SEGA and Creative Assembly released a new extended TV spot for Alien: Isolation, and the game continues to look better and better with each new video release. While I am still cautiously optimistic about Alien: Isolation, it looks like the developers at Creative Assembly have made, what could be, the best video game adaptation the Alien franchise has ever seen.
SEGA and the Alien franchise already have a tarnished reputation because of Aliens: Colonial Marines. Colonial Marines was one of the biggest gaming debacles of 2013. It sent shockwaves reverberating throughout the industry that are still being felt in the courts.
What I enjoyed the most about the TV spot was that it played like a trailer to the 1979 classic Alien film, one of my favorite films of all time. The original Alien film was a sci-fi classic that is still imitated, and to this day, often serves as inspiration for modern video games and films. The most exciting thing about the title is its mimicking of the claustrophobic experience of the original film. The famous tagline was: “In space, no one can hear you scream.” It looks like Alien: Isolation has definitely captured that in an interactive experience. The new footage shows what appears to be a mix of cinematic or dynamic events in the gameplay, which look really suspenseful.
Based on the footage from the new video, Alien: Isolation is not your typical first-person shooter. First-person shooters are generally about combat and shooting. Alien: Isolation looks more like a survival horror title with some first-person shooter makeup. Resources for the main character, Amanda Ripley, are slim. The Xenomorph creature seems to have full run of whatever ship Ripley is trapped on. There are nefarious Weyland-Yutani Industries androids lurking about. It looks like a good deal of the gameplay will be built around evasion and stealth, rather than the best way to dispatch a baddie with a head shot. Maybe this is not the most fun and active way to make a first-person shooter. However, it is something different, and possibly ingenious. Alien: Isolation could be a revolutionary experience, and I hope it is. The Alien video game franchise has been dragged through the mode. If the game is not a success, one can imagine that realistically, SEGA should have no further involvement with the franchise. In short, Alien: Isolation is SEGA’s attempt at a Hail Mary pass after what happened with Colonial Marines.
If Creative Assembly can somehow meld the style and aesthetic of the classic film and make it into a compelling gaming experience, that could be a much needed shot in the arm for the franchise that Prometheus was not. Prometheus was a sci-fi movie that had some good ideas but really should not have had any connection with the Alien films. After watching the latest video, I hope that Alien: Isolation is the worthy successor to the franchise.
Alien: Isolation hits the shelves on October 7 for the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox One, Xbox 360 and Windows PC.
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this game IS the worthy successor to the franchise …. so don’t worry about it 😉