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New cinematic trailer...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfOOOAN9e9w&feature=player_embedded#! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfOOOAN9e9w&feature=player_embedded#!)

Sweet. I *so* want a flamethrower.

I'm partial to the Pulse Rifle myself.

AWESOME. How can they expect us to wait 'til Fall?? Oh and hi everyone.

Quote from: Gusington on January 28, 2012, 05:23:43 PM
AWESOME. How can they expect us to wait 'til Fall?? Oh and hi everyone.

Hey.

We're working on uploading avatars. However, if you have something you'd like to use, email it to me and I'll post it on my photobucket account where you can link to it.

^Nah I can wait. It will deepen the mystery. BTW am I mod again here?

Quote from: Gusington on January 28, 2012, 05:37:54 PM
^Nah I can wait. It will deepen the mystery. BTW am I mod again here?

You should be but I don't see any sign next to your name. Let me look at the permissions.

Quote from: Gusington on January 28, 2012, 05:37:54 PM
^Nah I can wait. It will deepen the mystery. BTW am I mod again here?

You should be now.

Hmmm I don't see any designation that I am one on the board but I see the functionality I didn't have before.

Quote from: Gusington on January 28, 2012, 05:52:34 PM
Hmmm I don't see any designation that I am one on the board but I see the functionality I didn't have before.

Good. I'm not sure how Jarhead's got there - he may have input it in the custom field in his profile.

Quote from: LongBlade on January 28, 2012, 06:24:46 PM

Good. I'm not sure how Jarhead's got there - he may have input it in the custom field in his profile.

Improvise Adapt Overcome

Quote from: Jarhead0331 on January 28, 2012, 07:52:36 PM

Quote from: LongBlade on January 28, 2012, 06:24:46 PM

Good. I'm not sure how Jarhead's got there - he may have input it in the custom field in his profile.

Improvise Adapt Overcome

What happened to "One Mind, Any Weapon" ???

How about One Tribe, Many Jews...or something.

^ That too

supposed to be released in about 3 weeks so i figured i would raise this thread from the dead instead of starting a new one! looks like its 4 player co-op, anyone heard anything more about this title?

^I'm nervous.  This one could be really good, but it could also be REALLY bad.  Keeping my fingers crossed.

For your sake alone I hope it is good.  I have too many games and I will probably
have to buy it anyway.

This will be my first new buy of the year. I am a sucker for the franchise. But I don't know if it will be a day one purchase.

New trailer released today and word on the street is that it is beyond bad...

It's called the 'Kick Ass' trailer. The voice over Sucks Ass.

http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/sega-alien-shooter/1227234p1.html (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=r5AoxeljVqs)

Quote from: Gusington on January 24, 2013, 02:13:45 PM
New trailer released today and word on the street is that it is beyond bad...

I can predict the review titles already.

"GAME OVER, MAN, GAME OVER!!"

"Nuke this game from orbit. It's the only way to be sure."


Lord, how is it that the only good space marine game for the Aliens franchise, is still the original Space Hulk?!? (I'm allowing that the Alien and Predator sections of the first two AvP games were resepectable. Never played the recent reboot.)

(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi46.tinypic.com%2Feiwjno.jpg&hash=4359dd8c609b5a7abb4b2a3e5ff206ead6e05cb2)

;D

I just bought the whole Alien series on blu ray in anticipation too, including Prometheus :/

The ending of that trailer was pure cheese-wizz. That's not a value judgement by any means, just an observation.

Quote from: Jarhead0331 on January 21, 2013, 03:52:06 PM
^I'm nervous.  This one could be really good, but it could also be REALLY bad.  Keeping my fingers crossed.

I feel the same way. And a bad FPS is a BAD FPS.

Well - I was initially very excited about this. There was an Alien game out on the PC early 2000 I believe and it gave me the heebijeebi's - couldn't play it in the end - but the gameplay was alright and fitted.

That trailer only dampened my enthusiasm for this one - and that's NOT what trailers are meant to do. And it wasn't just the awful voice over either.

So I was going to buy - but I can definitely wait for the game to come out and hear what the word on the street is

I know some of you seemed interested in this game...if so Get Games Go has a pretty decent deal for $30 (retail price was $49.99).

http://www.getgamesgo.com/product/aliens-colonial-marines

Then use the code LV-426 when checking out.....

I hope I'm wrong for the sake of some of you, but I have a bad feeling about this drop game.  It doesn't look promising from the trailers.  I guess the co-op might be fun for a while, but probably not £35 of fun.

i love the Alien franchise  8) and was on the fence about this .... but i will wait trusted  player's impression for sure   :-X

I really wanted to buy on release day but there's no way I will do that now with the recent trailer fiasco. Going to wait and see. Fingers-crossed.

I too love the Alien franchise and have been waiting a long time for this release but...in this golden age of games 50.00 is a lot to ask even for an excellent game...never mind if it's an unknown quantity.

If you need a fix before Colonial Marines arrives, there is an Aliens mod for Killing Floor.

http://www.pcgamer.com/2013/02/07/killing-floor-aliens-mod-lets-your-friends-hear-you-scream/

Quote from: eyebiter on February 10, 2013, 11:29:42 AM
If you need a fix before Colonial Marines arrives, there is an Aliens mod for Killing Floor.

http://www.pcgamer.com/2013/02/07/killing-floor-aliens-mod-lets-your-friends-hear-you-scream/

Screw that!  Play the C64 version of Aliens in an emulator!

(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fmembers.tripod.com%2Fcorp_hicks%2Fscht07.gif&hash=95befab9bd220d2dcea5876f6af17de76c33c823)

You lot sound like a couple of old men telling me which way to get the most hp out of my Model T :)

Have you bought I-War 2 yet?  :P

Yes!*

*No.

But I have a good reason if you would like to hear it.

I think this trailer is pretty damn badass...

http://www.ign.com/videos/2011/08/25/pax-aliens-colonial-marines-teaser-trailer-2?objectid=868803 (http://www.ign.com/videos/2011/08/25/pax-aliens-colonial-marines-teaser-trailer-2?objectid=868803)

Good trailer, bad spelling. They should have got Brant to spell check.

Going to do my best to resist not pre ordering for the $30....

Quote from: Gusington on February 10, 2013, 05:20:22 PM
Yes!*

*No.

But I have a good reason if you would like to hear it.

I will hear it if it's a damn good reason!

If Aliens: Colonial Marines turns out to be a stinker, then I am going to immerse myself in Japanese history through a stash of books I have and Shogun 2.

If Aliens: Colonial Marines turns out to be stellar, then I will tear through the sci fi books I have...some of which are centered on ship to ship and fleet to fleet combat. At which point I will get I-War 2.

I didn't ask to be an OCD gamer it just happened. I can play different games within similar genres, but I can't switch between say Aliens: Colonial Marines, Chivalry and Mark of the Ninja. My brain begins to swell. Every book and every game has its place.

I wish I could tear through everything I have all willy-nilly but I have never gamed that way.

Seems ok to me (on the 360), so far - about three chapters in. It has Aliens in it, and fast shooting guns. That's about it. It's atmospheric to a point, but doesn't feel as "shit-your-pants" as the previous Aliens Vs Predator game did.

I'm a little sceptical about them using marines vs mercs as well as aliens. As a 'mano a mano' game it doesn't come across as anything other than pedestrian.

Haven't done any online with it, but in the single player (or co-op) you can unlock weapon features and spend points - but it feels very limited really.

Shooting Aliens isn't bad. But overall I'd say if you're not an acid-dripping Aliens fan, you might not want to stump up full whack for this one.

Quote from: spelk on February 11, 2013, 03:56:06 PM
I'm a little sceptical about them using marines vs mercs as well as aliens.

They didn't, did they?  Oh god WHY.

A discouraging, albeit funny as hell review...

After that video I don't have much interest in getting the game.

I do, however, feel the urge to watch the first two Alien(s) movies again.

^I can't believe someone had all the time required to put that together. It did serve a purpose...I won't be paying full price for it. That and spelks comments above sealed it for me.

Quote from: Jarhead0331 on February 11, 2013, 06:16:22 PM
A discouraging, albeit funny as hell review...

OK, I don't know WTF that was, but that is one of the funniest videos I have seen on Youtube!  Right at about 3:00 when the guy starts throwing the poo all over...oh man that was classic.

That might be from the much hyped Duke Nukem reboot. In moments of diminished cognitive capacity I've been tempted to get it. Not for that particular level-up though...

Must be some kind of "fair use" that allows them to use all that music and video footage 'cause I don't know how they got the rights to all that IP :/

Quote from: LongBlade on February 11, 2013, 08:54:06 PM
Must be some kind of "fair use" that allows them to use all that music and video footage 'cause I don't know how they got the rights to all that IP :/

Fair use DEFINITELY doesn't apply.  They either paid for it up front, or will pay for it after they get sued.

Quote from: Jarhead0331 on February 11, 2013, 09:04:33 PM

Quote from: LongBlade on February 11, 2013, 08:54:06 PM
Must be some kind of "fair use" that allows them to use all that music and video footage 'cause I don't know how they got the rights to all that IP :/

Fair use DEFINITELY doesn't apply.  They either paid for it up front, or will pay for it after they get sued.

Thank you.

I would love to try my hand at that, and I doubt they'll get sued. But that's why folks won't be seeing those videos here any time soon.

Unrelated to the discussion at hand but since Duke Nukem came up and I'm almost done with my Dogfishhead 90 min IPA...

Anyone else find this funny?

http://tatatataa.cn/

Another review, not so favorable...it is for the 360 version and mentions the pc version is supposed to be more stable...even with that the review appears to rip the game pretty hard.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-02-12-aliens-colonial-marines-review

Quote from: Grim.Reaper on February 12, 2013, 05:33:35 AM
Another review, not so favorable...it is for the 360 version and mentions the pc version is supposed to be more stable...even with that the review appears to rip the game pretty hard.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-02-12-aliens-colonial-marines-review

Wow. That's downright scathing.

IGN gave the console versions a 4.5 and the PC version a 5.0.  Gamespot also gave it a 4.5. I will still get this eventually, but I'm going to try and hold off for a sale. 

There is something I find pretty unfair.  The mainstream reviews describe the action in Aliens: CM as boring.  For instance, they give the game low marks because you, "open a door, shoot some enemies, walk down a corridor, shoot some more enemies, etc. etc."  To me, this sounds exactly like the Call of Duty series.  Yet, because CoD is the darling of the industry, CoD gets rated high, 9.0, 9.5, even 10.0 in some instances.  I think A:CM is in some way getting a harsher treatment because it is not CoD.  It should totally be judged on its own merit.  I'm a huge Aliens fan and I do believe I will end up enjoying it when I get it eventually...

Also, for once, the PC game is receiving better marks than the console.  Gearbox did the right thing by focusing on the PC tech, rather than making a console game and porting it over.  i guess they at least deserve some credit or that. 

Aaaaaand Space Hulk it is, then.

(To be fair I may pick this up later. But probably not before I finally play AvP2.)

Relatedly, the IGN reviewer outright praises the Escape multiplayer mode, for being the closest to feeling like the actual movie. But for obvious reasons it would also feel like Space Hulk!  ;)

I went to IGN out of curiosity to read their review (Gamespot's next), and found that the link to the PC review dead-ends in a blank page of their blog. Weird... But their PS3 review (with the even worse 4.5 score) is live.

Considering that Timegate Studios (which made the excellent Kohan series of RTS games) was heavily involved in the production, I'm sad it has turned out this messed up.

I'm enjoying the unintentional comedy clips coming from the game if nothing else.


(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.minus.com%2Fi212wUcwcU0eE.gif&hash=5d32544f569db5b4ca7956891e0edf0fb3cb93e3)



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8J8SzBhjqaQ&feature=player_embedded

Quote from: Silent Disapproval Robot on February 12, 2013, 01:54:26 PM
I'm enjoying the unintentional comedy clips coming from the game if nothing else.


(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.minus.com%2Fi212wUcwcU0eE.gif&hash=5d32544f569db5b4ca7956891e0edf0fb3cb93e3)



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8J8SzBhjqaQ&feature=player_embedded

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/5386258/1360580902385.gif

laughed uproariously at work - non impressed lithuanians!

To me, it looks more like the alien just had some really bad chili and is desperately clenching until it can get to the bog.

Quote from: Silent Disapproval Robot on February 12, 2013, 02:10:11 PM
To me, it looks more like the alien just had some really bad chili and is desperately clenching until it can get to the bog.

or its pissed

did they ever walk like that? am i missing something from the films where they walk towards you like a pissed up Glaswegian and then just go past?

Oh man...and my hopes were once so high.

I'm not going to defend the game, but what you're seeing is a clip from a mission where you're trapped in a sewer without a weapon and you're being hunted by a new bread of alien that is actually blind.  I'm not sure of the details behind the biology here, but its not AS crazy as it seems just from viewing the clip without any insight.

Quote from: Jarhead0331 on February 11, 2013, 09:04:33 PM

Quote from: LongBlade on February 11, 2013, 08:54:06 PM
Must be some kind of "fair use" that allows them to use all that music and video footage 'cause I don't know how they got the rights to all that IP :/

Fair use DEFINITELY doesn't apply.  They either paid for it up front, or will pay for it after they get sued.

Given the reviewer has most of his videos in Russian, I'm going to guess he isn't worried. At any rate, Youtube just yanks videos with IP infringement without any need for suing.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/gamesblog/2013/feb/12/alien-colonial-marines-game-review (http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/gamesblog/2013/feb/12/alien-colonial-marines-game-review)

A positive review...there aren't many (ie. one), but I thought you should know one does exist.  Just sayin'.

Did anyone actually buy the PC version and have hands-on experience yet?  Although most reviews seem to paint a bad picture, I seldom make final buying decisions based on reviews.

Quote from: Gusington on February 12, 2013, 03:13:48 PM
Oh man...and my hopes were once so high.

Dirty Dancin's still on sale.....Just sayin'

Rock Paper Shotgun weigh in. (http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013/02/12/wot-i-think-aliens-colonial-marines-single-player/)  It isn't pretty (but very, very funny).  Yeah, I don't normally go by reviews but this game is getting universally panned.  It sounds awful.

