the playable demo for Gran Turismo 5. Now, don't get me wrong, GT5 is pretty damn fun and I still highly recommend buying it but like.. the demo looked.. flawless. The game itself wasn't bad but clearly had some parts that seemed rushed like poor textures on one of the lotus's for example. Also there was something wrong with the shadows and how they displayed on cars which wasn't an issue in the demo. Again, just minor stuff and not game breaking because for the most part, the final product looked and played like the demo, that is, as advertised, unlike Aliens here.

 

[ObsidianJones_v1legacy]

Here's... here's something I need help with. Those who played the game on PC, did you play it with Steam? I think you have to. That's besides the point. Just do me a favor everyone who played the game on PC and click here.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/49540/

... is it me, or are they using screenshots of the Demo to sell the game?! I mean I get it, you have to put something up to hype the people into purchasing the game as a pre-order. But now that we have the fucking ugly truth, doesn't that become more of a case of bait and switch? Should steam and anyone who used the Demo screenshots to hype the game change them?

 

[Roxor]

We need much stricter laws about how companies can behave. Lying to us should get them taxed at 100% income for a year.

 

[Mr C]

I will be buying the game regardless.
Not that I don't trust Jim... In fact the timing of it all lends credit to the idea that he has been sitting on this for a while.
I'm guessing he played the game pre-release for review purposes but had to sign some form of NDA that prevented him from telling us sooner...
But anyway, I love all things Aliens so it's on my purchase list.

The game you are going to buy is nothing like this video. Don't do it to yourself! If you can't help it though, lease let us know what you think.

 

[SonOfVoorhees]

I played it and enjoyed it. Got it through lovefilm and was a fun weekend spent playing it, but a lot of it is nostalgia. Also i didnt buy it, just rented it.....but i do love the sounds of the the pulse rifle, smart gun and motion tracker.

The reason these games suck is because of the story and the inability to write an original story. You dont need to be close to Aliens the movie. Do your own thing. Come up with your own story with all original characters. Aliens sells on the creatures, create something original around them. Its why the movies are getting worse, get rid of Ripley, give us a new character.....but because they have to shoe horn her into every movie they have to deal with all that baggage that comes with having her in the movie.