Having
just got back from MCM Expo I have looked back on my time at my first
convention. It was extremely fun and I would definitely love to go again. It
has certainly given me a taste for the convention atmosphere. However, one
thing I remember most about Expo were the several games shown there. Out of
these games there was one I played a demo for that really stuck with me.
Aliens: Colonial Marines is a first
person shooter, though the demo we got was the competitive multiplayer. This
meant that whilst the marines were in FPS mode, the aliens were in third-person
mode. When we went in we were shown what the alien side was, watching the SEGA
team battle against the normal guys. Xenomorph (the aliens) gameplay looked
simply fantastic, with climbing on ceilings and walls being a major part. The
entirety of the gameplay looked far superior to the gameplay in Alien vs. Predator, which had the Aliens
in first person, making running along walls give you motion sickness.
But
the xenomorph side was not the gameplay we got to experience first person. When
the game finished (41-37 for the SEGA team) we played against the SEGA team. As
marines you are dropped in apart from each other, but it is easy to find each
other. A key approach is to take the Left
4 Dead tactic of stick together. Many people would run off on their own and
immediately get shanked by a xenomorph. In fact, many of my kills were trying
to make sure a person wasn’t on their own, see a xenomorph or two drop down on
them, leaving me to try and protect them.
Another
tactic that needs to be used for this game has to be one many people did not
employ: turn on your flashlight and keep your eyes upwards. At one point four
of my team members ran through a door with an obvious prehensile tail hanging
from it. A few quick shotgun blasts and I had saved their lives. Of course, I
found employing this technique actually heightened my fears, as I was looking
out for the xenomorphs so much I kept seeing things.
The
weapon loadouts given to us were great. My personal favourite was to use the
shotgun as it was easier to hit the moving targets, plus xenomorphs need to get
up close to hurt you, so a shotgun blast to the head before it stabs you is
perfect. The other two weapon loadouts consisted of a machine gun (useful) and
an assault rifle that shot in bursts (not as useful). The trailer showed a
flamethrower which was not in the demo but I can imagine being extremely useful
in the full release.
The
game was a paranoia filled bundle of fun and is definitely a game I would like
to get on release date. The L4D style
of gameplay was absolutely fantastic and made us all work together. On top of
this the game is simply gorgeous to look at, albeit it very dark (though a
flashlight will solve that). Plus, the gameplay feels very balanced (our side
lost 39-38, which is pretty close), even though when playing the game you do
feel very vulnerable, which is how you should feel against the xenomorphs.
Aliens: Colonial Marines is out on Microsoft
Windows, PS3 and Xbox 360 in February 2013, and Wii U in 2013.
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