I have a hard time with the premise of the game. They friggin nuked the LV-426 colony at the end of Aliens and it didn't look like a small blast either. How the hell is there anything left to go back to?

Quote from: mirth on February 12, 2013, 06:49:30 PM
I have a hard time with the premise of the game. They friggin nuked the LV-426 colony at the end of Aliens and it didn't look like a small blast either. How the hell is there anything left to go back to?

Shoot! Good point!

Looks like quarter-to-three also jumps on the negative bandwagon.....

http://www.quartertothree.com/fp/2013/02/12/how-do-i-get-out-of-this-chickenshit-aliens-colonial-marines-outfit/#more-19658

Quote from: Grim.Reaper on February 12, 2013, 06:56:27 PM
Looks like quarter-to-three also jumps on the negative bandwagon.....

http://www.quartertothree.com/fp/2013/02/12/how-do-i-get-out-of-this-chickenshit-aliens-colonial-marines-outfit/#more-19658

The review title is gold!

Quote from: Jarhead0331 on February 12, 2013, 06:51:03 PM

Quote from: mirth on February 12, 2013, 06:49:30 PM
I have a hard time with the premise of the game. They friggin nuked the LV-426 colony at the end of Aliens and it didn't look like a small blast either. How the hell is there anything left to go back to?

Shoot! Good point!

So much for it being the only way to be sure ;)

^The game is a prequel to the Aliens movie.

Quote from: Gusington on February 12, 2013, 07:52:51 PM
^The game is a prequel to the Aliens movie.

Still doesn't make sense. Nothing in Aliens indicates that they had previously sent Colonial Marines to LV-426. The premise of Aliens was that they were sending a squad size unit because they didn't really think anything was wrong.

Quote from: Gusington on February 12, 2013, 07:52:51 PM
^The game is a prequel to the Aliens movie.

No, it's supposed to be a sequel.  You're supposed to be the rescue team that shows up 17 days after Hick's distress call went out.  Remember from the film?  "Seventeen days?!  We ain't gonna last 17 hours!"

I guess they're assuming that the main reactor got taken out in the blast but that the main colony survived the blast.  The blueprints in the film showed that the reactor was separated from the rest of the colony.

The retard alien in the gif I posted earlier is supposed to be one of the ones that got hit with radiation from the blast.

Thought the articles I read said it was the supposed sequel to the alien movies....

My bad, I read the IGN review wrong:

http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/02/12/aliens-colonial-marines-pc-review

The game comes in between Aliens and Alien 3.

Which makes the above point on the nuclear blast, etc., even more f'd up.

Well the premise is weak at best. They could have easily done an original story. Not that it would have necessarily made for a better game.

Despite withering criticism, I broke down and took the plunge.  God damn it to hell.

Quote from: Jarhead0331 on February 12, 2013, 08:55:33 PM
Despite withering criticism, I broke down and took the plunge.  God damn it to hell.

Good luck:)

Quote from: Grim.Reaper on February 12, 2013, 09:00:54 PM

Quote from: Jarhead0331 on February 12, 2013, 08:55:33 PM
Despite withering criticism, I broke down and took the plunge.  God damn it to hell.

Good luck:)

Yeah, please let us know.

Godspeed JH.

Its exactly like I suspected.  Its COD in an Aliens skin. I really do not know why its getting massacred in the media.  It is not THAT bad, and because I'm a huge Aliens fan, I'm quite enjoying it.  The graphics are definitely not as good as they could have been, but overall they are immersive and pleasing.  I'm running in 1920x1080 and it purrs like a kitten.  The game runs great so far and I haven't had any of the bugs or glitches that have been widely reported.  Some of the graphical effects are, however, underwhelming, most notably, the grenade launcher...the explosion is admittedly week, and the blast doesn't seem to do too much damage. But the skins are right on.  The Marines look great, the environments look good, even with rough textures, and so far the warrior aliens are not laughable. They look like...warrior aliens.

I just played for an hour and have the urge to continue the story.  I'm not finding the voice acting that atrocious, in fact, I'm finding some of the dialogue lines to be slightly misquoted in reviews.  In the actual game, it is not as corny or unintelligible.  Some of the weapons are really cool and they all look very good...the shotgun is very fun to use but it is a little overpowered. I'm not finding the AI to be so terrible.  The Aliens move quickly, jump at you, climb on walls and attack from different angles.  At times, I've even seen them hide or appear to take cover.  I mean really, what to the commercial reviewers expect them to do?  Light up cigarettes and make mai tais? The first mission is definitely on rails, and a lot of people will not like this.  But this is absolutely no different from a COD game, and it is extremely unfair to take points way from Aliens for using this convention, when it is rewarded in games made by Treyarch.

Notwithstanding the above, I'm not going to recommend this game.  It remains to be seen whether it is worth full price.  If it was $29.99, I'd say to go for it.  I will close by saying that COD games barely hold my interest.  I haven't enjoyed them since the first modern warfare.  Since then, I feel like the games have continued to slide down a gimmicky slippery slope.  So far, I'm enjoying Aliens and I want to keep on playing. I think you will feel the same way if you're as big of an Aliens fan as I am, and generally enjoy FPS games and can deal with the ones that are heavy on action and light on realism.

I tried multiplayer last night and was pleasantly surprised. It does a decent job of creating tension and teamplay, and playing a stalking Alien really is as good as it implies. I  think the Alien control mechanic is better than the one in Aliens vs Predator. Latching onto a wall requires a physical action from you (pulling the left trigger) so dropping off a wall to suddenly leap into a marines path is very satisfying. I only played the Team Deathmatch, and it sort of comes across as Left 4 Dead coupled with something like Natural Selection.

Also I played the campaign co-op, and what little I played (over again) felt better the second time around with another person in tow. I think they must scale the enemies you face if you're in co-op, because I actually got to a point where I died - whereas in the single player campaign, I was 3 chapters in and I hadn't died once.

I've seen a lot of the press reviews and the slatings its getting, and I don't think it deserves that much of a pasting. It's nothing new, but it's not a total flop, for me anyway. I don't like these rumours of it being out-sourced so that it's lack of quality (allegedly) isn't wholly Gearbox's responsibility, and they're pointing the finger clearly at Timegate Studio's involvement (a studio I think is under-appreciated for its titles such as Kohan and Section 8 ). From what I've gathered Gearbox was involved at every stage of the game. Single player and Multi-player.

Anyway, as a space marine shooting aliens fan, I'm honour bound to purchase Aliens titles like this, but after some enjoyable and tense multiplayer, along with some blossoming co-op play, I'm glad I stumped up for this title now. I think the press backlash is mainly because it didn't deliver buckets of innovative and new.

Glad to hear you guys are having a decent time with it and not a complete waste like the reviewers have stated.  I am guessing the reviewers had lofty expectations from the start and reviewed it based on that versus what it turned out to be.

Thanks JH and spelk. I will pick it up when it goes on sale.

Quote from: Silent Disapproval Robot on February 12, 2013, 08:04:59 PM

Quote from: Gusington on February 12, 2013, 07:52:51 PM
^The game is a prequel to the Aliens movie.

No, it's supposed to be a sequel.  You're supposed to be the rescue team that shows up 17 days after Hick's distress call went out.  Remember from the film?  "Seventeen days?!  We ain't gonna last 17 hours!"

I guess they're assuming that the main reactor got taken out in the blast but that the main colony survived the blast.  The blueprints in the film showed that the reactor was separated from the rest of the colony.

The retard alien in the gif I posted earlier is supposed to be one of the ones that got hit with radiation from the blast.

It makes somewhat more sense insofar as the action takes place on the Sulaco, the Marine ship that took the platoon to LV-426. It was a reasonably large ship, and wasn't damaged by anything in the least aside from some relatively light scuffling in the hangar bay. Presumably the plot is intended to explain how things got so screwed up on board the Sulaco before Aliens3, and that's why 20th Century Fox is promoting it as a canonical intraquel.

Once they go down to the cloud of vapor the size of Nebraska, I'd think it makes much less sense. ;)

I had wondered if Yahtzee from Zero Punctuation would do ColMari this week, but I guess it was released a little too quickly.

Instead, please accept this video of a glitch from the game I found in the comments of the RPS article. (I don't want to spoil it--let's just say the Xenos are happy the game was finally released.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8J8SzBhjqaQ

Quote from: Grim.Reaper on February 13, 2013, 05:08:02 AM
Glad to hear you guys are having a decent time with it and not a complete waste like the reviewers have stated.  I am guessing the reviewers had lofty expectations from the start and reviewed it based on that versus what it turned out to be.

I can't entirely blame them for that. This thing has been in development for five years (during which the developers have been hyping it up every chance they get), and the end result looks pretty meh.

Sounds like multi-player is where the value may be.

But that's how it is for all first-person shooters IMO.

I cannot ever remember seeing a group of developers all pointing at each other and saying "No, THEY made this!" before this mess. This whole thing is just weird.

Quote from: Arctic Blast on February 14, 2013, 01:32:57 AM
I cannot ever remember seeing a group of developers all pointing at each other and saying "No, THEY made this!" before this mess. This whole thing is just weird.

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013/02/13/who-made-aliens-heres-what-we-sorta-know/#more-142273

brilliant - it seems gearbox knew it was going down the tubes, asked for a 9 month extension and then spent 5 months of that finishing off Borderlands, bringing in the other devs to help out.

Im not interested in the game at all, not because of the reviews, im just not THAT much of an alien fan, but apparently theres footage out there of a demo/playthrough thats wayyyyyyy better than the released game and this is what led to the pre-orders and hype, then gearbox realised it wouldnt work on consoles properly and scaled it all back and released it, still floating on the excitement of the earlier demo that noone was going to get - its all a bit unpleasant IMHO, and for me another endorsement of never, ever pre-ordering

Quote from: undercovergeek on February 14, 2013, 03:04:04 AM

Quote from: Arctic Blast on February 14, 2013, 01:32:57 AM
I cannot ever remember seeing a group of developers all pointing at each other and saying "No, THEY made this!" before this mess. This whole thing is just weird.

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013/02/13/who-made-aliens-heres-what-we-sorta-know/#more-142273

brilliant - it seems gearbox knew it was going down the tubes, asked for a 9 month extension and then spent 5 months of that finishing off Borderlands, bringing in the other devs to help out.

Im not interested in the game at all, not because of the reviews, im just not THAT much of an alien fan, but apparently theres footage out there of a demo/playthrough thats wayyyyyyy better than the released game and this is what led to the pre-orders and hype, then gearbox realised it wouldnt work on consoles properly and scaled it all back and released it, still floating on the excitement of the earlier demo that noone was going to get - its all a bit unpleasant IMHO, and for me another endorsement of never, ever pre-ordering

for me its another endorsement of avoiding console to pc ports. graphics will never be as good as they can be, UI will be screwed up, they can't or won't patch console games so the pc gets neglected as well. I realize they have to maximize revenue streams but no one wins when the game is half assed due to time constraints all because they have to make the game work for 2 consoles and pc  :'(

^The PC version is largely being noted as superior to the console versions, so while I generally agree with your point, it does not apply to this game.

I still think people need to chill out. I don't necessarily buy all the "finger pointing" conspiracy theory junk floating around in internet forums.  Here's why...that game is really not that bad.  I've got almost three (3) hours into the SP campaign and I'm really enjoying it so far.  And guess what? It's only getting better the deeper I go into it.

So please do everyone a favor, stop repeating all the negative hype out there and plese stop trying to justify the game's failure with a big "A-Haaa!!!!" or a giant "I told you so!" or even a "So, this is why it sucks!"  Because unless you play the game, you really don't know what you're talking about.

As I've stated before, this IS Call of Duty in Aliens skin.  If you have no inherent problem with CoD, then you should have absolutely no inherent problem with Aliens.  If you love the ALiens universe, you will most like like this BETTER than CoD.  I do. 

CptHwdy,

There are exceptions of course.

Let us 'console' our selves over this disappointment... WE SHOULD LIST THEM!!  :D (http://grogheads.com/forums/index.php?topic=4778.msg111594#msg111594)

(I didn't want to hijack the thread off our continued grumpiness or defenses about ColMari.)

Quote from: Jarhead0331 on February 14, 2013, 07:22:32 AM
^The PC version is largely being noted as superior to the console versions, so while I generally agree with your point, it does not apply to this game.

I still think people need to chill out. I don't necessarily buy all the "finger pointing" conspiracy theory junk floating around in internet forums.  Here's why...that game is really not that bad.  I've got almost three (3) hours into the SP campaign and I'm really enjoying it so far.  And guess what? It's only getting better the deeper I go into it.

So please do everyone a favor, stop repeating all the negative hype out there and plese stop trying to justify the game's failure with a big "A-Haaa!!!!" or a giant "I told you so!" or even a "So, this is why it sucks!"  Because unless you play the game, you really don't know what you're talking about.

As I've stated before, this IS Call of Duty in Aliens skin.  If you have no inherent problem with CoD, then you should have absolutely no inherent problem with Aliens.  If you love the ALiens universe, you will most like like this BETTER than CoD.  I do.

does this mean please stop talking about a current game and its news headlining situation because you happen to like the game? The entire online PC gaming community is discussing it

Quote from: Jarhead0331 on February 14, 2013, 07:22:32 AMSo please do everyone a favor, stop repeating all the negative hype out there

I appreciate that, as someone who is actually playing the game, you're appreciating it for what it is (basically an Aliens mod for CoD).

But are you saying the objective evidence and claims being made by other reviewers who have played the game are wrong, or anyway significantly less wrong on the PC version?

Quote from: undercovergeek on February 14, 2013, 07:30:04 AM

Quote from: Jarhead0331 on February 14, 2013, 07:22:32 AM
^The PC version is largely being noted as superior to the console versions, so while I generally agree with your point, it does not apply to this game.

I still think people need to chill out. I don't necessarily buy all the "finger pointing" conspiracy theory junk floating around in internet forums.  Here's why...that game is really not that bad.  I've got almost three (3) hours into the SP campaign and I'm really enjoying it so far.  And guess what? It's only getting better the deeper I go into it.

So please do everyone a favor, stop repeating all the negative hype out there and plese stop trying to justify the game's failure with a big "A-Haaa!!!!" or a giant "I told you so!" or even a "So, this is why it sucks!"  Because unless you play the game, you really don't know what you're talking about.

