Games based on the Alien films have been a mixed bag and when one gets announced its hard to get too excited in fear of being disappointed. But with Alien:Isolation as time went on and more was known about the game my interest was pecked, it being based more on Alien (one of my favourite films) than Aliens was an interesting idea, managing to get most of the original cast to reprise their roles with only Ian Hom missing and the fact the 20th century fox gave Creative Assembly full accesses to their archives (Which resulted in them finding the "lost" soundtrack master tapes witch will improve future releases of the film), It looked like this game would be a love letter to the film. It is.
The alien "world" is lovingly recreated and expanded. We space station feels like it would have came from the same minds that built the sets of the nostromo and did not feel the need to make things look more futuristic (unlike Prometheus). The Handy Joes where a brilliant addition to the universe the outdated synthetics fit the world and are suitably creepy , they reminded me of the Autons of classic Dr Who. But once you unfortunately get into a fight with one they moved just like Ash did when he attacked Ripley in the film.
The sound/soundtrack is Spot on surprisingly given the access they had. All this creates the perfect atmosphere the translates from the film to the game.
When I started the game I thought that the games mechanics was almost a list of old-school game design that are now hardly seen and though as a bit rubbish like: Manual save points, one hit kills and overly complicated controls to do tasks like opening doors for example. But I came to realize that all of them where for a reason and that reason is fear! Save scuming can't save you from the Alien,Running can't save you from the alien, Opening a door might save you but it's at a risk of being too slow in opening it as you are being stalked from the dark. The game play is so detailed and geared to make you fear and respect the Alien, the very steep early learning curve is to install this fear , a fear you will still have even once you have a flame tougher and can deal with the Alien a bit more. Even your tools hinder you at times the motion tracker can not be used at the same time as a gun and it limits you scope of vision and what vision you still have is blurry as you have to toggle the focus from the screen to background!!
I enjoyed the story for what it is, but I found the Characters a bit lacking bar Amanda and the company Synthetic. There where a few stand out moments for me : The obviously evil British Company Synthetic turning out not to be, Amanda's closure and the Nest reveal. In a earlier post I mentioned that I liked the fact that the survivors on the station had started to band into groups and started to mistrust and attack each other in the chaos in a bid to survive, something not see in the films but worked really well. I made me wonder what Creative Assembly would be able to do with The Thing licence.
I think Alien: Isolation is a really good game and as an experience a must for a fan of the films, it is for me a true sequel to Alien, but did I enjoy it? I spent most of the game in a state of high stress, trying to stay alive, even then the zenomorph was nowhere to be seen you know its out there somewhere and a few spots are very hard coupled with it being quite long it can take a toll on you. I played it in small chunks to get though it.
Alien: Isolation
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TechnoRage1127
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Re: Our next-but-one podcast recording (1.10.16) - Alien: Isolation
Most games based on the Alien franchise take inspiration from the second movie, Aliens, and for good reason. The atmospheric action set in that entry into the series can be easily ported to the video games medium. While there have been some not-so-great Alien video games, the original Aliens VS. Predator game for PC is still holds up an is amazing.
When I heard that they were going to make an Alien game based off the original film, I was instantly intrigue. A first person survivor horror game set within that universe sounds truly unique and truly terrifying, and with the developers using actual sound effects, designs and characters from the original film, I was hooked.
There is so much that this game gets right, that it pains me to say that it gets almost an equal amount wrong. First, the game feels absolutely authentic to Ridley Scott's masterpiece. The blue collar/retro future designs are perfect, and even the sounds of doors opening are so authentic that any fan of the film franchise would be pleased. Hearing Sigourney Weaver's voice during the games opening also gives Alien Isolation legitimacy that other movie inspired games don't get.
The beginning of the game is slow to get started, but that's expected with horror. However, the length of time from when you start and when you first see the Alien seems extraneous, which sums up the fundamental problem with Alien: Isolation; padding. There is so much padding in this game. It's as if the developers had to take a 12 hour game and turned it into a 30 hour experience. Anytime I had to deal with a group of those annoying robots it made me want to quit. They destroyed the pacing and are so removed from the Alien experience that they should not have been there to begin with.
There is a sweet spot where this game is perfect; where you only have a few resources/weapons to deal with the Alien, but with a couple of key items to help you survive. Unfortunately, that sweet spot is fleeting, as by the end you are so over powered that the Alien is more of a nuisance than an actual threat.
