This is Not a Review of Aliens: Colonial Marines

[Shawn Zipay]

Go ahead and read the title again.

[CptainCrunch]

So what happened with the title? I havent kept tabs on the game because I had no interest in another alien game, but I have heard a lot of complaints about it.

[Shawn Zipay]

What they released is not what they previewed. Randy Pitchford was quoted in multiple video interviews promising a lot and unfortunately delivered on very little. It doesn't look as good as it did in trade show demos. The AI is horrible both for friendlies and enemies. Most of the game consists of fighting against humans instead of the actual aliens themselves. It might actually be worse than Duke Nukem Forever.

[CptainCrunch]

Whoa, worse than DNF?

Did they just try to throw this title out for a money grab or what? I understand empty promises and some broken AI, but it sounds like they missed the mark with everything. Or is the focus really about multiplayer and this other stuff is just fluff they felt like adding?

[Shawn Zipay]

From what I understand, Sega originally got Gearbox to work on Aliens:CM a while back. Sega announced the game before development even started.

In the time since its announcement, Gearbox worked on it only a fraction of the time they should have, instead dedicating their resources to other games such as Borderlands 2 and even Duke Nukem Forever. They outsourced development to other studios. Once release neared, they realized how woefully behind they were in delivering a product and seemingly attempted to finish up the game in-house. If they didn't deliver they were at risk of facing legal action from Sega, since the game was already delayed quite a bit (years).

It apparently underwent drastic changes, including (though I'm not 100% sure on this) engine changes. There was a Wii U version planned which was supposedly going to make use of the Wii U controller screen. They even said (fairly recently) they didn't want to do a Borderlands 2 Wii U because the screen functionality would be tacked on and that ACM would make great use of it. Well there is no Wii U version either, at least not yet.

[K-16]

I believe a couple of the drastic changes was the storyline was condensed with much of its context removed (dialogue, etc.), and the graphics toned down so the game would run fast enough without crashing (physics toned down, cinematics removed and switched to in-game QTE, and particle effects switched to lower resolution sprites aka cheap fire). Interesting how the script was approved by Fox after they reviewed, though I don't understand why they would given how little sense the story makes.

But as Zips says, they focused on Borderlands 2 (and DNF to some extent) which is why Borderlands 2 became GOTY, while Aliens: CM suffered with only multiplayer being decent (as Gearbox was involved with that portion). Given how it's been over 4 years (Feb 2008 was when the announcement was made with Gearbox's involvement), Sega was too pissed off to give another delay (on top of the previous delay) for Gearbox to fix the mess (TimeGate, Nerve, and Demiurge clearly do NOT know how to use the Unreal Engine), so a mad rush to pass certification was made. The game receives certification, and here we are. A box of empty promises, and a newly created paranoia that in-game walkthroughs in conventions are no longer a way to show proof of product. It definitely fueled a new generation of skeptics.

One might compare this to the PS3 teaser of Killzone 2, but was shown on PC as the dev kit wasn't ready and the PS3 specs weren't clearly released at the time. Another might compare this to Halo 2, but while the city warfare walkthrough is reduced to a basic fight in the final product, the graphics and AI remained consistent with the teaser. Aliens: CM has no excuse at all as to why the difference goes beyond overestimated platform resources and gameplay improvements.

I was going to post a rebuttal to the video, but Zips' latest comment here tells me he already knows, and I missed his point. Now I realize it was Gearbox's responsibility to not announce so many games and simply focus on what they like (Borderlands 2) and admit they can't develop all games simultaneously. Don't sign up with Sega/Fox if you have other projects planned/going. You're not as resourceful as Activision/EA, and not as organized as Telltale Games.

[CptainCrunch]

Wow, so from what it sounds like is Gearbox was spread too thin and making promises they just couldnt keep with the deadline they had. So its a rushed product and they will finish it after its released.