Alien: Isolation

[sandman2575]

I see. Raising 'awareness' (among other things) for breast cancer. Kudos guys -- you do Rock Paper Shotgun proud.


...that still doesn't explain Jarhead's avatar though -- unless HeMan is meant to illustrate the spontaneous benefits of raised awareness...

[JudgeDredd]

I watched this video and I have to say, that looks crap pretty poor (and I don't think his voice over does it any favours)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XU5JJraK7jQ

Graphics look quite poor imo

Maybe it's the "game" is in the immersion, and I do love immersion in games, but I didn't really get any from that guys 2 20 minute videos...not really. 40 minutes and not a lot of anything.

What are you guys thinking of it (who are actually playing)...taking out the nostalgia aspect if you can?

[Huw the Poo]

Never, ever link to that dickhead's videos ever again!

[JudgeDredd]

lol

[endfire79]

that video was perfect, it saved me $50

[Bletchley_Geek]

Picked this up, even if I shouldn't.

Regarding the graphics & stability:

* It is a console port and it shows in some stuff like lack of Full Screen Anti-Aliasing (you don't need that on a system where you're rendering on 4K). There's post-processing anti-aliasing up to a 2x factor, so if you take a close look you'll probably see some aliasing creeping in. This only applies to the geometry - that is the edges - of objects in the game. The textures defaulted in my system to 16x Anisotropic Filtering, which is pretty good.

* On the other hand, the lighting in this game is f*cking amazing: it has texture and volume.

* I got very pretty consistent crashes - freezing my machine - with the Nvidia 344.11 drivers until I disabled vertical sync. Go figure.

Regarding the gameplay and immersion:

* After solving the freezes, I haven't been able to play the game much. I have only tried the "Crew Expendable" DLC which came with my pre-order. That DLC is basically re-enacting the scene when the Alien has killed already Harry Dean Stanton and scared the bejesus out of Yaphet Kotto, as the surviving members of the crew try to figure out a plan to get rid of the xenomorph.

* The characters feel a bit wooden - they were reciting lines from the movie as soon as I got near them (if you come back and forth, they'll be repeating those lines again, which feels a bit like you're in one of those theme park attractions with animatronic characters entering in hilarious loops). If you follow the script, though, in those initial stages, you do get a good immersion. When the Ian Holm lookalike recited his "encouragement" while I went down the hatch into the guts of the Nostromo, I did really feel like wanting to punch his android face.

* This game is f*cking scary. When the xenomorph caught me the first time - it just walked casually on my back while I was peeking around a corner, you know, in truly xenomorph fashion - I almost shat my pants, and I'm not kidding. And the xenomorph definitely isn't scripted - it is out there, with its own agenda, hunting you and I would say that sometimes he's "playing games" with you. You feel very vulnerable all the time, and when you're checking the motion detector and spot a blip there... man, my testicles retract quickly as hell and my breathing gets really heavy.

They totally capture the spirit of the first movie, if you get past the rather wooden NPCs that feel like props. I am not sure that this will be detrimental in the actual game: in principle, everyone but you is dead or crazy with fear, so not many opportunities for socializing :)

[JudgeDredd]

Thanks Bletchley (going to the movies this weekend??)

It does sound atmospheric...but I'm just not sure sneaking around and shitting myself is a good idea - not at my age.

Even with a full compliment of weapons, I'm not sure I'd be hardcore enough...but I would definitely have been more persuaded if it was based on Aliens with some badass arsenal.

Steam sale in a month, no? I'll give it a peak then - or at Christmas maybe

[Bletchley_Geek]

Thanks Bletchley (going to the movies this weekend??)

It does sound atmospheric...but I'm just not sure sneaking around and shitting myself is a good idea - not at my age.

Even with a full compliment of weapons, I'm not sure I'd be hardcore enough...but I would definitely have been more persuaded if it was based on Aliens with some badass arsenal.

Steam sale in a month, no? I'll give it a peak then - or at Christmas maybe

Heh, not a chance of going to the movies,  got my in-laws in town visiting :)

Yeah,I must say that facing this digital rendition of the xenomorph with an oversized lighter isn't very awesome. I do see that in the game there's a revolver, and a shotgun. Sure the Colonial Marines had better kit than that, but it didn't really help them a lot, the casualty rate was 90%.

And yes, definitely pick this up in a sale. Right now you'd get quite good value for money, but not awesome unless you're truly a fan of shitting your track suit pants :)

[BanzaiCat]

I'm getting enough vicarious pants-shitting just watching the Let's Play videos that MetraGaming put out.

Though whomever MetraGaming is they have little situational awareness...I'm shocked they haven't been killed yet.

That said, MetraGaming is loads better than that PewDiePie crack baby.

[JasonPratt]

Dang Tyrannid...

Just realized, that would make a hilarious LP, if a WH40K fan role-played Ripley's daughter as an Imperial citizen and commented on the events from that perspective. MAKE THAT HAPPEN INTERNET!!

[JasonPratt]

Jim and Yahtzee compete with each other to see who can survive the longest in Alien: Isolation. The video lasts less than 10 minutes...  ;D

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/uncivil-war/9793-Alien-Isolation-Survival-Challenge


Total Biscuit's review still isn't up yet, but Angry Joe has posted a livestream so his review should be up soon (they're both carefully critical though Joe is vastly more bombastic):

[BanzaiCat]

Thanks to Angry Joe, I've now seen Ripley die. 

[JasonPratt]

Wow, I didn't know the game ACTUALLY STARTS WITH LATE 70s 20th CENTURY FOX LOGO AND RELEVANT 'MOTHER' COMPUTER GRAPHICS!!

With VCR rolling after the opening logos.

...my interest has just jumped up several points.

[Gusington]

Damn, mine too.

[BanzaiCat]

All of the tech in the game is very reminiscent of the original Alien movie.

Even the computer terminals have that "the future as seen by 1979" feel to it.

The lighting is fantastic.

The music is straight up incredible and VERY good at heightening the tension.

The SFX are...well, there's nothing quite like seeing these videos where they're sneaking around but you hear the far-off thuds of something in the air ducts. Unless it's close-up sounds of the same thing. Or the thud-thud-thud of the Alien's footsteps.

Very immersive-looking game. I will probably buy it eventually.