As I said, Alien Isolation should have been a much smaller game. Shorter in length and removing a useless middle section and it would have been a solid horror experience. As it stands, it is a disappointment, as a good Alien horror game is in there, but just can't breath free with the weight of the unnecessary crap that lays on top of it.
When I heard that they were going to make an Alien game based off the original film, I was instantly intrigue. A first person survivor horror game set within that universe sounds truly unique and truly terrifying, and with the developers using actual sound effects, designs and characters from the original film, I was hooked.
There is so much that this game gets right, that it pains me to say that it gets almost an equal amount wrong. First, the game feels absolutely authentic to Ridley Scott's masterpiece. The blue collar/retro future designs are perfect, and even the sounds of doors opening are so authentic that any fan of the film franchise would be pleased. Hearing Sigourney Weaver's voice during the games opening also gives Alien Isolation legitimacy that other movie inspired games don't get.
The beginning of the game is slow to get started, but that's expected with horror. However, the length of time from when you start and when you first see the Alien seems extraneous, which sums up the fundamental problem with Alien: Isolation; padding. There is so much padding in this game. It's as if the developers had to take a 12 hour game and turned it into a 30 hour experience. Anytime I had to deal with a group of those annoying robots it made me want to quit. They destroyed the pacing and are so removed from the Alien experience that they should not have been there to begin with.
There is a sweet spot where this game is perfect; where you only have a few resources/weapons to deal with the Alien, but with a couple of key items to help you survive. Unfortunately, that sweet spot is fleeting, as by the end you are so over powered that the Alien is more of a nuisance than an actual threat.
As I said, Alien Isolation should have been a much smaller game. Shorter in length and removing a useless middle section and it would have been a solid horror experience. As it stands, it is a disappointment, as a good Alien horror game is in there, but just can't breath free with the weight of the unnecessary crap that lays on top of it.
Re: Our next-but-one podcast recording (1.10.16) - Alien: Isolation
I consider myself something of an Alien fanboy. Aliens is probably my favourite film of all time, and the original, Alien, is also there or thereabouts. I have consumed much of the expanded universe offerings such as the novels (standard and graphic alike) with relish. In my case this rampant fanboyism had the effect, not of making me hypercritical of the widely panned Aliens: Colonial Marines, but rather, causing me to view it through rose-tinted spectacles. While a small part of my brain was shaking its head in despair at the awful AI, another, dominant part was shouting gleefully "That's Hadley's Hope!" and "I've got a SMART GUN!" Finishing the game and looking back on it, I could acknowledge that yes, objectively it was a disappointment, but I still had a blast regardless.
Reading the far more positive reviews for Alien Isolation then, I was very excited. I'm one of those odd gamers caught in a bit of a time warp. I'm not normally a day 1 purchaser, more like day 1001, and usually play games that are at least a couple of years old. In this case I made an exception.
Now, I'm going to admit something here that I'm not proud of, but I can't in good conscience pretend didn't happen. I ended up using a walk-through for almost the entire game, from about the point when you first encounter Giger's dreaded creation itself. It's not so much that without it I would have been hopelessly stuck and have no idea how to progress, but more that I found the experience just of simple exploration so incredibly stressful. Even armed with the guide, and knowing exactly where I needed to go and the most efficient way of getting there, I was a nervous wreck. The biggest car crash of a job interview I have ever had was nothing compared to those levers that required about 4 different steps and what seemed like an eternity to pull. I admire those people who are made of sterner stuff and were able to complete the game unaided, but I'm too young for heart surgery.
The emotional trauma notwithstanding, I had a brilliant time playing this game, one which is dripping with atmosphere and starkly beautiful to look at. It also features the greatest video game flamethrower I have ever used, and I didn't even kill anything with it! Some people aren't keen on the human enemies or Working Joes, but personally I felt these antagonists added some variety, and being able to put a bolt through a synthetic skull was an effective stress release after cowering in a locker for ages. I do agree with one of the other common criticisms about this game - that it overstays its welcome. Even with the guide I clocked up 18-20 hours, and while it's not often you wish a game would have less content, not many games are as gruelling as this one.
We have what is pretty close to the definitive survival horror Alien game, to stand alongside the film. As someone who prefers the sequel, my wish now is for the definitive sci-fi action Alien game to go with it. I live in hope.
Reading the far more positive reviews for Alien Isolation then, I was very excited. I'm one of those odd gamers caught in a bit of a time warp. I'm not normally a day 1 purchaser, more like day 1001, and usually play games that are at least a couple of years old. In this case I made an exception.