As I've stated before, this IS Call of Duty in Aliens skin.  If you have no inherent problem with CoD, then you should have absolutely no inherent problem with Aliens.  If you love the ALiens universe, you will most like like this BETTER than CoD.  I do.

does this mean please stop talking about a current game and its news headlining situation because you happen to like the game? The entire online PC gaming community is discussing it

No. You can talk about whatever you want, but my point is, you don't know what you're talking about.  All you're doing is repeating what other people are saying, AND AGREEING with it, without playing it for yourself.   

Quote from: JasonPratt on February 14, 2013, 07:33:58 AM

Quote from: Jarhead0331 on February 14, 2013, 07:22:32 AMSo please do everyone a favor, stop repeating all the negative hype out there

I appreciate that, as someone who is actually playing the game, you're appreciating it for what it is (basically an Aliens mod for CoD).

But are you saying the objective evidence and claims being made by other reviewers who have played the game are wrong, or anyway significantly less wrong on the PC version?

Yes. It is not OBJECTIVE evidence...it is SUBJECTIVE, and in many cases it is inaccurate and over-exaggerated. I stand by that 100%.

Quote from: Jarhead0331 on February 14, 2013, 07:34:12 AM

Quote from: undercovergeek on February 14, 2013, 07:30:04 AM

Quote from: Jarhead0331 on February 14, 2013, 07:22:32 AM
^The PC version is largely being noted as superior to the console versions, so while I generally agree with your point, it does not apply to this game.

I still think people need to chill out. I don't necessarily buy all the "finger pointing" conspiracy theory junk floating around in internet forums.  Here's why...that game is really not that bad.  I've got almost three (3) hours into the SP campaign and I'm really enjoying it so far.  And guess what? It's only getting better the deeper I go into it.

So please do everyone a favor, stop repeating all the negative hype out there and plese stop trying to justify the game's failure with a big "A-Haaa!!!!" or a giant "I told you so!" or even a "So, this is why it sucks!"  Because unless you play the game, you really don't know what you're talking about.

As I've stated before, this IS Call of Duty in Aliens skin.  If you have no inherent problem with CoD, then you should have absolutely no inherent problem with Aliens.  If you love the ALiens universe, you will most like like this BETTER than CoD.  I do.

does this mean please stop talking about a current game and its news headlining situation because you happen to like the game? The entire online PC gaming community is discussing it

No. You can talk about whatever you want.  It means exactly what it says. You don't know what you're talking about.  My point is, all you're doing is repeating what other people are saying, AND AGREEING with it, without playing it for yourself.   

i saw news footage of a man fighting in Afghanistan this morning discussing his dead colleagues, he said it was shit, fkd up and he wanted to come home

i havent been to Afghanistan or been shot at, but i still reckon the news i read and the footage i see conveys a general shitty life out there - do i not get to say to someone, i read on the news this morning its shit in Afghanistan?

if noone was going to read about a game, watch the footage, and maybe even read YOUR review of the game and not be allowed an opinion without playing it first - why are we even contributing to a website of opinions and community. Why do you review games Jarhead if im not allowed to decide i like it until ive bought it?

Quote from: undercovergeek on February 14, 2013, 07:39:13 AM

Quote from: Jarhead0331 on February 14, 2013, 07:34:12 AM

Quote from: undercovergeek on February 14, 2013, 07:30:04 AM

Quote from: Jarhead0331 on February 14, 2013, 07:22:32 AM
^The PC version is largely being noted as superior to the console versions, so while I generally agree with your point, it does not apply to this game.

I still think people need to chill out. I don't necessarily buy all the "finger pointing" conspiracy theory junk floating around in internet forums.  Here's why...that game is really not that bad.  I've got almost three (3) hours into the SP campaign and I'm really enjoying it so far.  And guess what? It's only getting better the deeper I go into it.

So please do everyone a favor, stop repeating all the negative hype out there and plese stop trying to justify the game's failure with a big "A-Haaa!!!!" or a giant "I told you so!" or even a "So, this is why it sucks!"  Because unless you play the game, you really don't know what you're talking about.

As I've stated before, this IS Call of Duty in Aliens skin.  If you have no inherent problem with CoD, then you should have absolutely no inherent problem with Aliens.  If you love the ALiens universe, you will most like like this BETTER than CoD.  I do.

does this mean please stop talking about a current game and its news headlining situation because you happen to like the game? The entire online PC gaming community is discussing it

No. You can talk about whatever you want.  It means exactly what it says. You don't know what you're talking about.  My point is, all you're doing is repeating what other people are saying, AND AGREEING with it, without playing it for yourself.   

i saw news footage of a man fighting in Afghanistan this morning discussing his dead colleagues, he said it was shit, fkd up and he wanted to come home

i havent been to Afghanistan or been shot at, but i still reckon the news i read and the footage i see conveys a general shitty life out there - do i not get to say to someone, i read on the news this morning its shit in Afghanistan?

if noone was going to read about a game, watch the footage, and maybe even read YOUR review of the game and not be allowed an opinion without playing it first - why are we even contributing to a website of opinions and community. Why do you review games Jarhead if im not allowed to decide i like it until ive bought it?

So you're going to compare Aliens Colonial Marines to the war in Afghanistan? Well, that does certainly prove that you've never been there.   This is why when it comes to war the opinions of our veterans are much more valuable than the opinions of politicians, or people who just stayed home to watch it all unfold on TV.  You can comment on something all you want without experiencing it, but your comments are ultimately irrelevant. 

I'm not going to get into a pissing match over it with you.  Like I said, you can say whatever you want, but until you actually play the game for yourself, your opinions carry very little weight.

Quote from: Jarhead0331 on February 14, 2013, 07:45:47 AM

Quote from: undercovergeek on February 14, 2013, 07:39:13 AM

Quote from: Jarhead0331 on February 14, 2013, 07:34:12 AM

Quote from: undercovergeek on February 14, 2013, 07:30:04 AM

Quote from: Jarhead0331 on February 14, 2013, 07:22:32 AM
^The PC version is largely being noted as superior to the console versions, so while I generally agree with your point, it does not apply to this game.

I still think people need to chill out. I don't necessarily buy all the "finger pointing" conspiracy theory junk floating around in internet forums.  Here's why...that game is really not that bad.  I've got almost three (3) hours into the SP campaign and I'm really enjoying it so far.  And guess what? It's only getting better the deeper I go into it.

So please do everyone a favor, stop repeating all the negative hype out there and plese stop trying to justify the game's failure with a big "A-Haaa!!!!" or a giant "I told you so!" or even a "So, this is why it sucks!"  Because unless you play the game, you really don't know what you're talking about.

As I've stated before, this IS Call of Duty in Aliens skin.  If you have no inherent problem with CoD, then you should have absolutely no inherent problem with Aliens.  If you love the ALiens universe, you will most like like this BETTER than CoD.  I do.

does this mean please stop talking about a current game and its news headlining situation because you happen to like the game? The entire online PC gaming community is discussing it

No. You can talk about whatever you want.  It means exactly what it says. You don't know what you're talking about.  My point is, all you're doing is repeating what other people are saying, AND AGREEING with it, without playing it for yourself.   

i saw news footage of a man fighting in Afghanistan this morning discussing his dead colleagues, he said it was shit, fkd up and he wanted to come home

i havent been to Afghanistan or been shot at, but i still reckon the news i read and the footage i see conveys a general shitty life out there - do i not get to say to someone, i read on the news this morning its shit in Afghanistan?

if noone was going to read about a game, watch the footage, and maybe even read YOUR review of the game and not be allowed an opinion without playing it first - why are we even contributing to a website of opinions and community. Why do you review games Jarhead if im not allowed to decide i like it until ive bought it?

So you're going to compare Aliens Colonial Marines to the war in Afghanistan? Well, that does certainly prove that you've never been there.   This is why when it comes to war the opinions of our veterans are much more valuable than the opinions of politicians, or people who just stayed home to watch it all unfold on TV.  You can comment on something all you want without experiencing it, but your comments are ultimately irrelevant. 

I'm not going to get into a pissing match over it with you.  Like I said, you can say whatever you want, but until you actually play the game for yourself, your opinions carry very little weight.

i tried to help you as much as possible by saying i havent been there, im sorry you missed that bit whilst you were looking to pick holes elsewhere in what i said - most of which you ignored by the way

ill write to the BBC and let them know to sack all their reporters and newscasters - if you havent had it happen to you, you cant possibly report on it

lets be grown up, i dont want to argue with you about it, i dont come here to argue, i linked to a piece of news you disagree with, enough said

^I wasn't even focusing on you. Guilty conscience, perhaps? Thanks, but I do not need your help with anything.  I didn't ignore anything you posted, your point was just a ridiculous one, I believe I made that abundantly clear in my reply. You're the one with the problem here dude.

Just for the record, I'm not arguing that A:CM is a great game.  I'm merely arguing that it is not nearly as bad as the vast majority of the uninformed (yes, that's you) are claiming it to be.  The graphics are not as bad, the AI is not as bad, the story is not as bad, the dialogue is not as bad, the sounds are not as bad, the action is not as bad...I stand by this 100%.  In fact, I'm so confident in it that I'm willing to make anyone this offer:

You buy the game from any retailer, digital or otherwise. You play it. Beat the campaign and play at least a few hours on MP.  If you do not walk away from it thinking it really is not as bad as everyone is saying, I will refund your cost of purchase, excluding tax/shipping, etc. This means generally, you would rate the game above a 4.5, which seems to be the generally accepted rating around the internet.

Here is the catch though.  you have to have demonstrated to me a sincere interest and enjoyment of FPS games.  You have to be able to show that you actively buy and play these types of games.  CoD, MoH, Crysis, Ghost Recon Future Soldier/Advanced Warfighter,  Farcry, etc. You also have to demonstrate that you are a fan of sci-fi and the Aliens movies.  This is critical, because I think this makes a real difference as to how much enjoyment one will get out of this particular game.  If after playing it as specified, you still think its trash, you'll have to explain why, particularly be comparing it to other games in the genre and pointing out where A:CM fails, whereas your examples do not.

The first person to PM me and satisfy this criteria gets the job.  I'm only posting this in this website.  I generally know that everyone who posts here is a serious, honest gamer.  If you lie, I'm a mod, and can find out where you live.

Quote from: Jarhead0331 on February 14, 2013, 07:35:17 AM

Quote from: JasonBut are you saying the objective evidence and claims being made by other reviewers who have played the game are wrong, or anyway significantly less wrong on the PC version?

Yes. It is not OBJECTIVE evidence...it is SUBJECTIVE, and in many cases it is inaccurate and over-exaggerated. I stand by that 100%.

Okay, in your first impressions comment (apparently about halfway through the game at that time) (http://grogheads.com/forums/index.php?topic=11.msg111232#msg111232) you were talking about the graphical glitches reported on consoles not appearing on your PC version. Those aren't subjective evidence and problems, those are objective, but they don't show up (or anyway not on your rig) for the PC. Nevertheless, wouldn't those have to be seriously objective problems to be reckoned with on a console version, worthy of contributing to the 4.5 score?

A number of people have complained that the dialogue generator does goofy things, and that a number of the scripted lines don't make sense in context of the situation. The first would be an objectively discernable problem (one not unique to A:CM of course), the latter could arguably be as well. But leaving the latter aside, are you saying the dialogue generator hasn't glitched on a noticeably regular basis on your PC version?

Some reviewers have noted that the friendly AI not only does things so stupid that they had to be rendered invulnerable to friendly fire, but actually teleports into place (with a spawning electrical pop) rather than moving through doors. They also reportedly clip through objects in order to do foolish AI things. (I'll assume the clipping is one of the graphical issues that don't show up on the PC version from what you said.) These would be objective complaints; have they occurred on your PC version?

From what you've said, the Alien AI does better on the PC than what has been not only reported but visually (thus objectively) archived on gameplay videos already. But some reviewers have noted that the game cheats in spawning the Aliens from nowhere, in such a way that it violates the purpose of the iconic motion detector. That's a claim of an objective problem--have you noticed that on the version you played?

Several reviewers have complained that the game design results in an unacceptably high proportion of enemy mercs compared to xeno action. Supposing that's a subjective assessment in a game marketed on fighting xenos with space marines in a canonical sequel to Aliens, what are your impressions on that? Perhaps also subjectively, reviewers have complained that the occasional xeno vs. merc fighting isn't handled by the game engine well. Your impressions?

Many reviewers have complained that the graphics (not counting console glitches and even on the PC's superior hardware) are not as good as they could and should have been for a current generation game. Leaving aside whether they are subjectively immersing and pleasing to a player anyway, I noticed you generally agreed with that assessment, which seems like an objective complaint (if perhaps to be expected for a game that has been in development as long as the current console generation has even existed). "The graphics are definitely not as good as they could have been."

Many reviewers have also complained that some weapons feel waaay overpowered for what, even in the movie Aliens, should be a survival horror genre; while other weapons were underwhelming for what they ought to have been capable of doing in the circumstances. I can't tell from your first impressions if you (subjectively?) agreed or not about the tone not matching genre expectations (although you seem happy as an Alien fan with the feel overall--and I daresay most of us here are fans of the property, myself included :) ), but you did agree that some weapons were underwhelming and some were overpowered. Maybe those are entirely subjective judgments, but you shared them in principle with reviewer complaints.

In the end, professional reviewers have, for the most part, elected to disrecommend the game except maybe after the price drops a lot. You wrote, "Notwithstanding the above, I'm not going to recommend this game.  It remains to be seen whether it is worth full price.  If it was $29.99, I'd say to go for it." That synchs up, although I'd say the general tenor of reviews has been don't even pay $30 for it.

You note that it doesn't seem fair to diss A:CM for things that the COD series has been notorious for doing recently. That seems like a fair judgment to me, but it also involves tacitly agreeing that there are a substantial number of objective game design and implementation factors shared demonstrably by both games which people are complaining about in one case thus unfairly not complaining about in the other case: if the issues were totally subjective, it wouldn't be unfair to complain about them in one game but not in the other.


