Alien: Isolation

[Angthoron]

To be fair, that's a pretty good performance after Pritchford shat all over the franchise with the previous installment.

Also the previous AvP.

And Alien Resurrection.

Considering the damage to the brand, I'd have expected the game to flop. 2,1 mil sold is actually kinda okay.

 

[Morgoth]

1 million units sold at full price, the remainder was just Humble Bundle fodder that generated little revenue for Sega. Also, the game not being well received by the dirty masses might have more to do with it being not a retarded shooter fest and less about the brand.

But CA console team has been greenlit a couple months ago to make another AAA game. Isolation 2: Shooting Gallery or something entirely else?

 

[Angthoron]

Total War: Alien

 

[Unkillable Cat]

Whatever they make, we lose.

I'm still butthurt about them not caring enough to patch the first game, I'll be mad if they get to make a second one.

For a laugh I re-installed the game the other day and tried playing it on Hard. Turns out that the game is easier on Hard when it comes to the Alien, but encounters with androids and humans get tougher instead, not to mention the crafting.

Anyway, I make my way to the section early on where I'm supposed to use a console to override the security lockdown, the one where the Alien drops down from a vent in front of me and misses me by inches. Except I use the console and nothing happens. No cutscene. I make my way back to Comms and suddenly the Alien drops down and starts tracking me. Kinda early for my tastes, but nothing to worry about. I dodge the Alien and am making my way up the stairs when suddenly I find myself standing in outer space, everything is covered in stars, with a few pieces of space station hull visible. I then see a hand start typing on a console that isn't there, and then the Alien drops down from a vent that isn't there, landing on the floor in front of me that isn't there, I hide under a desk that isn't there, etc. It's then that I realize that I'm watching the cutscene that was supposed to happen by the console 3 minutes earlier...in outer space. Groovy.

When the cutscene ends I find myself back at the security lockdown console, standing there looking stupid, wondering just what drugs there had been in that last med-hypo. I retrace my steps back to the stairs, get through the door and the game continues as normal.

I gave up when I reached Medical and encountered several situations where I had just been spotted by the Alien and it impaled me from about 30 feet away. I know it's fast, but it's not that fast.

 

[DJOGamer PT]

So I been holding back this game for quite some time now. And can someone one tell if it's any good.
If it has tension, suspense and is it actualy scary like Amnesia, Penumbra or RE Remake?
Another thing is that I have heard that the Alien's AI is frustrating. Is it because is really good (does he really memorize player's actions, and thinks ahead) or is it frustating because it's shit?

 

[Excidium II]

It gets p. tense sometimes, trying to save is always an experience

Another thing is that I have heard that the Alien's AI is frustrating. Is it because is really good (does he really memorize player's actions, and thinks ahead) or is it frustating because it's shit?

It improves as the game progresses. It's not shitty it just feels cheaty sometimes but it creates tension.

 

[Jasede]

Best stealth game in a long time, my favorite since Thief 2. Atmosphere so thick you can cut it with a knife. First 3 hours of the game are incredible and worth the asking price by themselves. Art design outstanding. Sound design ditto.

Better than Amnesia because Amnesia is poorly programmed. I will never forget that one time I was supposed to run from a monster, only to trigger a fucking flashback that forced me to stop moving so the monster eats me.

Do you remember that room with the water in Amensia? That was a great room, right? This game is that good half the time. TBH I was shitting my pants during the first 3 hours, or longer, afraid to keep playing. And the only decent horror game in my mind is Silent Hill 2 because everything else relies on jumpscares instead of psychological horror. But this one just builds an atmosphere of sheer terror, at least for the first half.

This game, on the other hand, at least for about half of it, is like that terrifying corridor in Silent Hill 2 - you are terrified not because of jump scares or anything like that. You are terrified because of the oppressive mood and constant fear of death and helplessness. You are afraid to keep moving because it could spot you, but you are afraid of staying because it could find you. I am not trying to praise this too much but I really dig good horror and this game delivers in spades.

 

[DJOGamer PT]

Best stealth game in a long time, my favorite since Thief 2. Atmosphere so thick you can cut it with a knife. First 3 hours of the game are incredible and worth the asking price by themselves. Art design outstanding. Sound design ditto.

Better than Amnesia because Amnesia is poorly programmed. I will never forget that one time I was supposed to run from a monster, only to trigger a fucking flashback that forced me to stop moving so the monster eats me.

Do you remember that room with the water in Amensia? That was a great room, right? This game is that good half the time. TBH I was shitting my pants during the first 3 hours, or longer, afraid to keep playing. And the only decent horror game in my mind is Silent Hill 2 because everything else relies on jumpscares instead of psychological horror. But this one just builds an atmosphere of sheer terror, at least for the first half.

