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(NOTE: This was supposed to be posted last year but due to technical difficulties this blog entry was lost. Here is a re-write of the blog from last year best remembered as possible)

It’s all come down to this. I honestly didn’t expect I’d play this game, let alone see myself blog about it as being an Octoberweens Game Title pick for this year (2018). I honestly only gave it consideration when the game was in the news again when a gamer learned of a coding error in the PC version of this game that explain why the enemy AI didn’t act right. When I read up on the story I figured it would just be a nice little nugget of info to snicker over then move on with my life. Instead I happen to find the game at an area used games store for less than $5 so I figured I’d give it a shot. It would be a novelty game play try at best, like it was with Duke Nukem Forever when I found the game for $1, be put back in my gaming collection and promptly forgotten about for years to come. But instead I found myself playing it off and on during the duration of the year where I eventually finished it up around this month of Octoberween. What game to I speak of? Well none other than the ill-fated, much lambasted and much ridiculed Aliens Colonial Marines for the Xbox 360.

 
(This trailer be lying....)

Now I know what you all must be thinking. Have I lost my mind? Have my tastes in games run so wrong that my mind can no longer tell what game is worth my time? In all reality I have to admit I merely tried out the game just to see how badly the bent the Alien franchise canon story over since I heard this game was considered to be part of the Aliens storyline. I’d heard all the horror stories, seen the hilarious YouTube videos and read the scathing reviews about this game but I myself had never given it a play. And since I can only trust my opinion I approached the game with low expectations and expecting to treat this game like I would when passing a horrible vehicle accident: It’s horrible to look at but at the same time I can’t help but slow down to look at it.

I’m sure the story in this game needs no major breakdown: A group of colonial marines find the Sulaco mysteriously still orbiting LV-426 (mysterious to us players since I’m sure we’ve all seen the events of the movie Alien 3) where they begin to investigate what became of its crew. From there the events unfold involving xenomorphs, Weyland-Yutani mercenaries, and an unknown prisoner that involves the player in traversing many iconic locations in the Aliens franchise to not just find out exactly what happened but to survive it all.

Like I said I wasn’t expecting much when I played this game so my expectations were not expected to reach the levels of much better survival horror themed games set in the background of space. Yet oddly I found myself enjoying my time playing despite the oddities with the story and gameplay

The game’s graphics while not as high defined and detailed as was shown in game trailers, was good enough for me to set the mood for what to expect in an Aliens game. It had enough dark corridors and hidden areas to make it mildly spooky but it didn’t quite hit the mark in making it feel like survival horror. But it was enough to keep me engaged with the story and with the game’s characters to see what was along the path. It was nice to actually visit actual locations in the movies in-game, to the point that it helped ground me in the world of Aliens Colonial Maries enough for me to enjoy my progress. Fighting my way off the Sulaco then onto LV-426 to actually visiting the original ship found in the first Alien movie was a real treat, just as it was upon learning of the fates of certain fan favorite characters along the way. I was actually curious to see what would become of my team as the story progressed. We started out fully stocked and locked when the game started only for it to fall apart just like the prior team sent in before us, and I do mean that in regards to the events of the second movie and the 1^st team that went over to the Sulaco before the player character went in. The characters may not have been well written or detailed like in the movies but they were enough to help them stand out than being just second string character rejects from the second movie. The game even goes as far as to show what became of “specific” characters from the Aliens movie. It may not be fair, or even make much sense, but if you turn off your brain and enjoyed the mindless ride it somehow made some sense in the end.