In conclusion, there are objectively detectable and documented issues about the game, which many reviewers have been complaining about, some of which apparently only show up in the console versions so shouldn't be held against the PC, but a significant number of which complaints you actually agree about yourself: enough so that you wouldn't recommend the game yourself until it reaches around half-price, except maybe to fans of the property who might be willing to overlook the (objective) problems out of (subjective) enjoyment of the property. I really would be interested, as a fan of the property, too, in hearing from you or anyone else whether the objective problem-claims from reviewers that you haven't mentioned yet just haven't been a problem for the PC in your experience (thus explaining why you haven't mentioned them).

But I have to disagree about the complaints being only subjective and not, to a significant degree, also objective.

Quote from: Jarhead0331 on February 14, 2013, 08:10:58 AM
^I wasn't even focusing on you. Guilty conscience, perhaps? Thanks, but I do not need your help with anything.  I didn't ignore anything you posted, your point was just a ridiculous one, I believe I made that abundantly clear in my reply. You're the one with the problem here dude.

Just for the record, I'm not arguing that A:CM is a great game.  I'm merely arguing that it is not nearly as bad as the vast majority of the uninformed (yes, that's you) are claiming it to be.  The graphics are not as bad, the AI is not as bad, the story is not as bad, the dialogue is not as bad, the sounds are not as bad, the action is not as bad...I stand by this 100%.  In fact, I'm so confident in it that I'm willing to make anyone this offer:

You buy the game from any retailer, digital or otherwise. You play it. Beat the campaign and play at least a few hours on MP.  If you do not walk away from it thinking it really is not as bad as everyone is saying, I will refund your cost of purchase, excluding tax/shipping, etc. This means generally, you would rate the game above a 4.5, which seems to be the generally accepted rating around the internet.

Here is the catch though.  you have to have demonstrated to me a sincere interest and enjoyment of FPS games.  You have to be able to show that you actively buy and play these types of games.  CoD, MoH, Crysis, Ghost Recon Future Soldier/Advanced Warfighter,  Farcry, etc. You also have to demonstrate that you are a fan of sci-fi and the Aliens movies.  This is critical, because I think this makes a real difference as to how much enjoyment one will get out of this particular game.

The first person to PM me and satisfy this criteria gets the job.  I'm only posting this in this website.  I generally know that everyone who posts here is a serious, honest gamer.  If you lie, I'm a mod, and can find out where you live.

i suppose now's the time to ask because its puzzled me for years now - how is EVERYONE, bar a few crazy exceptions, allowed to discuss openly their views, disagree with each other, argue even to the point of capitals and swearing and general 'i need to leave here for a few days and take a deep breath' - except you?

From an educated, professional, legal, military mind (yours not mine!) i find it exceptionally odd out of all of us here that youre the only one to stomp on anyones posts with terms such as ridiculous, irrelevant, and accuse me of having a problem with you or what you said because, and lets put it plainly, i disagree with you.

I dont understand why you imply i should be guilty? id look forward to anything you can put forward that brought you this conclusion

I dont want to argue with you here because i have more respect for this site than that, either PM me for more slanging matches or lets just leave it alone

Quote from: undercovergeek on February 14, 2013, 08:29:21 AM

Quote from: Jarhead0331 on February 14, 2013, 08:10:58 AM
^I wasn't even focusing on you. Guilty conscience, perhaps? Thanks, but I do not need your help with anything.  I didn't ignore anything you posted, your point was just a ridiculous one, I believe I made that abundantly clear in my reply. You're the one with the problem here dude.

Just for the record, I'm not arguing that A:CM is a great game.  I'm merely arguing that it is not nearly as bad as the vast majority of the uninformed (yes, that's you) are claiming it to be.  The graphics are not as bad, the AI is not as bad, the story is not as bad, the dialogue is not as bad, the sounds are not as bad, the action is not as bad...I stand by this 100%.  In fact, I'm so confident in it that I'm willing to make anyone this offer:

You buy the game from any retailer, digital or otherwise. You play it. Beat the campaign and play at least a few hours on MP.  If you do not walk away from it thinking it really is not as bad as everyone is saying, I will refund your cost of purchase, excluding tax/shipping, etc. This means generally, you would rate the game above a 4.5, which seems to be the generally accepted rating around the internet.

Here is the catch though.  you have to have demonstrated to me a sincere interest and enjoyment of FPS games.  You have to be able to show that you actively buy and play these types of games.  CoD, MoH, Crysis, Ghost Recon Future Soldier/Advanced Warfighter,  Farcry, etc. You also have to demonstrate that you are a fan of sci-fi and the Aliens movies.  This is critical, because I think this makes a real difference as to how much enjoyment one will get out of this particular game.

The first person to PM me and satisfy this criteria gets the job.  I'm only posting this in this website.  I generally know that everyone who posts here is a serious, honest gamer.  If you lie, I'm a mod, and can find out where you live.

i suppose now's the time to ask because its puzzled me for years now - how is EVERYONE, bar a few crazy exceptions, allowed to discuss openly their views, disagree with each other, argue even to the point of capitals and swearing and general 'i need to leave here for a few days and take a deep breath' - except you?

From an educated, professional, legal, military mind (yours not mine!) i find it exceptionally odd out of all of us here that youre the only one to stomp on anyones posts with terms such as ridiculous, irrelevant, and accuse me of having a problem with you or what you said because, and lets put it plainly, i disagree with you.

I dont understand why you imply i should be guilty? id look forward to anything you can put forward that brought you this conclusion

I dont want to argue with you here because i have more respect for this site than that, either PM me for more slanging matches or lets just leave it alone

So you're going to make it personal now and then say, "but I don't want to argue about it."  Yeah, nice undercovergeek. I have not attacked you personally at all, and I've repeated at least three times that you are free to post whatever you want.  Am I not allowed to state my point that unless you play the game yourself, your opinion is not worth much in my view?  Why do you find this point so God damn offensive.  I think its clear that you just have a personal problem with me, and its not the point I'm making you disagree with, you just don't like me.  Fair enough.  If you want to PM, you can PM me...to apologize.

Quote from: JasonPratt on February 14, 2013, 08:26:03 AM

Quote from: Jarhead0331 on February 14, 2013, 07:35:17 AM

Quote from: JasonBut are you saying the objective evidence and claims being made by other reviewers who have played the game are wrong, or anyway significantly less wrong on the PC version?

Yes. It is not OBJECTIVE evidence...it is SUBJECTIVE, and in many cases it is inaccurate and over-exaggerated. I stand by that 100%.

Okay, in your first impressions comment (apparently about halfway through the game at that time) (http://grogheads.com/forums/index.php?topic=11.msg111232#msg111232) you were talking about the graphical glitches reported on consoles not appearing on your PC version. Those aren't subjective evidence and problems, those are objective, but they don't show up (or anyway not on your rig) for the PC. Nevertheless, wouldn't those have to be seriously objective problems to be reckoned with on a console version, worthy of contributing to the 4.5 score?

A number of people have complained that the dialogue generator does goofy things, and that a number of the scripted lines don't make sense in context of the situation. The first would be an objectively discernable problem (one not unique to A:CM of course), the latter could arguably be as well. But leaving the latter aside, are you saying the dialogue generator hasn't glitched on a noticeably regular basis on your PC version?

Some reviewers have noted that the friendly AI not only does things so stupid that they had to be rendered invulnerable to friendly fire, but actually teleports into place (with a spawning electrical pop) rather than moving through doors. They also reportedly clip through objects in order to do foolish AI things. (I'll assume the clipping is one of the graphical issues that don't show up on the PC version from what you said.) These would be objective complaints; have they occurred on your PC version?

From what you've said, the Alien AI does better on the PC than what has been not only reported but visually (thus objectively) archived on gameplay videos already. But some reviewers have noted that the game cheats in spawning the Aliens from nowhere, in such a way that it violates the purpose of the iconic motion detector. That's a claim of an objective problem--have you noticed that on the version you played?

Several reviewers have complained that the game design results in an unacceptably high proportion of enemy mercs compared to xeno action. Supposing that's a subjective assessment in a game marketed on fighting xenos with space marines in a canonical sequel to Aliens, what are your impressions on that? Perhaps also subjectively, reviewers have complained that the occasional xeno vs. merc fighting isn't handled by the game engine well. Your impressions?

Many reviewers have complained that the graphics (not counting console glitches and even on the PC's superior hardware) are not as good as they could and should have been for a current generation game. Leaving aside whether they are subjectively immersing and pleasing to a player anyway, I noticed you generally agreed with that assessment, which seems like an objective complaint (if perhaps to be expected for a game that has been in development as long as the current console generation has even existed). "The graphics are definitely not as good as they could have been."

Many reviewers have also complained that some weapons feel waaay overpowered for what, even in the movie Aliens, should be a survival horror genre; while other weapons were underwhelming for what they ought to have been capable of doing in the circumstances. I can't tell from your first impressions if you (subjectively?) agreed or not about the tone not matching genre expectations (although you seem happy as an Alien fan with the feel overall--and I daresay most of us here are fans of the property, myself included :) ), but you did agree that some weapons were underwhelming and some were overpowered. Maybe those are entirely subjective judgments, but you shared them in principle with reviewer complaints.

In the end, professional reviewers have, for the most part, elected to disrecommend the game except maybe after the price drops a lot. You wrote, "Notwithstanding the above, I'm not going to recommend this game.  It remains to be seen whether it is worth full price.  If it was $29.99, I'd say to go for it." That synchs up, although I'd say the general tenor of reviews has been don't even pay $30 for it.

You note that it doesn't seem fair to diss A:CM for things that the COD series has been notorious for doing recently. That seems like a fair judgment to me, but it also involves tacitly agreeing that there are a substantial number of objective game design and implementation factors shared demonstrably by both games which people are complaining about in one case thus unfairly not complaining about in the other case: if the issues were totally subjective, it wouldn't be unfair to complain about them in one game but not in the other.


In conclusion, there are objectively detectable and documented issues about the game, which many reviewers have been complaining about, some of which apparently only show up in the console versions so shouldn't be held against the PC, but a significant number of which complaints you actually agree about yourself: enough so that you wouldn't recommend the game yourself until it reaches around half-price, except maybe to fans of the property who might be willing to overlook the (objective) problems out of (subjective) enjoyment of the property. I really would be interested, as a fan of the property, too, in hearing from you or anyone else whether the objective problem-claims from reviewers that you haven't mentioned yet just haven't been a problem for the PC in your experience (thus explaining why you haven't mentioned them).

But I have to disagree about the complaints being only subjective and not, to a significant degree, also objective.

This deserves a thorough response, but I need to get to Court now.  I will say in the interim, that I don't disagree with some of what you're saying with respect to the objective technical issues that have been raised. My comment regarding subjective evidence has more to do with AI, plot, dialogue, action, etc.

Quote from: Jarhead0331 on February 14, 2013, 08:33:10 AM
Fair enough.  If you want to PM, you can PM me...to apologize.

i see what you did there

and its that kind of oneupmanship i refer to - this isnt a competition, nor some 'hen party who has the last word' arguement, you made it personal implying i was irrelevant, ridiculous and guilty of something (which remains to be explained), i only questioned your need to do so

i can read all kinds of arguements here from all different kinds of people - only one person subjects them to an attempt at ridicule as opposed to reasoned debate

I do like you, i read your reviews, i read your comments, i sympathise with lifes shitty turns that we all get from now and then, and like someone else i know down the pub im allowed to disagree with you without you throwing my beer in my face and pushing the table over

Please lets stop as Jason has shamed at least me with better literacy and a proper discussion

Quote from: undercovergeek on February 14, 2013, 08:44:02 AM

Quote from: Jarhead0331 on February 14, 2013, 08:33:10 AM
Fair enough.  If you want to PM, you can PM me...to apologize.

i see what you did there

and its that kind of oneupmanship i refer to - this isnt a competition, nor some 'hen party who has the last word' arguement, you made it personal implying i was irrelevant, ridiculous and guilty of something (which remains to be explained), i only questioned your need to do so

i can read all kinds of arguements here from all different kinds of people - only one person subjects them to an attempt at ridicule as opposed to reasoned debate

I do like you, i read your reviews, i read your comments, i sympathise with lifes shitty turns that we all get from now and then, and like someone else i know down the pub im allowed to disagree with you without you throwing my beer in my face and pushing the table over

Please lets stop as Jason has shamed at least me with better literacy and a proper discussion

Yeah...I like you too. We're arguing about a game. Its not personal to me.  I wish you wouldn't make it so.

To wrap things up so far.

Jarhead: Thinks the game is getting slammed a little too hard in the reviews. Feels that the game has flaws but can be fun especially if your a fan of Aliens. Does not think undercovergeeks opinion on the game carries much weight as undercovergeek has never played the game.

Undercovergeek: Feels that it is not fair for Jarhead to say that his opinion is irrelevant based on him not  ever having played the game. Undercovergeek compares his Aliens analysis to his analysis of the War in Afghanistan. Challenges Jarhead to a duel to protect his honor.

Jason Pratt : Wrote an excellent article on the use of the words subjective and objective, Bayonetbrant should really enjoy this. Me not so much, I dozed off somewhere in the middle.

Quote from: Jarhead0331 on February 14, 2013, 08:47:42 AM

Quote from: undercovergeek on February 14, 2013, 08:44:02 AM

Quote from: Jarhead0331 on February 14, 2013, 08:33:10 AM
Fair enough.  If you want to PM, you can PM me...to apologize.

i see what you did there

and its that kind of oneupmanship i refer to - this isnt a competition, nor some 'hen party who has the last word' arguement, you made it personal implying i was irrelevant, ridiculous and guilty of something (which remains to be explained), i only questioned your need to do so

i can read all kinds of arguements here from all different kinds of people - only one person subjects them to an attempt at ridicule as opposed to reasoned debate

I do like you, i read your reviews, i read your comments, i sympathise with lifes shitty turns that we all get from now and then, and like someone else i know down the pub im allowed to disagree with you without you throwing my beer in my face and pushing the table over

Please lets stop as Jason has shamed at least me with better literacy and a proper discussion

Yeah...I like you too. We're arguing about a game. Its not personal to me.  I wish you wouldn't make it so.

as a great man once said:-

"Some people believe football is a matter of life and death, I am very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much, much more important than that".

Boyer you disappear for months on end and this is the thread you resurface in? Are you some kind of glutton for punishment?

