Alien: Isolation

[little P]

FINALLY! It looks like we are going to get what every fan of the Alien franchise has been waiting for, an experience based around the first movie rather than the James Cameron fragfests (That's right I'm looking at you Colonial Marines). The game is set in 2137, 15 years after the events of Alien and 42 years prior to Aliens.

[video=youtube;9_wCUTIGc5A]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_wCUTIGc5A[/video]

[video=youtube;uqmlNjPWNXA]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqmlNjPWNXA[/video]
Please be aware this video contains spoilers but I enjoyed watching it anyway, just be warned it shows the first part of a level...
[video=youtube;7EWe69vP1pA]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EWe69vP1pA[/video]

I haven't played a "scary" game since Doom 3. They have always made me feel too uneasy, I put it down to the fact I allow myself to become completely immersed in a game when I play, so games like that make me shi* my pants at every turn and I can't sleep at night. I really wanted to play the Dead Space games but couldn't because I didn't want to give my wife extra laundry to do

BUT, this is Alien, and I absolutely cannot wait to experience this, with it being Ripley's daughter trying to find out what happened to her mother, and the story is supposed to be a great homage to the original's feel and atmosphere. I love the fact the Alien is constantly hunting you down, so everything you do could alert it and bring it down on you which is totally not scripted. Reminds me of the bad ass thing in Residnet Evil that could smash through a wall/door at any time so you were never safe.

If only I had an Oculus Rift, although I'm not sure the ticker would hold up to it...

I only hope my rig can play this on the settings it deserves, as I really want to get the full experience and it will obviously be better than the Xbox One version.

One thing I've noticed with the Xbox One is the damn jaggies are everywhere. Most people don't seem to even notice them, but once you've played PC games with forced AA and higher resolutions and 60fps etc. it kind of spoils the consoles really, and jaggies would totally ruin the immersion. I love the fact there is no HUD as well. Love that.

Roll on the 7th!

Anyone else planning on playing this?

 

[Kenadian]

My favorite movie of all time is John Carpenter's version of The Thing. I quite literally watch this movie once every few months and have done so since leaving home 27 years ago.

The utter claustrophobic nature of it, the uncertainty, the mistrust and unraveling of the crew at Outpost 31 is so well done by the cast that you can cut the tension with a knife.

I hadn't seen Alien when if first came out so all horror sci-fi has been based on The Thing, had I seen Alien first I've no doubt it would have been the standard.

The first Alien movie was so well done and what jump scares there were in the movie made sense. They made no attempt to go over the top with action nor did they fall into the same trap that many movies do this day by weakly attempting to draw in humor.

Very much like The Thing, Alien drew it's atmosphere from a claustrophobic situation that no one could escape from. It was a bleak story about survival and facing your fears; it was dark, unflinching and completely honest and I love that about the movie.

It didn't hurt that Sigourney Weaver's pretty easy on the eyes.

If they did indeed capture the straight forward approach to horror that the original Alien did then I'm all in. Like you though I'm not sure if my ticker can handle it, I'm either going to have a heart attack or stroke out.

Right now I'm playing through The Vanishing of Ethan Carter and that's got me spooked and I know nothing. I know what to expect in Alien and I'm already scared lol.

 

[Noodleguitar]

I agree with both of you. The Thing and the Alien movies are really awesome.
I haven't seen the original version of The Thing, some say it's better than the remake but one of the main factors for me is how well they did the graphic effects which has to be considerably less realistic in the original version.

 

[Kenadian]

I agree with both of you. The Thing and the Alien movies are really awesome.
I haven't seen the original version of The Thing, some say it's better than the remake but one of the main factors for me is how well they did the graphic effects which has to be considerably less realistic in the original version.

The original movie wasn't as good imho however I saw for the first time many years after the John Carpenter version so my pov could certainly be skewed.

I can say that in reading the novel, I believe John Carpenters version stayed a bit truer to the story than the original movie.

I do know that the John Carpenter version is by far the most popular. Even though it was bashed by the critics and bombed at the box office, many credit it with being one of the best Horror/Sci-Fi movies of all time.

I'm sure that can be argued but you can't argue the fact that John Carpenter's version of The Thing is still being distributed today and my guess is always will be.

It's become a cult classic.

 

[Kitlope]

When I was 17 in 1991 and going out with the horniest broad I have ever been with I was finally able to watch The Thing. I remember enjoying the 1982 film but between a couple blow jobs and some good ol' sinking da sausauge, I still can't tell you anything about it.

Except Antarctica. I remember something about that.

 

[little P]

When I was 17 in 1991 and going out with the horniest broad I have ever been with I was finally able to watch The Thing. I remember enjoying the 1982 film but between a couple blow jobs and some good ol' sinking da sausauge, I still can't tell you anything about it.

Except Antarctica. I remember something about that.

I have the exact same story but while watching Aliens for the first time :lol:

Maybe that's why I like the Aliens movies so much

 

[little P]

Well I've just ordered the "Ripley Edition" which includes the extra missions; "Crew Expendable" and "Last survivor".



