Video Game Vintage Title: Aliens: Colonial Marines

Aliens: Colonial Marines

Aliens: Colonial Marines is a first-person shooter video game developed by Gearbox Software and published by Sega. The game was released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 video game consoles and for Microsoft Windows on February 12, 2013. A Wii U version was being produced for release but was eventually cancelled in April 5, 2013. The game is the third Aliens title that Sega has produced: the first was Aliens vs. Predator in 2010, and the second was Aliens Infestation in 2011. The game is set in the Alien universe and takes place after the events of the third film in the franchise, Alien 3

Aliens: Colonial Marines Plot

Seventeen weeks after the events of Aliens, the search-and-rescue Colonial Marine team on board the Conestoga-class space cruiser USS Sephora receive a distress call sent from the USS Sulaco. The Sephora sends squads to investigate the missing ship, in orbit around LV-426 and not Fiorina-161 as it was supposed to be during the events of Alien 3. A massive xenomorph infestation is discovered inside the Sulaco, and several marines are killed. While investigating the ship Corporal Cristopher T. Winter, Private Peter O'Neal and Private Bella Clarison discover Weyland-Yutani PMCs commanding the Sulaco and using Sephora marines as hosts to the xenomorphs. The hostile corporate mercenaries attack the Sephora using the Sulaco's weaponry and both ships are destroyed after the Sephora retaliates. Winter, O'Neal, Bella, Captain Jeremy Cruz, Sephora android Bishop, and dropship pilot Lieutenant Reid crash-land on LV-426 and take shelter in the ruins of the Hadley's Hope colony complex, which was almost completely destroyed after the explosion of its atmosphere processor. Captain Cruz orders all the other survivors from the Sephora to gather at the Hadley Hope's ruins. While investigating the ruins of the colony, mutated and radioactive xenomorphs that only react to sound and movement, and are prone to exploding violently due to their unstable chemical makeup are discovered, as well as the corpses of Sulaco marines Private William Hudson and Private Trevor Wierzbowski.

Private Bella is found to be infected with a xenomorph after a scan by Bishop. As a result, she is escorted by Winter and O'Neal to a Weyland-Yutani xenomorph research facility, set near the derelict extraterrestrial "Engineer" ship from Alien, in order to surgically remove the embryo. However, an interrogated Weyland-Yutani physician explains to them that the infection can't be treated since extracting the alien will also kill the host anyway. Bella dies when her parasite matures while she is saying her goodbyes to Winter and O'Neal.

A survivor from the Sulaco is rescued from the PMCs and is revealed to be Corporal Dwayne Hicks, who was thought to have been killed in an EEV crash on Fiorina "Fury" 161 where fellow survivors Rebecca "Newt" Jordan and Lt. Ellen Ripley also died. Hicks describes how 'The Company' intercepted and captured the Sulaco, and because he was the only military personnel left on the ship, the Sulaco's computer awakened him. While trying to escape the PMCs, Hicks sent the distress signal that the Sephora picked up, and during the Sulaco's invasion, a xenomorph infestation caused the accidental launch of the escape module with the civilian survivors from the Sulaco out of the ship, and an unknown body inside Hicks's cryotube instead of him. Hicks was subsequently captured and tortured by Michael Bishop Weyland himself, the CEO of Weyland-Yutani, for nearly fourteen weeks, to force him to reveal information about the xenomorphs' origins and to take control of the Sulaco's weapon systems.

After gathering all the remaining Sephora Marines, Captain Cruz orders Hicks and all of his men to attack the Weyland-Yutani facility and seize the only remaining faster-than-light space cruiser left on the planet. While boarding the escaping ship, Captain Cruz sacrifices himself to kill an Alien Queen hidden inside the ship's cargo bay. Winter, O'Neal, Reid, Bishop, and Hicks capture and kill Michael Weyland, who is revealed to also be a Bishop-model android, and not the real Weyland. Searching for military intelligence, Bishop is connected to "Weyland's" CPU and states that he has "everything", setting the stage for a war between the Colonial Marines and the Weyland-Yutani Corporation.

Aliens: Colonial Marines Gameplay

Aliens: Colonial Marines is a first-person shooter which puts the player in the role of a United States Colonial Marine named Cpl. Christopher Winter. The player has access to iconic weapons from the movie such as the flamethrower, pulse rifle, smartgun, shotgun, pistol, and robotic sentry turrets. Players are also able to use welding torches to seal doors and motion trackers to detect unseen enemies.

Initially it was announced that the game would involve squad-based gameplay, allowing the player to issue orders to AI-controlled marines using context-sensitive commands. However, Gearbox later revealed that this feature was dropped to make gameplay more accessible. Aliens: Colonial Marines was originally planned to have no HUD to provide the player with onscreen information.

Gameplay types have been described as "Gauntlet Runs", where players must fight enemies as they travel from point A to point B, and "Last Stand" moments, where players must defend a specific area by welding doors and/or setting up automated sentry turrets.

The players gain experience points when dominating enemies and completing certain objectives. These experience points allow players to customize the appearance of their character, purchase upgrades for weapons, and unlock other skill sets, all of which carry over to other gameplay modes.

The primary enemies of the game are the xenomorphs from the first three films, which include the Facehugger, and "Drone" alien from Alien, the "Warrior" and the "Queen" aliens from Aliens, also as the "Runner" alien from Alien 3. The "Crusher" alien is an original enemy, which was revealed in the E3 2011 Walkthrough demo. Another original enemy, the "Boiler" alien, is a variant capable of self-exploding and covering its enemies with molecular acid. It was revealed in the tactical multiplayer trailer. Along with being able to traverse different surfaces from an angle, the aliens' AI uses the environment to set up sneak attacks, and group tactics to overwhelm the player. Not all enemies are aliens, as players also find themselves fighting human enemies in the form of Weyland-Yutani commandos and mercenaries.

Setting

Described as a true sequel to James Cameron's film, the story of Aliens: Colonial Marines takes place after the events of the second film, Aliens, and sometime after the events of Alien 3, as the cryotubes containing Ellen Ripley, Corporal Hicks, Newt, and the android Bishop had ejected from the Sulaco. At PAX East 2012, Gearbox Software's Community Manager confirmed that the game is considered an official part of the Alien franchise's canon by 20th Century Fox. Much of the main plot was written by Battlestar Galactica writers Bradley Thompson and David Weddle. The story is told through the eyes of Corporal Christopher Winter, a Colonial Marine who is part of a search and rescue team sent to investigate the U.S.S. Sulaco in search of Ellen Ripley, Corporal Dwayne Hicks, and the rest of the missing marines who were dispatched to LV-426. The Sulaco, and the derelict alien spacecraft from Aliens as well as LV-426 itself will all serve as environments in the game, as well as other locations yet to be detailed.

Gearbox has stated that they were invited to speak with Ridley Scott and view the script for his Alien prequel Prometheus, insinuating that there may be connections or references to the events of Prometheus in Aliens: Colonial Marines.