Thank you for your reply. That about Amnesia I really didn't knew because it is one of my favourite horror games (along wit RE Reamke and Penumbra) although the last I played it was 2 years or so...
Happy to know that they managed to get the tense atmosphere of the first movie.

It gets p. tense sometimes, trying to save is always an experience

Another thing is that I have heard that the Alien's AI is frustrating. Is it because is really good (does he really memorize player's actions, and thinks ahead) or is it frustating because it's shit?

It improves as the game progresses. It's not shitty it just feels cheaty sometimes but it creates tension.

Could you give me any examples please?

 

[Excidium II]

I can't give you examples without spoiling the surprises. Just play it, it's not that long

 

[DJOGamer PT]

Grrr... you little.

Thank you all the same.

 

[Unkillable Cat]

It's a game that starts out great, then starts slipping into shit about half-way through.

Still worth it if you can grab it for a tenner or so.

 

[ScottishMartialArts]

Just want to second that this is a very good game that is well worth playing. There were numerous occasions where I suddenly became aware that my entire body was tense and that I could feel my heart pounding. Easily the scariest game I've ever played.

 

[Curious_Tongue]

 

[Starwars]

Still think this game was pretty shitty overall. Looking close to the Alien film (which it does, and is damn well optimized to boot) doesn't make it a good game. Did not find this game particularly scary, though plenty frustrating in some places.

Feels a bit like Alien Fanboyism The Game. And as a game it's merely average, going from average to worse as it goes on. And if you care about story and such, yeah... it's shitty.

 

[Jick Magger]

Thought it was pretty decent overall for the first 8 hours or so, though still felt the game was padded out length-wise in alot of different places. By the time you've blown up the nest it had pretty much exhausted all of its tricks and just started to get tedious, but the game still makes the fateful decision to keep going for another 5 or so hours, and that's when it just becomes shit. By the eight or so hour point (i.e. after you've blown the first one out the airlock) the alien had stopped feeling like a terrifying monster to me and just became an extremely annoying obstacle that would arbitrarily decide when it would and wouldn't find and instantly kill me.

 

[Talby]

I found the game more suspenseful than actually scary. The xenomorph itself has lost the mystery and strangeness it had when the original film came out, as well.

I wish they'd either gone full System Shock with the exploration and resource management OR made the game shorter and more tightly paced to suit the linear gameplay.

 

[Jaesun]

Saw this on sale the other day, while drinking and bought a copy (the $12 version no DLC shit). I think I might enjoy this.

 

[Israfael]

I actually wonder what even made Sega to approve the development of this game as it's too cerebral, conceptual and purportedly 80-ish (mommy and dad's era - what is this shit / WONTPLAY). It reminded me of old console games (like RE1 /Silent Hill) rather than the current popamole, which should immediately ring the bell that it wont sell at all. Which, as far as i know, is what actually happened.

 

[Zewp]

It actually sold pretty well. SEGA announced 1 million sales in January, up to 2.1 million in May. That's pretty good for a niche horror title.

 

[sgm]

Got it on the recent Steam sale and enjoying it so far. Like Thief, the best time to play is late at night. If you play on Hard the scare factor wears off pretty quickly though, as you'll die often. The AI isn't the greatest and neither is the level design, but I enjoyed the hospital mission.

 

[Israfael]

It actually sold pretty well. SEGA announced 1 million sales in January, up to 2.1 million in May. That's pretty good for a niche horror title.

Well i meant for a typical AAA titles the sales were not that great (that's what matters for the suits, otherwise we wouldnt be kickstarting cRPGs). And sega expressly said that the sales were a disappointment somewhere in april or may.

 

[Unkillable Cat]

It actually sold pretty well. SEGA announced 1 million sales in January, up to 2.1 million in May. That's pretty good for a niche horror title.

Well i meant for a typical AAA titles the sales were not that great (that's what matters for the suits, otherwise we wouldnt be kickstarting cRPGs). And sega expressly said that the sales were a disappointment somewhere in april or may.

Well, if they don't bother to FUCKING PATCH THEIR GAME, of course the sales are gonna suck, even if they climb above 1 million.

 

[Zewp]

Eh, I guess it's kinda like SE being disappointed with the 6 million sales Tomb Raider did. SEGA would be stupid if they expected it to sell more than it did. That's great for what is essentially a niche horror title. I didn't expect it to move ore than 1.5m copies, what with it not being the kind of game console gamers would lap up. The game was legitimately hard at times.

 

[Morgoth]

A huge chunk of those sales went through when the game got 50/75% discounts though. The suit's appetite is only saturated with full price revenues though.

 

[Outlander]

In any case, SEGA must have been at least somewhat satisfied, as Creative Assembly hinted at a next game.