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We're back with another gameplay video and first impressions post, this time for Gearbox Software's new game, Aliens: Colonial Marines. It's a first person shooter set within the Aliens universe that takes place after the events of the second movie.  Sounds awesome right?

Well, as you can see from the video above, Aliens: Colonial Marines is a little rough around the edges…all edges. Even at the start screen, textures and basic text looks extremely dated, and once the first cut scene kicks in that feeling pervades the early stages of the game.

Moreover, once movement and general gameplay (shooting, melee, context-sensitive actions) come into play, the problems get compounded further. This is a game released during the last months of our current console cycle, yet it looks like a game from the previous one. Obvious loading sections, which leave the player awkwardly standing around, even reared their ugly heads, and that's only within the first 20 minutes of the game.

However, even if developer Gearbox Software had faulted in its gameplay execution, there is still that wonderful Aliens source material to work with. Unfortunately, at least early on, that isn't handled all that well either.

The game could have established a tone that fits right in with the film franchise -- capturing the essence of what makes Aliens work -- but that is not the case. Even the big xenomorph reveal is hampered by poor animation and awkward level design.

Aliens Colonial Marines Gameplay Video

At the same time the basic shooting mechanics of the game come across as rudimentary at best, and lacking in basic refinement. There's no weight to movement -- let alone any appreciable sense of damage to the player or the enemy -- to provide any noticeable player feedback. For a game that uses 4-player co-op as a major selling point, it's hard to see four friends wanting to get together for such a base level experience.

To be fair, we were playing the Xbox 360 version for this gameplay video, so it's entirely possible that the PC or Wii U versions will fare much better, at least visually. Animations, tone, and general gameplay, however, are a different story.

Nevertheless, this is only a first impression of Aliens: Colonial Marines, based solely on the first 20 minutes of the game. Look for a full review in the near future.

Does Aliens: Colonial Marines seem like a game you might check out? What do you think it based on this early gameplay video?

Aliens: Colonial Marines is available now for the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360. A Wii U release is slated for March 2013. Game Rant was provided a copy of the Xbox 360 version.

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