 Im always around Gus.  Have just learned most internet debates are pointless because I cant bash other peoples heads against a wall to see my side of things.
Also I dont have a lot to bring to the table as I am pretty much just playing Bordrlands 2 and World of Tanks currently. Not a whole lot in strategy gaming to get me all that excited. Played Crusader Kings II and found it a snooze fest, which means I am the one person in the entire world that does not enjoy it.


 

Quote from: bboyer66 on February 14, 2013, 08:54:29 AM
To wrap things up so far.
[...]

Jason Pratt : Wrote an excellent article on the use of the words subjective and objective, Bayonetbrant should really enjoy this. Me not so much, I dozed off somewhere in the middle.

;D That's no doubt my metaphysics hobby kicking in.

"Suppose that a great commotion arises in the street about something, let us say a lamp-post, which many influential persons desire to pull down. A grey-clad monk, who is the spirit of the Middle Ages, is approached upon the matter, and begins to say, in the arid manner of the Schoolmen, 'Let us first of all consider, my brethren, the value of Light. If Light be in itself good--' At this point he is somewhat excusably knocked down." -- G. K. Chesterton.

It occurs to me that a comparison with Dead Space 3 (and/or its predecessors) might be appropriate. Which I can't do, not having played either game yet (or any game in the DS franchise, although I've had my eye on it for a while). But I have noticed that despite some reported problems (subjectively and objectively ;) ) with DS3, reviewers have been generally very much in favor of it.

DS3 (and its priors) is very obviously based on Aliens tropes (mixed with some Event Horizon), and it could be basically construed as a COD action-shooter with an Aliensesque mod.

(I declare "Aliensesque" to be a real word.  :P )

Well I for one like (need) to read what other people have found on the web here.

I don't really look around much...only here, Matrix very, very occasionally, wargamer occasionaly and SimHQ.

So I need people to regurgitate what they've read on the interwebs to save me money.

Thx UCG.

Quote from: bboyer66 on February 14, 2013, 08:54:29 AM
To wrap things up so far.

Jarhead: Thinks the game is getting slammed a little too hard in the reviews. Feels that the game has flaws but can be fun especially if your a fan of Aliens. Does not think undercovergeeks opinion on the game carries much weight as undercovergeek has never played the game.

Undercovergeek: Feels that it is not fair for Jarhead to say that his opinion is irrelevant based on him not  ever having played the game. Undercovergeek compares his Aliens analysis to his analysis of the War in Afghanistan. Challenges Jarhead to a duel to protect his honor.

Jason Pratt : Wrote an excellent article on the use of the words subjective and objective, Bayonetbrant should really enjoy this. Me not so much, I dozed off somewhere in the middle.

Love it - and required. As full as the information was from all protaganists - some of it was getting lost - so very nice summary.  ;)

Quote from: JudgeDredd on February 14, 2013, 12:15:09 PM
Well I for one like (need) to read what other people have found on the web here.

I don't really look around much...only here, Matrix very, very occasionally, wargamer occasionaly and SimHQ.

So I need people to regurgitate what they've read on the interwebs to save me money.

Thx UCG.

You're welcome, and thanks too to JH as he's stood in the other queue offering his different opinion too

Looking at it now the main point I should have brought was that this wasn't my opinion, I was just posting news found elsewhere, albeit negative

Still, were all friends and I'm off round to jarheads for a game of twister and some punch

Quote from: bboyer66 on February 14, 2013, 10:59:24 AM
Im always around Gus.  Have just learned most internet debates are pointless because I cant bash other peoples heads against a wall to see my side of things.
Also I dont have a lot to bring to the table as I am pretty much just playing Bordrlands 2 and World of Tanks currently. Not a whole lot in strategy gaming to get me all that excited. Played Crusader Kings II and found it a snooze fest, which means I am the one person in the entire world that does not enjoy it.

This thread has been going on for 8 pages now.  I think what he's saying, Gus, is that he's a glutton for gluttony.

Haven't finished the last aliens vs predator game yet.. Want to finish that one before getting ACM.

Even if the single player campaign is lame, usually the multiplayer on these Alien games is worth it.  Just wait a few months for the inevitable 75% off sale.

Jarhead, is the MP as much fun as COD4 was in the good'ol day's 8) on the WG server once?

I ve read: one multiplayer mode, which resembles some gameplay like L4D to bring the best ACM gaming experience, because the aliens are played by humans, which make them cunning and use tactics
but this is reported to get negative affected by the fact that the aliens can only gain experience from MP game ... while they will facing Marines in the MP level, who are already maxed-out with toys they have gained from the SP campaign.
so a noobish alien-player in MP is an 'easy kill' and not so much fun to impersonate until he took the burden to be cannon fodder until he levels up his alien-avatar enuf to stand a chance ?
 
how does it feel when you play an alien (in 3d person view only), how good are they to control (floor to wall to roof transit)

how is your personal MP experience?

i am reeeeeally on the fence! ... i am almost about to watch Aliens from my Alien Quadrology DvD Box to get in the mood ...  but i am shying away because then i maybe can not hold it any longer ;) and press the impulse buy button at Steam  ;D     


btw:  i found this... comparison of gameplay-demo (press) and final version PC
http://www.youtube.com/watch?annotation_id=annotation_588812&feature=iv&src_vid=3z2qVebxlUo&v=6lGXDM3LGnk

why dont they just release a highres-patch / pack for the PC version and everybody can try if he get's a massive frame rate-drop problems or not on his own rig       

Quote from: undercovergeek on February 14, 2013, 12:37:19 PM

Still, were all friends and I'm off round to jarheads for a game of twister and some punch

I'm not quite sure what you're trying to say here, but it sounds to me that you want to come over to my house and play a game of twister and get drunk.  You're starting to make me nervous.  :o

Party at JH's! BYOG.

And Boyer don't be a stranger. Or any stranger than you usually are.

I played the first Dead Space and loved it. Did not play the second, which is much more of a shooter than the first.

And of course Dead Space 3 just came out, and the reviews I have seen have been very positive.

Its okay...Boyer is too busy taking glamor shots of himself and posting them on facebook.

Another reason for me to stay far away from FB.

Quote from: Jarhead0331 on February 14, 2013, 02:20:43 PM
Its okay...Boyer is too busy taking glamor shots of himself and posting them on facebook.

Thank God. At least someone realized they were glamor shots.

Quote from: Gusington on February 14, 2013, 02:04:27 PM
Party at JH's! BYOG.

And Boyer don't be a stranger. Or any stranger than you usually are.

I played the first Dead Space and loved it. Did not play the second, which is much more of a shooter than the first.

And of course Dead Space 3 just came out, and the reviews I have seen have been very positive.

Aint a rats chance in Hell of me playing drunken twister with you, geek, and Jarhead.

Don't knock it til you tried it baby.

Quote from: Gusington on February 14, 2013, 03:49:39 PM
Don't knock it til you tried it baby.

???

Quote from: Jarhead0331 on February 14, 2013, 01:46:06 PM

Quote from: undercovergeek on February 14, 2013, 12:37:19 PM

Still, were all friends and I'm off round to jarheads for a game of twister and some punch

I'm not quite sure what you're trying to say here, but it sounds to me that you want to come over to my house and play a game of twister and get drunk.  You're starting to make me nervous.  :o

Best thing about arguing is the making up again

And that's a wrap. Good show fellers.

Quote from: JudgeDredd on February 14, 2013, 12:15:09 PM
Well I for one like (need) to read what other people have found on the web here.

I don't really look around much...only here, Matrix very, very occasionally, wargamer occasionaly and SimHQ.

So I need people to regurgitate what they've read on the interwebs to save me money.

Thx UCG.

Agreed.  It does save time, keeping up on our hobby, by having just a handful of informative forums to frequent.  And, I suppose, time is money - right?

I'm always a bit shocked when I see someone telling another to shaddap with their opinion, and notably a mod, in our little hobbyist corner of the web, but it should be expected when such emotional attachment or aversion comes into play.   :-\

Quote from: Nefaro on February 14, 2013, 07:13:24 PM

Quote from: JudgeDredd on February 14, 2013, 12:15:09 PM
Well I for one like (need) to read what other people have found on the web here.

I don't really look around much...only here, Matrix very, very occasionally, wargamer occasionaly and SimHQ.

So I need people to regurgitate what they've read on the interwebs to save me money.

Thx UCG.

"
Agreed.  It does save time, keeping up on our hobby, by having just a handful of informative forums to frequent.  And, I suppose, time is money - right?

I'm always a bit shocked when I see someone telling another to shaddap with their opinion, and notably a mod, in our little hobbyist corner of the web, but it should be expected when such emotional attachment or aversion comes into play.   :-\

Nefaro...please point to a single instance in this thread where I told anyone to "shut up." If you actually bend over and use your good eye, you'll find several instances where I said the exact opposite. For you to come in to the thread, now, after the issue has been laid to rest is really curious. You've probably just been waiting for the opportunity since you came here from the other site. 

By the way, I'm not just a mod here...I'm a part owner, so I guess I can pretty much say whatever I want...your opinion is duly noted though. Constructive, as usual.  ::)

Screenshots...

http://grogheads.com/forums/index.php?topic=948.new#new (http://grogheads.com/forums/index.php?topic=948.new#new)

I thought this vid was pretty interesting.  Wonder if they were forced to cut features to make it run on consoles?

www.youtube.com/watch?v=3z2qVebxlUo&feature=youtu.be (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3z2qVebxlUo&feature=youtu.be)

Quote from: Silent Disapproval Robot on February 14, 2013, 10:30:52 PM
I thought this vid was pretty interesting.  Wonder if they were forced to cut features to make it run on consoles?

www.youtube.com/watch?v=3z2qVebxlUo&feature=youtu.be (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3z2qVebxlUo&feature=youtu.be)

Yes...that is a pretty interesting video that begs the question, what did happen there?  That being said, even without those graphical touches, I am still heavily enjoying the experience.   

wow...night and day!

uhhh.... those screenshot are luuuring :)

Quote from: MikeGER on February 14, 2013, 01:34:29 PM
Jarhead, is the MP as much fun as COD4 was in the good'ol day's 8) on the WG server once?

I ve read: one multiplayer mode, which resembles some gameplay like L4D to bring the best ACM gaming experience, because the aliens are played by humans, which make them cunning and use tactics
(but this is reported to get negative affected by the fact that the aliens can only gain experience from MP game ... while they will facing Marines in the MP level, who are already maxed-out with toys they have gained from the SP campaign.
so a noobish alien-player in MP is an 'easy kill' and not so much fun to impersonate until he took the burden to be cannon fodder until he levels up his alien-avatar enuf to stand a chance ? )
 
how does it feel when you play an alien (in 3d person view only), how good are they to control (floor to wall to roof transit) ?

How is your overall (both sides) personal MP experience?

maybe my question got lost in the grogheads-twister-meeting distraction  :P

PS: i watched soccer instead of Aliens on the projector last eve... but today is a new eve! ;)   

Quote from: Jarhead0331 on February 14, 2013, 10:08:56 PM
Screenshots...

http://grogheads.com/forums/index.php?topic=948.new#new (http://grogheads.com/forums/index.php?topic=948.new#new)

they do look good and as always a decent set of shots and a mini AAR/descrition always add flavour to the game

IF i was a fan, and i saw these shots id be tempted

Quote from: MikeGER on February 15, 2013, 03:07:12 AM
uhhh.... those screenshot are luuuring :)

Quote from: MikeGER on February 14, 2013, 01:34:29 PM
Jarhead, is the MP as much fun as COD4 was in the good'ol day's 8) on the WG server once?

I ve read: one multiplayer mode, which resembles some gameplay like L4D to bring the best ACM gaming experience, because the aliens are played by humans, which make them cunning and use tactics
(but this is reported to get negative affected by the fact that the aliens can only gain experience from MP game ... while they will facing Marines in the MP level, who are already maxed-out with toys they have gained from the SP campaign.
so a noobish alien-player in MP is an 'easy kill' and not so much fun to impersonate until he took the burden to be cannon fodder until he levels up his alien-avatar enuf to stand a chance ? )
 
how does it feel when you play an alien (in 3d person view only), how good are they to control (floor to wall to roof transit) ?

How is your overall (both sides) personal MP experience?

maybe my question got lost in the grogheads-twister-meeting distraction  :P

PS: i watched soccer instead of Aliens on the projector last eve... but today is a new eve! ;)

Mike...I have not played MP yet. Sorry.

Quote from: Jarhead0331 on February 14, 2013, 07:46:21 PM

Quote from: Nefaro on February 14, 2013, 07:13:24 PM

Quote from: JudgeDredd on February 14, 2013, 12:15:09 PM
Well I for one like (need) to read what other people have found on the web here.

I don't really look around much...only here, Matrix very, very occasionally, wargamer occasionaly and SimHQ.

So I need people to regurgitate what they've read on the interwebs to save me money.

Thx UCG.

"
Agreed.  It does save time, keeping up on our hobby, by having just a handful of informative forums to frequent.  And, I suppose, time is money - right?

I'm always a bit shocked when I see someone telling another to shaddap with their opinion, and notably a mod, in our little hobbyist corner of the web, but it should be expected when such emotional attachment or aversion comes into play.   :-\

Nefaro...please point to a single instance in this thread where I told anyone to "shut up." If you actually bend over and use your good eye, you'll find several instances where I said the exact opposite. For you to come in to the thread, now, after the issue has been laid to rest is really curious. You've probably just been waiting for the opportunity since you came here from the other site. 

By the way, I'm not just a mod here...I'm a part owner, so I guess I can pretty much say whatever I want...your opinion is duly noted though. Constructive, as usual.  ::)

I hadn't actually read through this large thread until then, so I didn't know what was going on until I posted.

Something that struck me rather odd was your final sentence, here:

Quote from: Jarhead0331 on February 14, 2013, 08:10:58 AM
I generally know that everyone who posts here is a serious, honest gamer.  If you lie, I'm a mod, and can find out where you live.

I dunno if it was meant as a joke, but it seemed like some steps of escalation were skipped somewhere between disagreeing on game reviews and threatening to find out where people live.  ???  I don't know your temperament or sense of humor well enough to know what you meant, but it came off pretty hostile.

Quote from: Nefaro on February 15, 2013, 07:44:23 AM
I hadn't actually read through this large thread until then, so I didn't know what was going on until I posted.