Now, I'm going to admit something here that I'm not proud of, but I can't in good conscience pretend didn't happen. I ended up using a walk-through for almost the entire game, from about the point when you first encounter Giger's dreaded creation itself. It's not so much that without it I would have been hopelessly stuck and have no idea how to progress, but more that I found the experience just of simple exploration so incredibly stressful. Even armed with the guide, and knowing exactly where I needed to go and the most efficient way of getting there, I was a nervous wreck. The biggest car crash of a job interview I have ever had was nothing compared to those levers that required about 4 different steps and what seemed like an eternity to pull. I admire those people who are made of sterner stuff and were able to complete the game unaided, but I'm too young for heart surgery.
The emotional trauma notwithstanding, I had a brilliant time playing this game, one which is dripping with atmosphere and starkly beautiful to look at. It also features the greatest video game flamethrower I have ever used, and I didn't even kill anything with it! Some people aren't keen on the human enemies or Working Joes, but personally I felt these antagonists added some variety, and being able to put a bolt through a synthetic skull was an effective stress release after cowering in a locker for ages. I do agree with one of the other common criticisms about this game - that it overstays its welcome. Even with the guide I clocked up 18-20 hours, and while it's not often you wish a game would have less content, not many games are as gruelling as this one.
We have what is pretty close to the definitive survival horror Alien game, to stand alongside the film. As someone who prefers the sequel, my wish now is for the definitive sci-fi action Alien game to go with it. I live in hope.
Re: Our next-but-one podcast recording (1.10.16) - Alien: Isolation
I was pretty interested when the voices on the Internet started talking about how good this game was, having previously had no interest in it really. I'm not a huge fan of the films, I mean I like them well enough but they're not all time favourites or anything. My girlfriend bought me this on the PS3 a couple of Christmas' ago, and I have to say first impression didn't blow me away. I'd heard it had a pretty slow start but even then I wasn't prepared for just how long it took to get going. Once I got in to it though I started really enjoying it. Creeping around the corridors of the Nostromo, holding my breath as one of those android guys came past.
That enjoyment was short lived however, when the alien finally turned it. The game turned in to a cat and mouse chase, where I was the world's smallest, most scared mouse, and it was the biggest, baddest, most battle hardened scariest lion the universe had ever seen. I think the breaking point was me hiding in a closet for, and this is not an exaggeration, 25 minutes, trying to hold my breath, trying to plan an escape route as the alien paced around outside. Every time I was about to dash for it, there he was, toying with me, stalking his prey. I gave up. It just wasn't fun for me, and was genuinely one of the most terrifying, unsettling gaming experiences I've ever had.
Anyway, must cut this short as my girlfriend is quite literally in labour, and the midwife is glaring at me...
THREE WORD REVIEW : Don't. Bloody. Breathe...
That enjoyment was short lived however, when the alien finally turned it. The game turned in to a cat and mouse chase, where I was the world's smallest, most scared mouse, and it was the biggest, baddest, most battle hardened scariest lion the universe had ever seen. I think the breaking point was me hiding in a closet for, and this is not an exaggeration, 25 minutes, trying to hold my breath, trying to plan an escape route as the alien paced around outside. Every time I was about to dash for it, there he was, toying with me, stalking his prey. I gave up. It just wasn't fun for me, and was genuinely one of the most terrifying, unsettling gaming experiences I've ever had.
Anyway, must cut this short as my girlfriend is quite literally in labour, and the midwife is glaring at me...
THREE WORD REVIEW : Don't. Bloody. Breathe...
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Todinho
Re: Our next-but-one podcast recording (1.10.16) - Alien: Isolation
Good Luck! That must be more terrifing then anything in Alien isolationAlex79uk wrote: Anyway, must cut this short as my girlfriend is quite literally in labour, and the midwife is glaring at me...
Re: Our next-but-one podcast recording (1.10.16) - Alien: Isolation
Well that was quick! He's out! 7lb1oz, all ok! Sorry - thread derailed for a second.
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ratsoalbion
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Re: Our next-but-one podcast recording (1.10.16) - Alien: Isolation
Chestburster or..?
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gallo_pinto
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Re: Our next-but-one podcast recording (1.10.16) - Alien: Isolation
Congrats!!! That's the world's best surprise ending to a correspondence!