Absolutely cannot wait to scare the crap out of myself playing this. And it's £20 cheaper on the PC than the Xbox One! Got to love it

I might Twitch this, although I'm sure people won't want to hear me shouting "AAAGH!! Run Away!!!" every five seconds

 

[Kenadian]

I'm going to wait for a Steam Sale when it's $5.

So I'll share my first impressions in early 2017 or so.

 

[little P]

After watching your youtube vid on the vanishing of ethan carter I so want to watch you play this :lol:

 

[Kenadian]

After watching your youtube vid on the vanishing of ethan carter I so want to watch you play this :lol:

Ya lol, you should have seen Doom3; I actually broke my Computer Desk on that game.

 

[little P]

Ya lol, you should have seen Doom3; I actually broke my Computer Desk on that game.

I'm with you there, I think I actually shi* my pants playing that damn game :icon_eek:

 

[little P]

Well, I've played the first part of the "last survivor" exclusive content to the Ripley edition, and I kid you not I nearly had a heart attack.

I'm not sure I can play this game in the dark :icon_eek:

Just for giggles I'm going to twitch this later on starting from scratch through the main story, with mic on.

I apologise for the swearing and fart noises in advance :icon_redface:

 

[Kenadian]

I may pick this up after I finish The Vanishing of Ethan Carter and upload it to YouTube.

...assuming I can live through it.

 

[Solo4114]

Definitely passing on this one. I have no desire to scare myself out of a good night's sleep. Y'all have fun, though!

Meanwhile, I'm replaying Sid Meier's Pirates! which is a fun little casual game. That and the occasional game of Team Fortress 2.

 

[little P]

Well, I've played it for quite a few hours now in no more than two hour bursts as that was about all I could manage. I watched the original Alien (Directors Cut) immediately before playing the game for the first time, and I recommend everyone does this beforehand as it really does make you appreciate the attention to detail in this title.

The atmosphere this game generates is like nothing else I've ever played. I actually feel like I'm there... trying to survive in what seems like a hopeless situation.

That is awesome but also extremely unsettling too, as the sensation of fear and anxiety is very, very real. My heart felt like it was going to burst out of my chest on several occasions, and it took a good while after quitting the game to come back into the real world, sans murderous alien chasing after me.

I must say this is one of the best optimized games I've experienced in a while too, even with graphics like this; (quick shot of where I am in the game right now, look at the fear portrayed on this guy's face)





I'm still getting a framerate well over 60 even when all hell breaks loose. The graphics really are breathtaking in places...

Anyone who is a fan of the Alien series, you owe it to yourself to play this, it is so, sooo good at recreating the original film's style and atmosphere.

I don't know what IGN were smoking when they reviewed this game, they really did screw up there. I agree with the majority of reviews, this is definitely a 90%+ game from what I've seen so far.

 

[Kenadian]

I don't know what IGN were smoking when they reviewed this game, they really did screw up there.

IGN's reviews are for sale.

There have been a number of YouTuber's commenting on this very issue as well as nearly all the bigger guys are approached to do promotional advertising.

IGN has just taken it a step further and incorporated it into their review system as have many of the larger so called "Game News/Reviews Websites".

Actually, Total Biscuit just did a video mentioning something similar in his "WTF is" for Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor. They were not going to give him Review Code until the 11th hour unless he agreed to do some sort of promotional advertising for them.

Fortunately he's big enough and ethical enough to have not gone there and find another way to get Review Code that didn't compromise his shows integrity.

 

[little P]

Hmm, interesting you bring that guy up, I watched one of his videos about Watchdogs earlier...

It certainly does seem this way in this case. It's strange, IGN were hyping this right up before hand, just for them to give it a ridiculously low score, it seems something is going on behind the scenes.

This has really made my mind up that I'm not going to trust IGN's reviews anymore. I think I'll rely more on twitch and let's plays to make my mind up if needed. The only problem with that is spoilers, which is why I always liked to read reviews, as they wouldn't give anything away, but it seems to be getting increasingly difficult to find somewhere you can trust.

Back on topic though, I got killed for the first time by the Xenomorph tonight, and oh my f****** word I shat my pants BIG time. So much so that I haven't been able to go back into it since and had to go and play some Peggle just to calm myself down lol

I wouldn't describe this as fun, by it's very nature it cannot be fun or relaxing, but it is an experience like none other that's for damn sure. A terrifying, pant soiling, give you nightmares for weeks kind of experience... :icon_eek:

I love the whole, "ok, I just got speared through the chest from behind and had my head ripped clean off because I tried to run, how do I do this differently to keep my head attached to my shoulders?" mechanic.

The fact the Alien has it's own A.I. and is free to roam the entire station (bar a few scripted events obviously) tracking you down gives it that constant sense of terror and panic that can only come from operating in that kind of environment.

I've honestly never played anything quite like it.