It's not exactly breaking news to report that Aliens: Colonial Marines has been one of the most disappointing mainstream video game releases in recent memory. The fact that the game was created in part by Gearbox, combined with the nearly universal love of the Alien franchise and the really impressive demo, raised the expectations of the release, possibly a little too high. Reviews are in, and the game is an abject failure.
Now the same question is on pretty much everyone's mind: What the hell happened to Aliens: Colonial Marines?
The Internet has come together to try and answer this question, in a true act of nerdy comradery. If you need help trying to come to terms with this mess, here are a few videos to get you started.
Videogamer.com does a great job of pinpointing the main cause of confusion for fans. What happened between the demo and the final release? The graphics of the demo are on point with what is expected of an Aliens game. The hallways are dark, the lighting is atmospheric and unstable, and the actions are just plain creepy. Sure you have to go through the typical first-person shooter scenes, but in between you get cinematic moments of glory, including a fellow marine being held on the wall. It was worthy of being a true addition to the franchise.
Then of course you get the final product, which lacks any form of atmosphere. The hallways are well-lit, the fog is gone, and the graphics are outdated by a number of console generations. For the full scoop, check out the video below.
The second problem comes from the sheer amount of bugs and glitches. That is, unless, Aliens just wanted to surprise us with some futuristic technologies, including this self-healing glass pointed out by Destructoid. Feel like that was something that could have definitely been spotted by Gearbox.
One of the most sincere analyses of this disappointment comes from Youtube user Miles923, who is not only a fan of the movie franchise, but seems to know way too much about the history, tearing apart the story bit by bit. So not only are the graphics and technical aspects less than par, but the basic story is too. The common comparison is to the Call of Duty franchise, which at this point seems to be completely accurate.
We understand the pain you are feeling from pre-ordering this horrible game. You were tricked by the amazing trailers and gameplay footage. You were a fan of the movies. We feel your pain, and so does Reddit. A user on Reddit has started a thread that acts as a support group for people who pre-ordered the game. The consensus seems to be universal: don't pre-order anymore.
"After seeing so many games utterly fail to live up to expectations I just won't buy a game without seeing reviews first, and in today's world you can get wait for reviews and then still download the game on release day anyway," said user fishingcat.
Do you have any feelings you need to get off your chest? Sound off in the comments below. "I pre-ordered Aliens: Colonial Marines, and I made a huge mistake."
