They’re Giving This “Aliens Shooter” Thing Another Try
One of the biggest video game flops of the 2010s was Aliens: Colonial Marines, released by Sega. An embarrassing, shallow and buggy mess, it might have forever tainted the brand if Alien: Isolation hadn’t come to the rescue and produced a true classic. That, however, was survival horror, not a co-op shooter. Now, developer Cold Iron Studios is daring to give the shooter genre another shot. They’ve just announced Aliens: Fireteam, an Alien-skinned variation on Left 4 Dead coming to consoles and PC this summer.
The game is set after Alien 3, when the existence of Xenomorphs has become public human knowledge — and a real threat. Several space colonies are under attack by Xeno hives, and your squad is being sent as exterminators. There’s more to deal with than the previous team had, though. New variants of Xenomorphs not seen in the movies include Spitters, who hock deadly acid balls at you, and Bursters, who happen to be filled with a lot more acid and have to be dealt with from a distance. Add in the usual Warriors, Facehuggers, deadly Queens, and synthetic robots gone rogue, and you’ve got a lot on your plate. There are 11 varieties in all.
Players will fight in teams of three and wield considerable firepower. There will be five classes for each: Gunner, Demolisher, Technician, Doc, and Recon. Each of these classes comes with its own unique ability, such as the Gunner’s “Overclock” talent that temporarily doubles your team’s fire and reload speed. The game will pack in four campaigns, composed of three missions each, and adjustable difficulty levels.
That’s all well and good, but the most important thing here is quality. Aliens: Colonial Marines had some impressive-sounding features as well, and then the game came out. We’re looking forward to Aliens: Fireteam with some trepidation…once bit, twice shy. The game will be released for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and the PC in the summer of 2021.