Alien Isolation

As I mentioned in my previous EuroGamer Expo post, I was very fortunate to attend this years event. It gave me a chance to get hands on and see some of the biggest releases that would soon be hitting the highstreet. The biggest developers were there of course along with many indie developers and the event drew quite the crowd.

Whilst I don't tend to enjoy playing snippets of games pre-purchase I was quite eager to try Sega's Alien: Isolation.  This game has been causing quite a stir since its announcement and has won many awards at this years E3. After the last game in the franchise, Alien: Colonial Marines, ended in such devastation I was wary of the hype it was gaining. I as with many others had been burned by the previous game and felt I needed to see it first hand to avoid the problem a second time.

One big problem with bigger games such as this is that they drew the queues. Some of the lines boasted waiting times of over forty-five minutes for only a few seconds of demo. Thankfully this wasn't the case with Alien: Isolation. The queue seemed to dissipate in massive chunks and I started to question what they had behind the massive curtain perimeter. What didn't help was the smoke that seemed to be emanating from somewhere inside. Perhaps inside the infamous Xenomorph lurked and we gamers were in a production line of sorts fed to the hungry beast.

As I approached the staff energetically engaged with us in a refreshing manner that many other booth staff were not. All wearing uniform drawn from the film series, they ushered us forward stating that their 'Xenomorphs were hungry' or to move closer to 'warm us up, Aliens like their food hot. They also provided us with a free comic that ties into the game and told us of the competition that ran alongside the demo. If you could survive until the end of the level (a big IF they emphasised) your time taken, if good enough, would be added to a leaderboard. For those who made the top ten a free T-shirt was yours, if you came first a replica jacket from the game. With such customer interaction it is no wonder the booth apparently won an award for best visitor experience.

We entered the area in groups and were shown a short video about the games production. Then ushered into a darkened box filled with monitors ready to scare the unfortunate watchers. Many articles have said that the game is 'terrifying' and I hoped that it would live up to this. I am still very much on the hunt for something to scare me and I as of yet go rather sedate when confronted with all manner of horror media. I ensured I was sat comfortably, knew the controls and had the headphones secured to ensure I was as immersed as possible.

Immediately felt a sense of familiarity as I looked around the cramp cargo hold I started the level in. As a fan of the film series the iconic look that they carry was like an old friend. Everything is a light grey, piping hangs from the ceiling and tubes of coolant encompass me. This clearly where my character as the daughter of Ripley belongs. The developers clearly understood the feel of the franchise. It could have been tempting, with all the graphical technology at their disposal, to create a wondrous and eye-catching setting. But instead they have stayed true to the gritty, bleak, cargo ship feel that evokes the nostalgia.


I soon found myself gathering everything in the room to help my survival: metal scraps, extra batteries for the motion tracker, health bars and of course a handy flamethrower. I liked the sense of urgency this installed in me from the get go. I hope that a lack of resource will be big in the game making your chance of survival defendant on careful management.
Making my way cautiously towards the objective, a switch to activate the lifts door control. Utilising that trusty tracker to ensure I avoided any unwanted attention. I liked the fact that the tracker seems to take up a lot of the screen when used, which should discourage overuse. Anything else and a player could become reliant; much like Arkham Asylum's detective mode. I noticed a few times my wall-hugging technique would bring me in collision with the scenery. At which point a box would tumble and it's noise seemed to echo too loud for comfort. I felt the atmosphere was just right and really affected my playing style. I became very cautious of tight spaces where I may knock something; which drew me out into the open.

I soon learnt that this would be a bad sign.

I soon met my hunter of course, it was inevitable, unfortunately this wasn't as exciting or terrifying as I had hoped. I just watched him pass me by before sneaking behind him. A lot has been said about the Alien's intelligence, but I still saw the same adherence to a patrol pattern as any guard has in countless other games. Not to say it isn't imposing, I did find myself taking a breath in as it walked past hoping it wouldn't turn its gaze my way. When I made it to my destination I was given the next objective, head back to the lift. At this point there is a scripted attack, but as I kind of guessed there would be I was prepared. I flamed the Xenomorph in the face and then sprinted to the exit, pressing the lift control and surviving... on my first attempt.

It may be a bit boastful, but I will tell you that I did indeed make the leaderboard, unfortunately not the top. I was pretty proud of my free T-shirt especially since they had said no one had won for a while.

The demo was good, yet it wasn't quite as outstanding as I had hoped. Yes, it was atmospheric and yes, it is definitely an improvement on Alien: Colonial Marines (but the what isn't?). Groundbreaking, however, it isn't. The Alien was very easy to outsmart and this meant I never truly felt too vulnerable. I know in the main game there will also be other threats to deal with, I'm sure it has potential.

For now I will keep an eye on it, however, not enough  to pick it up on release day.







Alien: Isolation image from ABCgames, in-game image from Videogamewriters.