Something that struck me rather odd was your final sentence, here:

Quote from: Jarhead0331 on February 14, 2013, 08:10:58 AM
I generally know that everyone who posts here is a serious, honest gamer.  If you lie, I'm a mod, and can find out where you live.

I dunno if it was meant as a joke, but it seemed like some steps of escalation were skipped somewhere between disagreeing on game reviews and threatening to find out where people live.  ???  I don't know your temperament or sense of humor well enough to know what you meant, but it came off pretty hostile.

Are you for real?  You don't know my temperament or sense of humor well enough?  We've only been posting in the same forums for years?  Get serious Nefaro...you know that comment was a total and complete joke.  Yeah, I'm going to find out where you live and come beat you up if you don't like Aliens: Colonial Marines.  This is the best you can come up with?

...and its pretty foolish to claim that I told someone to shut up without actually reading the entire thread, don't you think?

Quote from: undercovergeek on February 15, 2013, 05:57:05 AM

Quote from: Jarhead0331 on February 14, 2013, 10:08:56 PM
Screenshots...

http://grogheads.com/forums/index.php?topic=948.new#new (http://grogheads.com/forums/index.php?topic=948.new#new)

they do look good and as always a decent set of shots and a mini AAR/descrition always add flavour to the game

IF i was a fan, and i saw these shots id be tempted

I disagree

But I guess that's subjective (and I'm honestly not being cute by saying that)

Quote from: Nefaro on February 15, 2013, 07:44:23 AM

Quote from: Jarhead0331 on February 14, 2013, 07:46:21 PM

Quote from: Nefaro on February 14, 2013, 07:13:24 PM

Quote from: JudgeDredd on February 14, 2013, 12:15:09 PM
Well I for one like (need) to read what other people have found on the web here.

I don't really look around much...only here, Matrix very, very occasionally, wargamer occasionaly and SimHQ.

So I need people to regurgitate what they've read on the interwebs to save me money.

Thx UCG.

"
Agreed.  It does save time, keeping up on our hobby, by having just a handful of informative forums to frequent.  And, I suppose, time is money - right?

I'm always a bit shocked when I see someone telling another to shaddap with their opinion, and notably a mod, in our little hobbyist corner of the web, but it should be expected when such emotional attachment or aversion comes into play.   :-\

Nefaro...please point to a single instance in this thread where I told anyone to "shut up." If you actually bend over and use your good eye, you'll find several instances where I said the exact opposite. For you to come in to the thread, now, after the issue has been laid to rest is really curious. You've probably just been waiting for the opportunity since you came here from the other site. 

By the way, I'm not just a mod here...I'm a part owner, so I guess I can pretty much say whatever I want...your opinion is duly noted though. Constructive, as usual.  ::)

I hadn't actually read through this large thread until then, so I didn't know what was going on until I posted.

Something that struck me rather odd was your final sentence, here:

Quote from: Jarhead0331 on February 14, 2013, 08:10:58 AM
I generally know that everyone who posts here is a serious, honest gamer.  If you lie, I'm a mod, and can find out where you live.

I dunno if it was meant as a joke, but it seemed like some steps of escalation were skipped somewhere between disagreeing on game reviews and threatening to find out where people live.  ???  I don't know your temperament or sense of humor well enough to know what you meant, but it came off pretty hostile.

Are you frackin serious?

Quote from: MikeGER on February 15, 2013, 03:07:12 AM
How is your overall (both sides) personal MP experience?

I've played MP on Team Deathmatch, and I must say it was a tense and enjoyable experience especially from the Aliens side. It's very much like Left 4 Dead, I'd say. The Aliens have to be sneaky, stalking and pouncing. Whereas the Marines just have to stay together, cover each other, and provice 360 cover. Using devices like Proximity mines/claymores and flame throwers, and plenty of hails of lead. Melee-ing multiple Aliens doesn't get you very far, other than dead. Some Aliens have nasty acid spitting ranged attacks, and heart piercing tail lunges, but if you can stay together and empty heavy fire in their direction they can be held back.

The worst case scenario for a Marine is dying, and then spawning well away from your comrades. Getting to them is a frantic sprinting, checking your own six affair, that the Aliens are looking for. Playing as an Alien, you hunger for lone Marines. Hunt in packs, but stalk loners and strike when they're on the move. You're faster than they are.

The rounds alternate, Marine, then Alien, then scoreboard. Then bomb out to the lobby, for the next map.

Once you start to get the hang of the Aliens, it becomes quite enjoyable, you are by no means invulnerable, heavy fire will churn you up into an acid pulp pretty quickly. Mastering the walls, ceilings and vents to surprise nervous marines is the way forward.

I haven't tackled the other modes yet, but from what I've seen in MP, TDM seemed a pretty good buzz.

Quote from: Jarhead0331 on February 15, 2013, 07:52:35 AM

Quote from: Nefaro on February 15, 2013, 07:44:23 AM
I hadn't actually read through this large thread until then, so I didn't know what was going on until I posted.

Something that struck me rather odd was your final sentence, here:

Quote from: Jarhead0331 on February 14, 2013, 08:10:58 AM
I generally know that everyone who posts here is a serious, honest gamer.  If you lie, I'm a mod, and can find out where you live.

I dunno if it was meant as a joke, but it seemed like some steps of escalation were skipped somewhere between disagreeing on game reviews and threatening to find out where people live.  ???  I don't know your temperament or sense of humor well enough to know what you meant, but it came off pretty hostile.

Are you for real?  You don't know my temperament or sense of humor well enough?  We've only been posting in the same forums for years?  Get serious Nefaro...you know that comment was a total and complete joke.  Yeah, I'm going to find out where you live and come beat you up if you don't like Aliens: Colonial Marines.  This is the best you can come up with?

...and its pretty foolish to claim that I told someone to shut up without actually reading the entire thread, don't you think?

Sorry for the misunderstanding, I just thought it was really out of place and I didn't know for sure considering previous posts.  It didn't sound too funny when I read it, so I'll chalk it up to the lack of body language on the 'net. 

And, no, I'm not some secret operative for the Wargamer.  I don't even know much of what happened, and don't really want to either.

Quote from: spelk on February 15, 2013, 09:35:31 AM

Quote from: MikeGER on February 15, 2013, 03:07:12 AM
How is your overall (both sides) personal MP experience?

I've played MP on Team Deathmatch, and I must say it was a tense and enjoyable experience ....

THX spelk :)  and JH too :)

i sense i will break down sooner or later .... so why not NOW  ;)
(it will be a shitty wet cold boring WE ...with car in the garage for welding and my spare part didn't got delivered on time and ExpensiveOther is on a short trip visiting relatives... so enuf time for some ACM distractions)

Well, its all subjective what A:CM may stand for   
for some its:  Aliens Congenial Marines  ...for some: Aliens Colonial Marines   ...and for other its: Aliens Colonic Marines  ;D   

i am off to hit Steam purchase buttons ... see you in the MP arenas 

The game is a failure in so many ways and the worst part of it is, it's a bad game that's still fun to play...and that's the point. It could have been outstanding but the Gearbox Software management folks were too confident in their loyal fanbase and obviously thought they could get away with using it for a quick let's-make-some-money trick. This is a boomerang that is flying back right into their face and could be a hard blow for the company. They had their free ticket with Duke Nukem Forever already and this one is going to undermine fan loyalty big time. The MP is the best part and is fun, but there are too few maps to keep players interested in playing it.  And no one with some brain in the head will shell out more money to Gearbox just to get more maps for this rushed game. It will die soon, so go and play it as long as there's someone online willing to play with you.

Quote from: Grimnirsson on February 15, 2013, 11:54:57 AM
The game is a failure in so many ways and the worst part of it is, it's a bad game that's still fun to play...

If it is fun to play, why are you so bitter?  Also, if it is fun to play, why do you think people will stop playing it?  I've already got between 4-5 ours out of the campaign and am really enjoying it, and I have not even touched MP yet.  Could it have been better? Hell yes, but so could COD, and that game got 9.0 and above ratings.

Jar, I'm not bitter, I'm just saying that Gearbox had some great franchise on their table and they had the time, the talent and the chance to make something outstanding. The game has bad gfx, a too short campaign, a ticked on coop, no real story worth listening to, a MP with far too few maps, a horrible AI, a bad matchmaking system and a ton of glitches and bugs. Still, when it works it's kinda fun, it's even better than Medal of Honor Warfighter (which I stopped playing in the SP and MP, it was that bad), but Gearbox Software did everything to hype it to the moon and back. That's why people expected much more than just a playable game that's kinda fun if it works. Again, I'm not saying I don't have some fun with it, but it's not worth the full price I paid. It's not a polished product and the fans feel betrayed. Today I listened to one of Randys interviews again and it's hard to accept that ACM is the game that was presented to us when you listen to his words. The youtube movie that shows the older demo stuff and the released final game side by side is proof something went wrong here...I will play the game with friends in the coop campaign (a couple of hours into it by now)  and will play the MP until I get bored with the maps. And while I am doing that I dream of the game that ACM could have been. I'm not bitter but realistic and as a customer and Gearbox fan I have a bad taste in my mouth, that's all. And I follow the internet discussions about Gearbox and I'm not surprised to read what I read there.

Grimmnirsson, did you had preordered ?

Yep, I had preordered the game. It was a Gearbox Software game, I love Borderlands, what could go wrong...

Quote from: Grimnirsson on February 15, 2013, 12:22:21 PM
Jar, I'm not bitter, I'm just saying that Gearbox had some great franchise on their table and they had the time, the talent and the chance to make something outstanding. The game has bad gfx, a too short campaign, a ticked on coop, no real story worth listening to, a MP with far too few maps, a horrible AI, a bad matchmaking system and a ton of glitches and bugs. Still, when it works it's kinda fun, it's even better than Medal of Honor Warfighter (which I stopped playing in the SP and MP, it was that bad), but Gearbox Software did everything to hype it to the moon and back. That's why people expected much more than just a playable game that's kinda fun if it works. Again, I'm not saying I don't have some fun with it, but it's not worth the full price I paid. It's not a polished product and the fans feel betrayed. Today I listened to one of Randys interviews again and it's hard to accept that ACM is the game that was presented to us when you listen to his words. The youtube movie that shows the older demo stuff and the released final game side by side is proof something went wrong here...I will play the game with friends in the coop campaign (a couple of hours into it by now)  and will play the MP until I get bored with the maps. And while I am doing that I dream of the game that ACM could have been. I'm not bitter but realistic and as a customer and Gearbox fan I have a bad taste in my mouth, that's all. And I follow the internet discussions about Gearbox and I'm not surprised to read what I read there.

I understand and sympathize with everything you are saying.  for some reason, my expectations just were not that high regardless of what they had shown in the past.  I watched the pre-release trailers and was ready for the worst.  Therefore, my hopes have not been dashed and I'm simply having fun with the final product.  That being said, I can't say I agree with some of your complaints.  I do not think the graphics are bad, I do not think the story is so terrible and most of all, I'm finding the AI to be pretty good.  Aliens act like aliens so far, and the WY mercenaries, use cover, suppressing fire and grenades, and move around dynamically enough to create a challenge.  I'm not really sure what everybody expects in this regard.  Any better, and it would have to be scripted.

I do agree with the the length of the campaign, the co-op issues and the lack of dedicated MP servers, however.  Hopefully that will be added so we can all connect and play a few rounds...

QuoteI do not think the graphics are bad, I do not think the story is so terrible and most of all, I'm finding the AI to be pretty good.

Then you are actually playing a different game than I do. You are playing on the PC? Then of course the gfx is better, the gfx on the 360 with the tearing, bad lighting and no AA is from yesteryear. The AI is non existent in my game, the Xenos run in your direction and die. No flanking attempts, no surprises, they just pop up when I move around a corner and run towards me. They don't feel threatening, the game does not evoke tension, there's no thrill. AvP 3 years ago was a MUCH better experience in this regard and had MUCH better gfx on the 360.

By the way, the video comparing the demo footage with the game footage has now been "fixed" (whatever that means), and can be found at

http://www.youtube.com/watch?annotation_id=annotation_588812&feature=iv&src_vid=3z2qVebxlUo&v=6lGXDM3LGnk

It just means that it's been fixed since the original one mislabelled the demo and release parts for a couple of minutes.

Thanks, Huw.

My impression is that the "Demo" version just features code that they couldn't get to work on the 360 and/or the PS3, so the extra sfx were locked off even for the PC, the devs being contractually obligated to provide simultaneous versions that would run at parity with one another. And reportedly even the 360 and PS3 versions had trouble with what DID ship.

Which leads me to wonder two things:

1.) Did the console versions ship with permanently deactivated code, thus perhaps explaining why what did ship seems so buggy?--portions of code are looking for material that is or was there but isn't accessible anymore leading to glitches? (Including AI problems.)

2.) Did the PC version ship with TEMPORARILY DEACTIVATED code, which will be supplied or unlocked later after a contractual period has passed and the devs can market an improved version of the game (perhaps with a major discount for people who purchased it originally)?

Quote from: Grimnirsson on February 15, 2013, 12:44:01 PM

QuoteI do not think the graphics are bad, I do not think the story is so terrible and most of all, I'm finding the AI to be pretty good.

Then you are actually playing a different game than I do. You are playing on the PC? Then of course the gfx is better, the gfx on the 360 with the tearing, bad lighting and no AA is from yesteryear. The AI is non existent in my game, the Xenos run in your direction and die. No flanking attempts, no surprises, they just pop up when I move around a corner and run towards me. They don't feel threatening, the game does not evoke tension, there's no thrill. AvP 3 years ago was a MUCH better experience in this regard and had MUCH better gfx on the 360.

Yes, I am playing on the PC.  No graphics issues and my AI is definitely better than what you describe. Why did you buy it on a console as opposed to the PC?

QuoteWhy did you buy it on a console as opposed to the PC?

Because I'm a console gamer, I only play strategy wargames on my Notebook, all other gaming is done on the 360. And btw the 360 would have no problem to run a better version of the game, it was a poor port over that's all. We have games that look way better than ACM and they run without problems.

