Not as "bad" a game as its reputation suggests, but...not a good game, either. And definitely not a "fun" one...

Even on "Recruit" difficulty, the earliest parts of this game are staggeringly difficult. This is mostly because: a. the combat is kinda clumsy, and b. the aliens are so intent on beelining their way to YOU, the player character, that they'll pretty much ignore other marines standing directly in their path! It's also a pretty ugly game, and while it's "tense", it's hardly "scary". It's just...messy, really. On so many fronts.

Which is a shame, 'cause they got some of the elements and atmosphere right...just not nearly enough. This game comes off particularly poorly if you play it straight off the back of multiple runthroughs of Alien: Isolation like I just did; alas, this product does not nail the mood of Aliens (plural) in the same way as that game nails the mood of Alien (singular). In my experience, no Aliens-themed game has yet come close (though Space Hulk and Space Hulk: Ascension do come awfully close, albeit in turn-based strategy format).

Oh, and there's a lovely glitch that means you have to shut your whole computer down to stop the game rebooting constantly...at least on the two laptops I've tried this on. Not a dealbreaker, maybe, but when there's so many other reasons to pass on a game, including the simple fact that there's a gazillion better first-person shooters out there...

I honestly wouldn't bother unless you're a super die-hard fan of the Alien/Aliens mythos; and even then I'd wait for a deep, deep sale. Because in space, no one can hear you scream at your monitor in utter ♥♥♥♥-ing frustration before firmly putting your fist through it. (And no, playing it with a friend won't make much difference. Unless they're the best darned marksman in the known universe...)

Verdict: 4.5/10.

(PS If you enjoyed this review, feel free to check out my two Curator pages: http://store.steampowered.com/curator/9284586-ReviewsJustfortheHELLofit/
http://store.steampowered.com/curator/10868048-Truly-Horrible-Horror-Games/?appid=398210
Cheers!)

Not as "bad" a game as its reputation suggests, but...not a [i]good[/i] game, either. And definitely not a "fun" one... Even on "Recruit" difficulty, the earliest parts of this game are staggeringly difficult. This is mostly because: a. the combat is kinda clumsy, and b. the aliens are so intent on beelining their way to YOU, the player character, that they'll pretty much ignore other marines standing directly in their path! It's also a pretty [i]ugly[/i] game, and while it's "tense", it's hardly "scary". It's just...messy, really. On so many fronts. Which is a shame, 'cause they got [i]some[/i] of the elements and atmosphere right...just not nearly enough. This game comes off particularly poorly if you play it straight off the back of multiple runthroughs of Alien: Isolation like I just did; alas, this product does [i]not[/i] nail the mood of Aliens (plural) in the same way as that game nails the mood of Alien (singular). In my experience, no Aliens-themed game has yet come close (though Space Hulk and Space Hulk: Ascension do come awfully close, albeit in turn-based strategy format). Oh, and there's a lovely glitch that means you have to shut your whole computer down to stop the game rebooting constantly...at least on the two laptops I've tried this on. Not a dealbreaker, maybe, but when there's so many other reasons to pass on a game, including the simple fact that there's a gazillion better first-person shooters out there... I honestly wouldn't bother unless you're a super die-hard fan of the Alien/Aliens mythos; and even then I'd wait for a deep, deep sale. Because in space, no one can hear you scream at your monitor in utter fuck-ing frustration before firmly putting your [i]fist[/i] through it. (And no, playing it with a friend won't make much difference. Unless they're the best darned marksman in the known universe...) Verdict: 4.5/10. (PS If you enjoyed this review, feel free to check out my two Curator pages: http://store.steampowered.com/curator/9284586-ReviewsJustfortheHELLofit/ http://store.steampowered.com/curator/10868048-Truly-Horrible-Horror-Games/?appid=398210 Cheers!)