I am a sucker for anything with Aliens slapped on it. And what’s more, I’m not ashamed!
I love the films, the wider universe and the various games that have come from the franchise. Who can forget the pulse-pounding action of Alien: Isolation, or the thrills of Aliens: Fireteam Elite? Well, now there is a new game to get excited about!
Coming from Tindalos Interactive and Focus Entertainment is Aliens: Dark Descent. Billed as a strategy game, are you ready to come with me to a world of Aliens and asskickery as we prepare to deploy. I love the Corps.
I have to start off with the presentation of Aliens: Dark Descent, mostly as it is very good indeed. The game is divided into two sections; one on the crashed USS Otago which is the hub of operations, whilst the other takes us out into the wilds, risking life and limb. You’ll spend the majority of the game in the open, which is viewed from the traditional top-down, almost isometric perspective; you certainly don’t have any trouble seeing what is going on around you. What is happening around the corner, or in the shadows is a whole different matter, however.
The marines look great in-game (in the pause menu, not so much, as the skins are sometimes slow to load and come across as mannequins) whilst the aliens are suitably fast, sneaky and hard to kill. They also look great.
As you progress through the game, new types of aliens are introduced too, and the first encounter with a Queen is one you’ll not forget, I assure you. The way the graphics are drawn and shown really adds to the tension, the almost palpable feeling of claustrophobia. In fact, the overall impression is one of quality and terror.
Story? There is one of those as well so don’t you worry. Again, it is a pretty good one too.
Set nineteen years after the events of the films, in the year 2198, Dark Descent opens on the Pioneer space station, as we take the part of Deputy Administrator Hayes. We have concerns about a ship trying to leave early. It turns out that they had delivered a container full of Alien eggs to the space station, and as one thing leads to another, the Colonial Marines are brought in to find out what is going on. Long story short, we – and they – escape, but their base ship, the Otago, is shot down and crashes on the planet below.
It appears our slimy, acid blooded friends have beaten us to the surface and so it is left to us to organise the troops, and to Sergeant Harper to command the Marines on the ground. There are a lot of locations to explore, and a host of missions to carry out, so the scene is set for an interesting take on the Aliens franchise.
Aliens: Dark Descent plays well too, but I’ll first cover what we can get up to on the Otago. Here, Administrator Hayes can go and talk to various people in order to get her troops ready for the next fight. There are the Barracks, where we can talk to the quartermaster and buy new types of weapons, which can then be given to the Marines. Things from Incinerators (flamethrowers, basically) all the way up to the massive smart gun that Vasquez used to such good effect in Aliens can be unlocked. We can also level up our Marines, giving them new abilities, allowing them to specialise in a particular job, such as Heavy Gunner or Medic. There’s also the opportunity to visit the Medbay, choosing which Marines we want to be up and running soonest by making them priorities. Marines can lose arms and legs quite easily in-game, so you’ll be spending a lot of time here, glueing them back together.
There is a lot more to do onboard, but since we aren’t paid by the word, I’ll draw a veil over it there. Just be left in the knowledge that time spent managing the small stuff can really pay off. There are little crises that pop up at times and these need you to make a choice – these normally have both good and bad outcomes, so consider what you are doing is my honest advice.
It is when Hayes sends the Marines out where the fun really starts. The atmosphere the game creates is very good indeed, and makes the whole experience almost too tense. We have the iconic motion tracker, and the sound of blips appearing on it is enough to make the muscles in your hand start to clench. And when you see blips streaking straight at you, it is time to prepare for a scrap!
Taking control of those Marines is well worked. They move as one, and while individual members can be asked to carry out certain actions, on the whole they should be seen as a pretty coherent unit. As far as controls go, you can click on a destination, press X and the Marines will make their way there by the most direct route. Double tapping X will tell them to run, with the slight disadvantage that they can’t shoot while running. If Aliens pop up on their radar, they will engage the enemies if they get close, and so keeping a close eye on your guys to make sure one doesn’t get separated is vital. If a Marine is knocked unconscious, a Xeno can run off with them, so be careful.
Walking backwards while shooting is a very valid tactic, as is sealing doors by welding them shut to give your guys a break. You see, the stress of the situation can play on the minds of the Marines, and while they can function usually, under extreme stress undesirable traits can start to emerge; like a penalty to their accuracy and so on. Creating a safe room by welding all the doors gives the squad a chance to rest, and they will hopefully be able to carry on.
Other highlights include calling the Marine’s transport in for additional firepower and then getting it to ferry you to distant parts of the map in safety. The maps in Aliens: Dark Descent are sprawling, set over multiple floors, so it is a good idea to learn the layout. One thing I would have liked to have seen from the map screen was the ability to tell your guys to head to a location on the map, as it is sometimes quite difficult to relate the map to what you see. But it soon all comes good.
Of course, ammo isn’t unlimited, and the best missions are the ones where the Aliens have no idea you have even paid them a visit. You can leave the mission area at any time and return to the Otago to recoup and resupply, before picking up from where you left off. This is helpful, as each mission area has a lot of objectives to fulfil (the first mission alone has fourteen main objectives!) and so there is no shortage of things to do; from grabbing supplies to rescuing civilians, right up to killing Queens and trying to survive afterwards.
Aliens: Dark Descent is an absolute blast to play. Sneaking through a building, watching the motion sensor and urging your guys to step forward is all very tense, and the action can be almost non-stop if you rile the hive. If you like Aliens or strategy in real time, Aliens: Dark Descent is the game for you. Don’t come to it as a brainless blast-a-thon though – you will need to be cunning to finish off the threat!