Gameplay wasn’t any different from any other FPS for its time. Adding the motion tracker was a nice touch though it didn’t help out as much as I thought it would be. For me it felt more like an add-on afterthought then an actual useful device to help track enemies. The radar map in the Halo games was more helpful than the tracker. But it kept the familiar noises it makes if only to help try to add some possible tension to the moments in game. Though many speak ill of the computer controlled AI characters in Aliens Colonial Marines they didn’t bother me that much. They were not as braindead as Resident Evil 5’s Sheva in that regards. For me if the ally/enemy AI isn’t as bad as Resident Evil 5’s Sheva then it’s something I can actually tolerate. I’m not sure if it’s because the console versions had a patch, or it just didn’t bother me that much overall. The guns felt good enough firing off, ammo and mods were paced out properly enough where I had enough of a challenge in trying to manage my ammo and control my fire to avoid death by xenomorph’s bite or a mercenary’s bullet. . I actually didn’t survive my first alien swarm attack thinking that my base pulse rifle would be enough to take on the xenomorphic hoards. Say what you will about the enemy AI but the game was able to set the tone well with the movie in showing that despite how devastating the pulse rifle could be, it’s base setting isn’t quite enough to hold off a xenomorph attack. I liked the implementation of the weapon mod upgrades you could place on any of the weapons you found in game, so long as you had enough points earned up to unlock them. It’s here where I could see the “Call of Duty” comparisons to gameplay much like when you face off with human enemies. I recall hearing/reading that many didn’t care for fighting off human enemies in an Aliens game but I found myself enjoying that break in pace with the game. It helped to add a bit of variety to the gameplay where I wasn’t just fighting off wave after wave of xenomorphs. Some might’ve wanted just that, or atleast different xeno types, but I myself like the variety of enemies to avoid it being like the Alien vs Predator side scrolling beat-em-up: Xeno fights only.

The overall story isn’t exactly perfect or if scrutinized hardly any good. But it isn’t exactly mindless combat either. Sure it’s an old hat story when it comes to what’s been covered in the Aliens franchise yet in a way it’s nice to be able to experience it first hand in an unfolding game narrative than in a novelization or in the comic book format. It’s won’t shock anyone to learn how unethical Weyland-Yutani is or how savage the xenomorphs are but at the same time you get to learn how the story unfolds from the eyes of the marines on station than an the 3^rd person. There is something to be said though on how this “unknown prisoner” works into the game’s plot. Especially when you learn who this prisoner is midgame.

(SPOILERS: It’s Corporal Hicks)

The game keeps it vague on exactly how this person is still alive despite what any fan of the movie series would know. I was hoping I’d get a better explanation later on in game but sadly I learned that if I wanted to learn more I’d have to buy the prequel DLC associated with this game. Honestly you’d think one would be mad upon learning this. I’m sure there were many games that were angry but speaking for myself I was almost compelled to shell out the extra few space bucks to play this DLC since I doubted we’d see a “Complete” release of Aliens Colonial Marines.

I have to admit I was almost curious to see how the game would explain how this particular legacy character survived all he did on LV-426. Almost.

In the end I walked away from Aliens Colonial Marines entertained. I didn’t feel like I wasted my time playing this game or felt I wasted the money in getting this game. Sure it’s nowhere near the quality of other survival horror game titles set in space released during this time, but at the same time it had enough elements to make it a decent games pick for an Octoberween playthrough. Think of the game like one would any B-rated horror movie shlock out there. It’s mindless, its acting and motions can be a bit odd, and not everyone’s heart is in the right place when it was made, but in the end it’s a decent few hours you’ll get some enjoyment out of. You may not go back to it year after year but it’s something you can say you experienced and lived to tell the tale.

Given the dark stain the game has you can find it fairly cheap out in the wild. I can’t say I bought this game at exactly $5 but for $5 you can’t say you it was a complete waste of a purchase. I will admit if you are truly looking for a spaced based survival horror experience you can do much better. Yet when it comes to Aliens Colonial Marines played in 2018 you can’t do much worse. It’s enjoyable enough for the price. From my experience its far from broken and it offers enough enjoyment to make it a decent filler choice for any Octoberween gameplay list.

My Top 5 Octoberween Game Titles for 2018

5) Murdered: Soul Suspect – Price: Free with Microsoft’s Games With Gold offer on Xbox One.

4) Lost Reavers – Price: Free to Play on Wii U.

3) Ultimate Ghosts ‘n Goblins – Price: $5.99 on sale off PS3’s PSN.  

2) Castlevania Requiem – Price: $19.99 off PS4’s PSN.

1) Aliens: Colonial Marines – Price: $5.00? at area used game store