- first impressions

so i am am about 1.5 hour in the SP (first encouter with humans) , playing all settings maxed-out at 1920x1080 on veteran level,  PC version of course  ...and I want to continue playing further :)

i also tested one single MP round TDM, just to see it once 
...killed 3 Aliens  while experimenting with different loadouts, and when the side switched, well got not so lucky with my aliens avatars. i have to operate much more sneaky  ;-)
There is a lot to explore and master on both sides,  and i like the asymetric-warfare !, unknown to other FPS multiplayer. :)

I am sure i will get the bang (playtime, entertainment) for my euro bucks out of ACM 

i don't thinks the MP servers will be empty soon. There will be sales at different places and with growing price reduction  in the future, and some DLCs thrown into those bundles too ... which should generate a stream of new players, when personal treasureholds to buy the game get reached 

I also hope for a high-res patch/pack for the PC, but that's just hope.   

the background music is done fantastic / sound also good ... feels like in the movie!

The graphic impression is 'Video-Game'-ish (but not shabby) and not the "1:1 movie, allmost photorealistic scene" ...that everybody expected after looking at all kind of media-footage, shown or given to game journalists ...and so to the public.

Some moments in the game are absolute stunning and very immersing!
While other fall behind, or get spoiled by one little detail... like an alien-made-surfce that looks suddenly like wet-plastic when lighted different...  or missing enuf fog to swirl and wave in the corridors...   

IMHO that is the main reason for the shitstorm. Knowingly overheated expectations, that were not met on release ...but could have been met with 2013 PC-technology!... and that's gets everyone, and especially the large Alien fanbase and those who preordered, upset.               
   

here are two mods, to  improve the visuals  8)

...we upped the shadows, we saturated the game a bit, we added more blue-ish colors to give that space feeling that was lacking, and we increased the sharpening filter in order to get a better image quality...

http://www.dsogaming.com/news/aliens-colonial-marines-can-look-good-sweetfx-vs-vanilla/

and

...DX 10 on, for better better light...

http://www.moddb.com/mods/aliensdx10-better-grafik-and-light

its reported both mods are compatible

didn't have tested them yet  ...will have to find out about potential Steam Version problems? first 

Quote from: MikeGER on February 16, 2013, 08:48:30 AM
and especially the large Alien fanbase and those who preordered, upset.               

Anyone who preorders a game without trying it first has no right to complain in my opinion. ;)

-update-

i use the DX10mod in a version 2 which is out ...and liked it  :)
(the SweetFX mod is a little over the edge IMHO with its gamma + contrast corrections ... a percentage slider for the effect of that mod would be a good idea so)

playing in a dark room and settings the brightness slider only 1 step over complete dark ...adds to the atmo now when DX10 mod is installed :)

Have they actually announced anything about official multiplayer servers?

I'd think that would've been a priority, as that's usually what first-person shooters are all about, no?

It sounds like it could be some fun, if the Alien control scheme is decent as mentioned.  I recall playing the first AvP long long ago in the far far way and the damn aliens were a pain in the ass to control.  Although that did offer some hilarious laughs when I'd see a buddy running back & forth with an screaming alien engulfed in flames, because it moved so fast he couldn't find the side tunnel to get to cover.  ;D

Quote from: Huw the Poo on February 16, 2013, 11:50:02 AM

Quote from: MikeGER on February 16, 2013, 08:48:30 AM
and especially the large Alien fanbase and those who preordered, upset.               

Anyone who preorders a game without trying it first has no right to complain in my opinion. ;)

Not that I'd ever preorder any game (not in today's environment anyway), but I'd say they have the MOST right to complain: their money was an expression of trust based on promises made by the devs.


Anyway, our long national nightmare is finally over, as Yahtzee at Zero Punctuation has at last gotten around to reviewing Al:ColMar (http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/6912-Aliens-Colonial-Marines) -- (https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wargamer.com%2Fforums%2Fsmiley%2FsFun_DeadHorse.gif&hash=81eee460d76e9d23eb5be835ccf3b18257e33f87)

First of several favorite quips from his typically testy review: [observing that people in the comments were asking him to review it and expecting him to flame it] "Well, how do y'know I wouldn't actually like 'Colonial Marines'? I don't, it's f-ing atrocious, but you'd've looked pretty silly if I had!"

(Note: he apparently reviewed it on PS3.)

^Never heard of him.

Quote from: Jarhead0331 on February 27, 2013, 04:56:12 PM
^Never heard of him.

He has a very scathing, NSFW, funny take on game reviews.  If you can keep up with the speed at which he talks and splashes graphics on the screen it is pretty funny.

Quote from: JasonPratt on February 27, 2013, 04:48:11 PM
Not that I'd ever preorder any game (not in today's environment anyway), but I'd say they have the MOST right to complain: their money was an expression of trust based on promises made by the devs.

Indeed...

Quote from: Jarhead0331 on February 27, 2013, 04:56:12 PM
^Never heard of him.

Never heard of Yahtzee (http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/6912-Aliens-Colonial-Marines)?! And you call yourself a gamer?  ;)

@grim

Maybe you know this already... But what if someone told you Gearbox did not make the game?
http://kotaku.com/5986694/

I've seen a couple of reviews of his before.

I wouldn't say they were informative...too much going on, too fast and too satirical to actually really take any proper notice of anything - but I do find them amusing.  :)

Quote from: Nefaro on February 16, 2013, 05:17:02 PM
Have they actually announced anything about official multiplayer servers?

From what I've seen, it seems to work out if a player can host, and then it uses that player as the host. In many of my MP games of ACM, I've been the host. 

Quote from: Nefaro on February 16, 2013, 05:17:02 PM
It sounds like it could be some fun, if the Alien control scheme is decent as mentioned.  I recall playing the first AvP long long ago in the far far way and the damn aliens were a pain in the ass to control.  Although that did offer some hilarious laughs when I'd see a buddy running back & forth with an screaming alien engulfed in flames, because it moved so fast he couldn't find the side tunnel to get to cover.  ;D

I can certainly confirm that the Alien control mechanism is a lot better than the AVP game. You actively hold a key (on 360 its the left trigger) to stay latched onto a surface. You can move in all directions once on a surface, and usually at speed if you sprint. The best advantage is that a jump off the surface that you're clung onto performs a powerful leap, you cannot do whilst you're just jumping normally. If you use the latch on key whilst just stood right way up normally, you also can power leap. Essentially, this latching on, gives you a great feeling of power and control. You can leap from surface to surface and you have very accurate control of the process. Clinging onto a ceiling and advancing is very do-able. Dropping from a ceiling or pouncing from a hidden position are skills that you should have after a few games trying them out. Stick a hollow exoskeleton onto a Soldier drone, and you move like shit off a shovel!!

The multiplayer game is the shiny object in the game. It's only limited by the low map count, 4 or 5 I think. And most of the other modes are a bit contrived. The Team Deathmatch is where its at, for team co-operation and alien domination. There is a sort of capture the flag mode, where you have to destroy the eggs in known locations, but obviously this results in utter carnage, because the Aliens know where you will be. Still can be frantically fun. Theres an objective based mode, where you run through several compounds, and the Aliens have to take you out as you try to escape. The marines get an auto-turret. If they're levelled up and heavily customised with fast firing guns, flamers and rocket launchers. As Aliens you have a rough time stopping them. The odds seem stacked too far against the Aliens.

I'll wager when it all comes out that the MP was designed by TimeGate Studios, it feels like a TimeGate setup - following the very underrated Section 8 FPS they did. I have a lot of time for TimeGate Studios, with Kohan, Section 8 and now involvement in this title. I really can't see why the press is overreacting to the game itself. Perhaps the way SEGA managed it, or Gearbox toyed with it, but the game is very playable, it can create tension and exciting set pieces, and the multiplayer is some of the best 6 vs 6 asymmetric team play I've seen. The customisation is just enough to make doing it worth the effort. You can have team classes, with fast but weak Soldier Drones, heavily armour chitin based acid spitters, very powerful leap strikes in the Lurkers, and you have two special types of Alien bosses, a big Tricerotops style charger, and a suicide acid bombing, tough skinned exploder (I think they're called Boilers). You have 5 marines in a claymore riddled defensive position with 360 cross-fire coverage, toting flamers, pulse rifles, and rocket launchers? Then call in the Boiler to acid splash their faces into a pool of gibs! :)

Gearbox themselves have made very high quality games in the past; no one could ever accuse the Brothers In Arms games of utter realism, especially in how the semi-immortal infinite ammo teammate bots played out, but Gearbox worked hard on them.

Back to Yahtzee for a minute, buried in his trademark withering criticism is a salient design point I've heard expressed in different ways from other reviewers: the Marines often seem too overpowered (though I've seen them routinely killed off in gameplay videos), yet much of the thematic point of the original Aliens was to take a supremely confident team who ought to have been wildly overpowered and reduce them to incompetence via Alien attack so that the common-sense Ripley can come in and clean up after them. That was a story design meant to provide a sense of safety for the audience (and maybe vengeance at having been scared so badly by the first movie), then to rip that safety away, even though James Cameron had to cheat on occasion by nerfing the Marines (collect all the ammo, flamers only. "What are we gonna use, harsh language?!")

But it leaves a very difficult balance to strike: the Marines in the movie do kill lots of Xenos, they're just eventually overrun (much like a Space Marines vs. Tyrannid Zerg Tyrannid swarm, by no coincidence whatsoever ;) ) That literally set the template for action-based survival horror forever after! But how does one make that scary in a game? Yahtzee's basic critic (along this line) was the same as his basic crit for Dead Space 3 (a very Aliens inspired game and franchise): too many people helping (or rather, too many people competently helping too often), too much firepower.

But then other people seem to find the game scary-fine as it is...? I don't know.

It does lead me back to thinking of Space Hulk, though. The Terminators have naturally superior firepower, but are carefully balanced by their inability to respond or move very quickly or attack beyond a narrow cone. Flamers, which have a much wider attack?--very limited ammo. (Heavy bolters are too restricted in their ammo, on the other hand, to bother ever using them, at least in the computer version from SSI, but at least the same principles apply: ratchet up the tension by making their use an irrevocable choice.) Any hand-to-hand weaponry doesn't have much better than a 33% chance of winning against a face-on attack, and none against flanking or rear attacks. Space Marines in an area die off and stay dead, hampering the player's ability to succeed--they don't die for scripted reasons.

That game is literally as old as the original Doom, and it seems much scarier than anything I've seen in Aliens: Colonial Marine. On the other hand, at no time did even the Space Hulk missions in Dawn of War 2 (or Kill Team for that matter) scare me in the slightest; but neither were they supposed to.

Of course, ColMar could have been set up to be scarier by making the game a Ripley-ish story. I was fairly scared during the Marine sections of the first Aliens vs. Predator, because I was alone with limited ammo. Sure, I was a Marine not Ripley, but the basic principle was the same. I get the feeling from negative reviews that there's too much of not-that in ColMar. ;)


Allow me to mention another salient example from back in the days of the original Unreal engine: The Wheel Of Time. This was a highly atmospheric game verging hard into what amounted to Aliens territory: even though only a few enemies ever showed up at a time, the player was playing a woman who wasn't combat trained who had to rely on carefully sparse limited ammo (even though her FPS weapons and other abilities were quite varied in principle), in areas designed to take full advantage of what the engine could and could not do. That game often scared me spitless. I have cousins who refused to play it after a particular point, not because of a gross level of violence (which was barely existent), or even because the enemies looked frightening (one artistic complaint was the that Trollocs all looked humorously skinny), but because of sheer game design. (The aesthetic was occasionally broken by laughably risible costume designs, but their mis-designs actually hurt more because the game was so effective in its design otherwise.)

A further reflection: maybe to be a more effective Aliens experience, the player should have been assigned to a communications soldier or a medic, someone who's trained to fight, sure, but isn't really expected to do so compared to the other guys. And then over the course of the game, sure he gets better, but the level-ups are rarer and occur at scripted points. I dunno, I'm spitballing here, maybe the game tries that already...

In Multiplayer team deathmatch the Marines are often overrun by the Aliens side, and after the first wave of attacks have subsided, the team of marines are a bunch of very underpowered singletons trying to find there way back to the other Marines, in the dark, with only their tracker for comfort. Easy Alien meat. The marines only ever present a formidable force when they're in pairs or a full group covering each other. Mostly it's swift deaths. I find the multiplayer TDM so much more effective at providing tense moments than the single player campaign. Having said that the single player campaign isn't without it's 'holy shit' moments, and some eery scrabbling around in the sewer system. No weapons.

QuoteMaybe you know this already... But what if someone told you Gearbox did not make the game?

So what? I don't get your point. The game was done by Gearbox, that was the contract with SEGA. They hired studios to have enough time for Borderlands, which was not what SEGA had in mind I suppose. We don't know which studio did the major part of the game and it doesn't matter because the Gearbox stamp is on the box, that's the one that matters, for SEGA and the gamers. And btw, Timegate did an awesome job with Section 8 Prejudice, that game is far superior to ACM so I highly doubt they had much to do with it.

Quote from: Grimnirsson on February 28, 2013, 01:04:37 PM

QuoteMaybe you know this already... But what if someone told you Gearbox did not make the game?

So what? I don't get your point. The game was done by Gearbox, that was the contract with SEGA. They hired studios to have enough time for Borderlands, which was not what SEGA had in mind I suppose. We don't know which studio did the major part of the game and it doesn't matter because the Gearbox stamp is on the box, that's the one that matters, for SEGA and the gamers. And btw, Timegate did an awesome job with Section 8 Prejudice, that game is far superior to ACM so I highly doubt they had much to do with it.

Everyone screwed up here. SEGA clearly wanted the Gearbox brand on the front of the box to sell to Borderlands fans, and just as clearly didn't do much to check on how the development of the game was going. It now sounds like Gearbox farmed it out to Timegate, then brought it back and changed a whole bunch of stuff last minute instead of asking for another extension. Timegate didn't do a very good job on their end, but it also sounds like the development directives from both Gearbox and SEGA were so totally vague as to be useless...and when they weren't vague, you suddenly had 2 different companies worth of overseers trying to steer the ship along with Timegate devs. Mix in 2 other developers who did the MP and this thing was doomed from the start. Every company involved deserves a smack across the face. And in the cases of Gearbox and Timegate, one wonders if this is going to make it a bit more difficult for them to find future publishers for games that aren't part of a well known brand.

Not a game for me, but saw this and though some of you might be interested....