Re: Our next-but-one podcast recording (1.10.16) - Alien: Isolation
I preordered this as I'm a big Alien fan and the premise of it had me really intrigued. It reminded me a little of an old Spectrum game which at the time was 1. Very hard and 2. Quite scary (although it doesn't look it now)
I never ever play games on hard but I knew for this I was going to play on hard as I felt it was a perfect example of a game that would benefit from it. I wanted the Alien to be full on. Watching people play on normal it seemed to be a good decision as it seemed like the Alien was not as intelligent.
It doesn't start off well, a lot of it is scripted and you have the tried and tested (read dull) following a NPC round. Thankfully it doesn't stay that way for long and Chapter 5 it really begins.
The Aliens arrival will always stick in my memory, scripted but dropping from that vent as well as the amazing sound design and score was an impressive entrance then it is just you and him...
Chapter 5 will always stick in my memory, I spent hours just hiding in a locker waiting and waiting and waiting to try and sneak out. The game to its credit does not help you by telling you where you need to go. The sound of the alien walking past you, the scrape of its tail made you stay on edge. It took me several hours to complete but going back to it later I did it in 20 minutes. As the game says in the menus ''hiding is only a temporary solution''
Chapter 10 was also the worst/best level for me, at points I wanted to take the disk out of the playstation and bite it in half, burn it then chuck it in the sea. There was a section where Al must have killed me upwards of 50 times as he would find the locker I was in without fail. My nerves were shot to shit and it genuinely wore me out so I took some time off the game!.
I came back after a while and carried on and got through and finished the game. A criticism of the game I saw at the time was that it was too long. For me it wasn't long enough, I was ready for the end but was gutted when it arrived. It was a relief but at the same time I kind of in a way missed the absolute stress of it. Going back to the ship from Alien was absolute great fan service.
I went to a chat with the team behind it and the main thing I took away was on one level earlier in the thread I moaned that alan kept finding me in lockers but in explaining the ai stated that the alien remembers what you do so if you always hide in lockers he's more likely to look in them and if you throw flares a lot eventually he'll stop going after them.
The lead guy was asked about a sequel and behind the "there's still dlc to come" I could tell he knows there will be a sequel!
It was my GOTY for 2014, I liked it that much I re-bought the game on xbox one earlier this year (an inferior version I was to find) and tried the nightmare mode that was added which I progressed well in until I reached a point that I couldn't progress in due to the Working Joes. A real shame as I was enjoying it again with an even more brutal difficulty.
Would I recommend it?. If you do not want any stress in your life stay miles away from this but you would be missing out on a great game.
Three word review ''lockers are friends''
I never ever play games on hard but I knew for this I was going to play on hard as I felt it was a perfect example of a game that would benefit from it. I wanted the Alien to be full on. Watching people play on normal it seemed to be a good decision as it seemed like the Alien was not as intelligent.
It doesn't start off well, a lot of it is scripted and you have the tried and tested (read dull) following a NPC round. Thankfully it doesn't stay that way for long and Chapter 5 it really begins.
The Aliens arrival will always stick in my memory, scripted but dropping from that vent as well as the amazing sound design and score was an impressive entrance then it is just you and him...
Chapter 5 will always stick in my memory, I spent hours just hiding in a locker waiting and waiting and waiting to try and sneak out. The game to its credit does not help you by telling you where you need to go. The sound of the alien walking past you, the scrape of its tail made you stay on edge. It took me several hours to complete but going back to it later I did it in 20 minutes. As the game says in the menus ''hiding is only a temporary solution''
Chapter 10 was also the worst/best level for me, at points I wanted to take the disk out of the playstation and bite it in half, burn it then chuck it in the sea. There was a section where Al must have killed me upwards of 50 times as he would find the locker I was in without fail. My nerves were shot to shit and it genuinely wore me out so I took some time off the game!.
I came back after a while and carried on and got through and finished the game. A criticism of the game I saw at the time was that it was too long. For me it wasn't long enough, I was ready for the end but was gutted when it arrived. It was a relief but at the same time I kind of in a way missed the absolute stress of it. Going back to the ship from Alien was absolute great fan service.
I went to a chat with the team behind it and the main thing I took away was on one level earlier in the thread I moaned that alan kept finding me in lockers but in explaining the ai stated that the alien remembers what you do so if you always hide in lockers he's more likely to look in them and if you throw flares a lot eventually he'll stop going after them.
The lead guy was asked about a sequel and behind the "there's still dlc to come" I could tell he knows there will be a sequel!
