The ALIENS films have always had a special place in my heart. When I was younger, I remember my brother and myself running around in the backyard pretending we were in a last stand situation against hordes of xenomorphs. We bought the toys, comics, and read the various spin-off books. After seeing a brief demo of ALIENS: Colonial Marines today at E3, I felt like that little kid once again running around in the backyard with a water-gun.
The demo on hand isn’t necessarily an exact level — E3 demos tend to be created with the purpose of showing what the game is all about in the shortest amount of time. However, it did show a number of features that will be making it into the final game when it launches next year. One of these was drop-in/drop-out co-op that adds the new player to the platoon of marines that are moving through Hadley’s Hope on LV-426, the planet that was featured in the ALIENS film. As the squad continues to move through this facility, series staples start to make an appearance: Pulse rifles, motion trackers, sentry turrets, load lifters, etc. — it’s all here. The team has also introduced a different alien-type, known simply as the Crusher which looks like a cross between an Alien and a rhino. It tore through the environment, smashing hapless marines in its path, and shows that Gearbox is finding ways to add to their favorite franchise.
