Gearbox Software, makers of Borderlands, Brothers in Arms, and Duke Nukem Forever will be hard at work creating the new Aliens: Colonial Marines title. Since you’ll be controlling space marines, it’s not a stretch to wonder whether or not the squad mechanics will be similar to Brothers in Arms (which featured fire teams and fire-and-maneuver tactics).
The short is answer is no. The long answer? Xenomorphs can’t be flanked, so why have squad mechanics at all?
After reportedly getting canceled, Aliens: Colonial Marines is still on duty to arrive on consoles in 2012. Early gameplay and story details have been made available, but most details for the title have been kept hush-hush.
Colonial Marines will be a pick-up-and-play kind of game. Squad members will still play a role in your team, but control over them will not be up to the player – here’s hoping Gearbox will create some great squad A.I. It looks like the design philosophy revolves around having as many players pick up the title and have fun with it as soon as possible. Players who enjoyed one of the Brothers in Arms titles may have had some difficulty in enjoying their experience fully, due to the sometimes complex orders required for fire teams. As a result, Colonial Marines will be the opposite of that.
Both Gearbox Software CEO, Randy Pitchford and co-founder Brian Martel share their thoughts on how the game will be made more accessible for the masses.
Randy Pitchford
“We actually wanted it to be a very accessible experience. The goal is not to have complicated interfaces, we’re not worrying about having things like squad command, you don’t need fire maneuver… there’s no maneuvering on an alien.”
Brian Martel
You want to have a great experience when you’re by yourself, and you want to have a fantastic experience when you can play with your friends and share that experience. And those are the kind of things we want to make sure are a part of the game.”
Most first person shooters are inherently accessible. Pick up the controller, learn the controls, and put some fire on the enemy. While Colonial Marines is changing up the enemy to be one of the scariest things that has ever been imagined, fundamentals should stay the same – and Gearbox wants to drive that point home. It also sounds like they want the game to be accessible to players who don’t normally play first person shooters.
Hopefully, Gearbox’s enthusiasm in talking about the game won’t be there to bite them in the butt, but they’re usually a company who is committed to delivering a fun and engaging gameplay experience. Colonial Marines will be one to keep an eye on throughout the year.
Aliens: Colonial Marines releases in Spring 2012 on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC.
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Source: OXM UK
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soundin’ good! those complex orders in bia REALLY turned me off to that game. it was cool for the first 15 minutes. then it got old real quick.
i really liked the greasegun though. wished more ww2 fps’s incorporated that weapon in their games.
i’m worried, how can they work on both this and borderlands 2 simultaneously b/c if i recall correctly a preview/demo for borderlands 2 will be shown sometime this year (on of the foreign game conventions i think).
i think this will just be a survival game, like nazi zombies in CoD, but i could be wrong (seeing as how nothing been revealed thus far).
Why is it that no one can make an Alien game not in First Person? First Person has got to be the MOST BORING way to present this iconic monster.
Ever play Dead Space? How about Resident Evil? Ever played ANY horror title?
So I am a bit biased, I do not play FPS any more, none of them. They don’t appeal to me. That said, I want a 3rd Person Aliens Shooter, no more of this pandering to the FPS crowd.
Didn’t they just make this game and call it Aliens Vs. Predator and try to hype it up only to have it fall flat on its face?
i really don’t see how making the game 3rd person would enhance the experience of an alien game at all. i enjoyed aliens vs. predator a lot, it seems like any “professional” paid reviews bash anything without the words call or duty in the title.
first person will be better as you can’t see behind or to the sides of you, this is a horor ame and that will make it so much better
who cares whether its in first person or third, your still shooting and killing. and if its gonna be horror, make it as realistic as you can. so have a wide, realistic FPS view, intense sound effects, and limited ammo. Dead Space is third person but didn’t have u exactly scared for whats behind you, considering you could see your behind. im not saying its bad though, Dead Space was one of my favorite games, and i own the collecters edition of the second one, so im not being biased. im just saying it was more of a grotesque game, and sounds were unbeleivable. the only issue with AvP is that they didnt balance it to well. now that this will have JUST marines and Aliens, its easier to balance. Aliens are essentially weaker but have blood that stings so close combat with a shot gun is out, and they attack in groups making you panic, while the marines have range, and stims. Now yes coding the characters might be difficult, but i dont think they will ruin it. and being FPS wouldnt make it a bad game, Tbh it would be more scary
“Accessible” is an industry code word for “Dumbed Down”. They intend to make yet another run-and-gun FPS shooter. Yawn.
“You’re lack of faith is disturbing.”
-Lord Vader on Faithless Gamers
“They intend to make yet another run-and-gun FPS shooter.”
Yes – Because F.P.S stands for First-Person SHOOTER. So, they will have to make a “FPS shooter”.
yeah i dont get it either. what do you want an Aliens vs Predator RPG game? Besides its Gearbox. they do typically deliver.
The FPS genre with no cover mechanic, just run-and-gun… all so very 1995. What I an saying is the very concept is passé.
If they want to make it a GOOD run and gun they need to add some elements of Left 4 Dead. TOTALLY a run and gun game, but thats the point, u cant sit still without dieing. If they want it to be different but still kind of the same, mix in that element of no place is safe so lets keep moving. now if it were just every man for himself stuff that would be lame. but if they do a L4D kinda thing then i dont think it would be wrong to be run and gun
Well I happen to like 1995 and wish to relive in that era all my life.