It was my GOTY for 2014, I liked it that much I re-bought the game on xbox one earlier this year (an inferior version I was to find) and tried the nightmare mode that was added which I progressed well in until I reached a point that I couldn't progress in due to the Working Joes. A real shame as I was enjoying it again with an even more brutal difficulty.
Would I recommend it?. If you do not want any stress in your life stay miles away from this but you would be missing out on a great game.
Three word review ''lockers are friends''
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Combine Hunter
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Re: Our next podcast recording (1.10.16) - Alien: Isolation
Hey Matten Zwei, hope you don't mind that I've edited your post a bit for the show, just so it flows more naturally when spoken. 
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Combine Hunter
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Re: Our next podcast recording (1.10.16) - Alien: Isolation
Actually, the above applies to a few people.
Re: Alien: Isolation
Had to post this as it was the first time I have ever paused it as I shit myself
https://twitter.com/richspurs24/status/ ... 4318663680
https://twitter.com/richspurs24/status/ ... 4318663680
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Simonsloth
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Re: Alien: Isolation
I was watching and shouting he’s behind you run!!! Turns out I was very wrong.
Watching that made me realise how much I enjoyed and hated playing alien isolation in equal measure. It’s fantastic in every conceivable way except that i felt on edge the whole time mumbling “oh crap, oh crap where is he?” like a lunatic.
Watching that made me realise how much I enjoyed and hated playing alien isolation in equal measure. It’s fantastic in every conceivable way except that i felt on edge the whole time mumbling “oh crap, oh crap where is he?” like a lunatic.
Re: Alien: Isolation
This isn't just a good Alien game: it's the best entry in the entire Alien franchise after "Alien" and "Aliens".
Re: Alien: Isolation
So the website that gave Alien Isolation a ''bad'' review as it was too hard is ironically hosting a web series with all the cutscenes from the game!?
https://uk.ign.com/articles/2019/02/27/ ... but-on-ign
Here is the review:
https://uk.ign.com/articles/2014/10/03/ ... ion-review
My favourite bit of said review is this:
''And in hindsight, playing on Hard difficulty – which I only did because Isolation actually describes it as “the recommended way to experience the game” – was a terrible decision. It means the Xenomorph can get you anywhere at any time, giving you no opportunity to avoid death, and run you down if it hears so much as a pin drop. Sure, a flamethrower blast or Molotov cocktail can ward it off for a moment, but alien-repelling resources are extremely scarce. Don’t make the same mistake I did.''
Imagine playing an Alien game where the Alien can get you at any time instead of just tickling you. I completed it on Hard and the only barrier stopping my completion on the even harder nightmare level was a poor save in a section with too many android enemies 2/3 of the way through.
Anyway it is now on Gamepass and one of the greatest games ever made so if you have that get it
https://uk.ign.com/articles/2019/02/27/ ... but-on-ign
Here is the review:
https://uk.ign.com/articles/2014/10/03/ ... ion-review
My favourite bit of said review is this:
''And in hindsight, playing on Hard difficulty – which I only did because Isolation actually describes it as “the recommended way to experience the game” – was a terrible decision. It means the Xenomorph can get you anywhere at any time, giving you no opportunity to avoid death, and run you down if it hears so much as a pin drop. Sure, a flamethrower blast or Molotov cocktail can ward it off for a moment, but alien-repelling resources are extremely scarce. Don’t make the same mistake I did.''
Imagine playing an Alien game where the Alien can get you at any time instead of just tickling you. I completed it on Hard and the only barrier stopping my completion on the even harder nightmare level was a poor save in a section with too many android enemies 2/3 of the way through.
Anyway it is now on Gamepass and one of the greatest games ever made so if you have that get it
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KSubzero1000
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Re: Alien: Isolation
I was nowhere near as enthusiastic about Alien Isolation overall, but the Xenomorph basically being an instant-kill recurring enemy is a great design decision if you ask me.
Re: Alien: Isolation
On the off chance anyone has it installed on their xbox one (it's on gamepass) would you mind booting it up?. I've just started my annual Halloween play through and its unplayable due to the game lagging and suffering from awful slowdown
Re: Alien: Isolation
I am tempted to pick this up again when it comes out on Switch. I had to abandon my PS3 game because it was too scary, my nerves just couldn't cope! Thinking about playing it on handheld, with headphones, in bed... For some reason that appeals.
Re: Alien: Isolation
I totally forgot about it coming to Switch. Couldn't imagine it in handheld but yeah you would need headphones as sight and sound are you allies here. My nerves were screwed after I finished it I felt exhausted
Just booted it up again now and it's working fine.