SEGA and Gearbox Software have released a new story-trailer for their upcoming action game based on the classic Alien franchise.
Aliens: Colonial Marines is not the first game set in the story-world of Ridley Scott’s famous sci-fi tale, but it may be the first one with truly broad appeal.
Indeed, the gameplay is that of a first-person shooter, and will include lots of the lore from the films, including the weapons, location, and of course, the monsters, as the enemies here are the iconic Xenomorphs themselves.
The game is also slated to include an impressive number of Xenomorph types, including all the types from the films – Facehuggers, Chestbursters, Drones, Runners, Warriors, and Queens – plus several that have been created just for this game, like the ‘Crusher’, the details for which have not been revealed. There will also be human enemies to combat as the Colonial Marines go up against Weyland-Yutani mercenaries.
Not only will the enemies have a lot of variety, they will battle intelligently, using a sophisticated AI to set up ambushes, flank enemies, and know when to retreat and regroup in the face of superior firepower. The missions themselves will alternate between run-and-gun style missions, in which an area must be cleared or an objective reached, and missions in which a gained objective must be defended for a time. Tactics will be flexible, and adaptive.
This trailer provides some insight into the plot of the game:
The story takes place after the events of James Cameron’s Alien 3. It has been confirmed that the events of the game are considered canon by the current rights holders over at 20th Century Fox. The Protagonist is a marine sent on a rescue mission to see what happened to the U.S.S. Solaco, and to a squadron of marines who had been dispatched previously on the same mission. The gameplay will take place on the Solaco, in the derelict ship from the first film, and on the surface of the mysterious planet LV-426. There may even be some connections to the recent Prometheus, a sort of prequel to the Alien franchise.
The official synopsis is thus:
Aliens: Colonial Marines will bring new levels of bone-chilling suspense and adrenaline-filled action to the renowned franchise. The game pits players against the universe’s ultimate alien killing machines, the Xenomorphs, in claustrophobic environments guaranteed to produce blood curdling thrills that the movie is renowned for.
Aliens: Colonial Marines will be released for Windows, PS3, Xbox 360, and WiiU on February 12, 2013.