Just a heads up that there a 4GB patch has been released:  http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/122774-4gb-Patch-For-Aliens-Colonial-Marines-Improves-AI-Graphics

Quote

General
Improved texture resolution.
Various visual improvements.
Added mouse smoothing to options menu.
Fixed crashes tied to launch and motion tracker.
Added additional safeguards to better protect save data.
Resolved an issue where a player's level could sometimes appear incorrect when backing out of a party.
Addressed several scenarios under which players could spawn without a weapon.
Changes to better prevent audio from sometimes cutting out during end of mission cinematics.
Fixed issue where Xeno death animation was not properly calculating momentum of the killing blow.
Smart Gun animation now properly tracks targets.
Addressed some instances where Xenos would display erratic animations.
Increased light radius for player's shoulder lamp.
Adjusted aim assist to better reflect player input.
Addressed an issue that could sometimes cause co-op player revival to not work under certain circumstances.
Addressed issues with players not spawning into a level properly.
Fixed a marine player invincibility exploit.
Resolved several instances where players could walk or fall outside of maps.
Addressed an issue where Ripley's Flamethrower (bonus content) would sometimes fire continuously without player input.
Fixed an issue that could cause localized text to sometimes display incorrectly.
Addressed an issue where weapon ammunition was not always highlighted properly.
General user interface improvements.
Miscellaneous bug fixes.

Campaign
Tweaked enemy and friendly AI to be more aggressive and responsive.
Modified campaign difficulty to account for improved AI responsiveness.
Improved enemy collision detection regarding doors and Power Loader.
Addressed some issues that could cause improper warping for co-op players.
Various tweaks to address instances where NPC characters would not always properly navigate to objectives.
Players will no longer bleed out immediately when downed in a Power Loader.

Versus
Fixed issues that could cause clients to report inaccurate results and statistics.
Addressed instances where a map would appear to "pop in" when loading into a new match.
New Xeno appearance customization added.
Multiplayer teams should now correctly auto-balance between rounds.
Increased duration of Lurker Pounce Challenge "Cat-Like Reflexes" from 10 to 20 seconds.
Fixed issue where certain multiplayer challenges would not unlock properly for all characters.
Crusher pick-ups now correctly appear as highlighted for clients.

A 4GB patch!? Sounds like they released a new game!

Quote from: bbmike on March 19, 2013, 02:25:51 PM
A 4GB patch!? Sounds like they released a new game!

I wouldn't be that hopeful... :o

Quote from: Jarhead0331 on March 19, 2013, 02:27:57 PM

Quote from: bbmike on March 19, 2013, 02:25:51 PM
A 4GB patch!? Sounds like they released a new game!

I wouldn't be that hopeful... :o

ZING!

And now SEGA Europe admits (http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2013-04-03-sega-europe-admits-to-misleading-colonial-marines-trailers) that they new their advertising trailers were misleading :

QuoteSega Europe has admitted to the Advertising Standards Authority that its trailers for Aliens: Colonial Marines were misleading.

Sega's position was revealed by a Reddit user with the pseudonym "subpardave", who had submitted a complaint to the A.S.A. due to the "absurd" differences between the footage used to advertise the game and the quality of the finished product.

"My aim was not to get fines, compensation or any of that. Gearbox and Sega spoke very clearly - by saying absolutely nothing - and showed the purchasing community that they would rather this mess all quietly disappear," he said.

"The games industry - like any other - needs to be held accountable for blatantly deceiving the consumer. And doubly so when a wall of silence is the only response to resounding criticism for shipping a shoddy product, having shown off one with all the bells and whistles."

Subpardave linked to a response letter sent by the A.S.A., which reveals that, while Sega Europe claims that all trailers were created with the Colonial Marines in-game engine, the differences with the released product, "did not accurately reflect the final content of the game."

Sega Europe has agreed to add a disclaimer to all videos published on its website and via YouTube stating that they depict a demo version of the game.

"We consider that with the disclaimer in place, customers are unlikely to get the impression that the trailer shows the finished product, and the ads are therefore unlikely to mislead," the A.S.A.'s response read.

Aliens: Colonial Marines, which was co-developed by Gearbox Software and TimeGate Studios, was released in February after a protracted development cycle. The game hit the top spot in the UK charts despite receiving some of the worst reviews of the year.

It's hardly a massive smoking gun, but it does at least show that their earlier claims that Gearbox and the other devs had misled them and they didn't know the actual state of the game was crap.

That's hilarious -- usually when a "disclaimer" is given that the footage is "demo", that implies the viewer should overlook some of the graphical weaknesses because the finished game may look better.

EA wins.

Its pretty shocking that it still hit the top of the UK gaming charts despite all the criticism.  Also, would be cool if they released the demo that they used to make the trailers.   

^ Kind of goes to show the kind of shite we're used to here - and that it doesn't take much more than a polished turd to do well in the UK  ;)

And the lawsuits begin...

http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/05/01/gearbox-sega-sued-over-aliens-colonial-marines

Quote"The games industry - like any other - needs to be held accountable for blatantly deceiving the consumer. And doubly so when a wall of silence is the only response to resounding criticism for shipping a shoddy product, having shown off one with all the bells and whistles."

This.

Very interesting regarding the lawsuit.  I'll be following the case with interest.

^Maybe the answer is for reviewers to be given a final copy of the game a week or two prior to release and not have some embargo on reviews?

Of course there is one other answer - regardless of what people saw or were led to believe in the released videos of "actual gameplay footage" - waiting for reviews is a safer way to protect your money. And a self confessed horder of games - that's a difficult thing for me to acknowledge.

I'm just saying - there sometimes seems to be a push to remove responsibility from ones-self (and no doubt I've been guilty of that before). Clearly people were misled - and clearly, with the review embargo, the company didn't want that getting out - and most certainly there should be cause for some sort of punishment being dished out there...but ULTIMATE responsibility could reast with the user.

Of course - lets say all this went on without any reviews or discussions of the game being allowed - then people would only have the trailer to go on...but that is likely to never be the case in this new tech world of ours - is it?

I'm about 3 hours into the SP campaign, got the game for 4.99 over the weekend. That patch must have been a miracle worker...so far I feel the game is aight.

^^^ HERESY! YOU HAVE BEEN TAINTED BY THE GENESTEALERS!!!

:D

Maybe. I had some fun, I can't help it!

I got stuck in the damn hangar during the first stages...when genius threw the grenade and took out one of the drop ships, then you're holding on trying to hold off the aliens while said genius tries to hack a door open. It took me about eight tries before I finally could live to get through the door.

What gets me is, the aliens come right at the Marines, and will eventually take a Marine down, then come after whomever is next. However, said Marine that hit the ground will miraculously just stand right back up again once the encounter is over.

Anyway, I'm not going to rehash old arguments over how much this game sucks. As Gus' said, for five bucks it's aight. Not great, but for a fan of  the genre, it's not bad.

Quote from: Gusington on September 02, 2013, 04:41:26 PM
I'm about 3 hours into the SP campaign, got the game for 4.99 over the weekend. That patch must have been a miracle worker...so far I feel the game is aight.

I always thought the game was pretty ok right out of the box.  The game was judged on what it was supposed to be and not what it actually was. While it fell far short of promises and expectations, I still thought it was a pretty fun game.   

Banzai that frickin' hangar mission took me like 25 tries on normal difficulty! Finally found a defensible position among some crates and got through it.

JH I daresay the game is decent when not judged against expectations, like you said. If i had never heard of it and just randomly picked it up for 5.00 dollah I would think I was getting away with something.

In case some people still have/play this game :

https://www.bluesnews.com/s/191785/a-typo-broke-aliens-colonial-marines-ai
https://www.resetera.com/threads/aliens-colonial-marines-ai-fixed-by-a-single-letter.55247/

A story on ResetEra highlights a post on Mod DB that suggests some of the problems with unintelligent AI in Aliens Colonial Marines may be the result of a typo in the code.

Knowing full well how absurd this sounds on the surface, I took it upon myself to reinstall the PC version of the game, look at the .ini file and check myself. Sure enough, a single letter typo was found exactly where he claimed. I was in disbelief. As recommended, I fixed the typo, saved it in Notepad and booted the game up.

The improvement is immediately recognizable in your first encounters with the Xenos. While they still charge you perched on their hind legs, they now crawl far more often, flank you using vents and holes in the environment and are generally far more engaged and aggressive. Five years after release, a single letter managed to overhaul the entirety of the enemy AI behavior in the game.

^ Thanks, Pete, for posting that.

I'm going to give it a try myself. Might take a while to install but if that's the only thing...hell why not.

I might try some mods too. My PC isn't a thoroughbred but it should still hopefully run.

lol... this cannot be true!

Hmm...interesting, the AI was the reason i didn't finish and uninstalled. When i work my way around to reinstalling this going to have to install that mod and give it a go. If its a simple fix, why didn't the developers fix it? The whole release was a fiasco. Thanks for the information.

...and with the AI "fixed" Aliens: Colonial Marines Collection (https://fanatical.com/en/game/aliens-colonial-marines-collection) is also on sale at Fanatical for $2.99 for the next ~21 hours.

Includes:

Aliens Colonial Marines
Aliens Colonial Marines - Stasis Interrupted
Aliens Colonial Marines: Bug Hunt DLC
Aliens Colonial Marines: Reconnaissance Map Pack DLC
Aliens: Colonial Marines - Collector's Edition Pack
Aliens: Colonial Marines - Double-Barrelled Shotgun
Aliens: Colonial Marines - Limited Edition Pack
Aliens: Colonial Marines - Movie Map Pack
Aliens: Colonial Marines - Sharp Sticks

Well, I just searched my folder as specified in the article, and cannot find the file.

The article says to go to "My Document\My Games\Aliens Colonial Marines\PecanGame\Config\PecanEngine.ini" but it's not located there. My folder search ends in the Config folder, and there's no PecanEngine.ini file in that folder. There IS a "UserConfig" folder with two sub-folders that each have a PecanEngine.ini file, but I could not find the line specified in the article that is typo'd (I did a search in Notepad++ and no dice).

I then went back and searched the entire Aliens Colonial Marines folder for every PecanEngine.ini file and found no less than seven of them. I checked each but none of them have the indicated value/programming line.

I went into Windows to display hidden files, just in case, and nothing extra appears.

I'm at a loss; I can't get it to do this.

Though...maybe it has to do with installing the mods? I guess I'll give that a shot.

COME ON - do it for The Team.

I played it for maybe 30 minutes total this weekend - I can't tell a difference in the AI, and no added files were placed in the specified folder. I thought I had read that the mod would fix this issue. I've actually died a few times. If it didn't have a damned checkpoint system it might be less frustrating. Maybe it IS working better, now.

 :buck2:

Quote from: BanzaiCat on July 16, 2018, 03:57:22 PM
I played it for maybe 30 minutes total this weekend - I can't tell a difference in the AI, and no added files were placed in the specified folder. I thought I had read that the mod would fix this issue. I've actually died a few times. If it didn't have a damned checkpoint system it might be less frustrating. Maybe it IS working better, now.

Where did you fin the correct file and path? I'm having the same issue. Can't find the file with the referenced code?

Quote from: Jarhead0331 on July 17, 2018, 01:15:57 PM

Quote from: BanzaiCat on July 16, 2018, 03:57:22 PM
I played it for maybe 30 minutes total this weekend - I can't tell a difference in the AI, and no added files were placed in the specified folder. I thought I had read that the mod would fix this issue. I've actually died a few times. If it didn't have a damned checkpoint system it might be less frustrating. Maybe it IS working better, now.

Where did you fin the correct file and path? I'm having the same issue. Can't find the file with the referenced code?

Nevermind...found it. It was in my onedrive...strange.

Have you tried it out?

^not yet. Sooooon....

Played many hours of ACM back when released.Played game and DLC to completion and  unlocked everything. Many hours spent playing the hoard mode (Survivor) in solo. What a rush!

Quote from: Jarhead0331 on July 17, 2018, 01:20:05 PM

Quote from: Jarhead0331 on July 17, 2018, 01:15:57 PM

Quote from: BanzaiCat on July 16, 2018, 03:57:22 PM
I played it for maybe 30 minutes total this weekend - I can't tell a difference in the AI, and no added files were placed in the specified folder. I thought I had read that the mod would fix this issue. I've actually died a few times. If it didn't have a damned checkpoint system it might be less frustrating. Maybe it IS working better, now.

Where did you fin the correct file and path? I'm having the same issue. Can't find the file with the referenced code?

Nevermind...found it. It was in my onedrive...strange.

What's the path/folder, JH? I want to double check to see if the mod changed it or not.

Quote from: BanzaiCat on July 18, 2018, 10:13:27 AM

Quote from: Jarhead0331 on July 17, 2018, 01:20:05 PM

Quote from: Jarhead0331 on July 17, 2018, 01:15:57 PM

Quote from: BanzaiCat on July 16, 2018, 03:57:22 PM
I played it for maybe 30 minutes total this weekend - I can't tell a difference in the AI, and no added files were placed in the specified folder. I thought I had read that the mod would fix this issue. I've actually died a few times. If it didn't have a damned checkpoint system it might be less frustrating. Maybe it IS working better, now.

Where did you fin the correct file and path? I'm having the same issue. Can't find the file with the referenced code?

Nevermind...found it. It was in my onedrive...strange.

What's the path/folder, JH? I want to double check to see if the mod changed it or not.

I'm not in front of my system now, but for me, I believe it was: users\(my user name)\My Document\My Games\Aliens Colonial Marines\PecanGame\Config\PecanEngine.ini

Note: It is not in the game files located within the steamapps folder.

Thanks, JH. I'd been looking in the x86 Program Files folder, not the Users folder.

The "Teather" typo is indeed in that file. I made the change (had to right click > Properties > remove the Read Only status to do so) and fixed it. Saved the file and re-applied the Read Only status (not sure if that makes a difference in how the program interacts with that file or not).

Won't have time to play it until later, but it'll be interesting to see how it differs, especially after having just tried it a few days ago and not noticing any change.

Its been so long since I've played it, I'm not sure it will be so obvious whether there is an improvement. I enjoyed the game for what it was worth when it came out. I reloaded it when the graphics overhaul mod was released by the same guy who discovered this simple error. It seemed like a drastic improvement and definitely worth trying too to those who haven't given it a whirl.