The Official Playstation Magazine (UK) had a world exclusive playthrough of Aliens: Colonial Marines, the much delayed Gearbox shooter. Below is all they saw, heard, and shot at.
- Their private demo features an alien 'the size of a T-Rex' slice through a cargo shutter and bite the player's head off.
- Gearbox are adding to the story of the films, focusing on the backup that arrived too late for the original Colonial Marines.
- The mission, at first, is simple - explore the USS Sulaco, find out what happened, and land on the moon of LV-426. Guess what? It doesn't go to plan.
- The OPM demo starts with a cutscene as the USS crashes into the LV-426.
- Linear gameplay paths are used to build tension. See that 'dead' facehugger? Yeah, it's alive, and it'll jump up to try hug your face. Which is not as friendly as it first sounds.
- Taking a leaf from Doom's bloodied book, equipping the motion tracker means you can't also have a gun at the ready, so you have to decide to be armed in the dark or defenceless but knowing what's around you.
- The game looks pretty. Randy Pitchford explains; "We want to have the best looking engine that anyone's ever seen for this type of game".
- Xenos announce their arrival by plucking a team-mate up into the ceiling vent. The buggers take two shots from the shotgun to kill.
- OPM were unimpressed with the game thus far - weak shotguns, awkward QTEs, and the lack of a musical shift during chases left them 'a mite cold'.
- However, it does get better as hordes of aliens attack electrical systems, and the lights go off one by one.
- Burke and Hudson? "They're there somewhere". Expect a celebrity cameo.
- You can ride the dropship Bishop, Ripley, Hicks and Newt were on.
- Four-player co-op is confirmed.
While OPM end by saying there is a lot of work to be done, they note Gearbox are passionate and talented enough to do this right. Issue 60 of OPM is out now, with lots of awesomeness betwixt the pages. Go get.