We come then to Alien: Isolation, the game that wants to do for the Xenomorph what Slender did to dark woods and F.E.A.R. did for little girls - remind us how terrifying they actually are. There's only one Alien, but it's an efficient and crafty hunter/ murder machine and you're trapped in a space station with it. Most importantly, you don't have any way of killing it. Remove the Pulse Rifle and the wide arsenal a Colonial Marine has access to and you begin to remember how deadly the Aliens are. Cast the player in the role of a terrified, untrained and unarmoured young woman who only came out into space looking for her mother and the circle is complete - we're right back to Ridley Scott's "haunted house in space" that was Alien.
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| This here ladies and gentlemen is Alien: Isolation's Game Over screen |
We only have the bare minimum of plot so far, but here it goes. It's 15 years after the events of Alien and a full 42 years before Ellen Ripley is found in Aliens. The flight recorder of Ripley's former ship the Nostromo has been found and taken to the space station Sevastopol, and her now-adult daughter Amanda has volunteered to go get it. And that's basically all we know. Somehow an Alien has made its way into the station and is slowly killing all the inhabitants, and Amanda has to survive and escape Sevastopol. But of course she survives as Ellen Ripley was told that Amanda died as an old woman in Aliens... unless the Weyland-Yutani Company was lying to her of course, which they wouldn't do since they're a caring, thoughtful lot.
We only played a short demo of Alien: Isolation but it gave a good impression of what the final game's going to be like: dark, claustrophobic, nerve-wracking and atmospheric. Obviously set some way into the game, Amanda has to restore power to the area, retrieve data from the computer and get out in one piece. All of which will obviously be harder than it sounds, even ignoring the hideous monster stalking the corridors and vents and the bullseye I'll be painting on my coat once I flick the power switch.
The first thing that struck me is how obsessive Creative Assembly have been in recreating the '70s-style vision of a spaceship as seen in Alien. Nodding bird toys, chunky keyboards, rather tame pin-up girl posters, computers that would struggle to play Pac-Man, and in general "the future of space travel" as seen in Ridley Scott's movie (no, not Prometheus). It manages to look impressive and retro at the same time, and is only a satirical note away from Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon's recreation of the '80s. Instead of being comedic though it feels authentic to the franchise, and more importantly keeps the real and believable feel that Alien excelled in (and Prometheus failed at) - you really believe this is a real place where real people work and live just from the personal clutter everywhere. And if you're worried that's not sci-fi enough one glance out of the window at the impressive Sevastopol Station will remind you just how good the whole thing looks.
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| Okay, which one of you two moved? |
As I explored the station I was ready for the Alien to jump out at me at any moment, and like any good horror it's often the moments where nothing happens that are the most tense and scary. It becomes all about build-up, and boy did Isolation do that. Gameplay-wise it's been compared to Amnesia: The Dark Descent, but I'd say it's probably far closer to Outlast where the threat is much more physical and you have to rely more on hiding in various places like under beds or in a locker. Nevertheless the Alien can appear from anywhere, and unless you've got eyes on it you have to use your kit effectively to find it again.
The most obvious gadget Amanda has available is the classic Motion Tracker, although it's merely a slightly improved type of the "micro changes in air density" version seen in the first film rather than the sleek Marine version. If something moves directly in front of you it can be tracked, but if it's behind you then it just registers a warning light and it's up to you to turn around. It also picks up anything that moves, causing me to jump at that sodding drinking bird. What makes things worse is that your vision becomes blurred if you have the Tracker out, so you have a choice between knowing where the creature is and seeing the creature. Gulp. The humble flashlight also helps and hinders, providing light but also a "hey Alf I'm over here" welcome to the Alien. Furthermore you can 'focus' the light to see further distances, but that means you can either choose to see close or see far, not both. Rounding the gadgets off is Amanda's hacking device, which I played a little minigame with to get information out of the computer. Basically you get a jumbled image on the screen and you have to identify the three symbols that match that image. It's tricky to do in a tense situation and I failed it four times.
Then of course the Alien burst out of a vent in front of me and Amanda dived beneath the desk (in one of the few first-person cutscenes). Despite knowing this creature inside and out (I've seen all the films, played all the games, read a few of the books, own the HR Giger art book, and have a damn action figure somewhere on my desk) having it up close and personal in a dark room with really loud headphone audio immediately reminded me just how terrifying a creation it is. Immediately crouching I backed away from it as it investigated an open doorway. Taking the long way to my objective seemed reasonable despite the blaring alarms that couldn't be indicating anything good. Peeking out from my current cover I spied the creature checking out my last location - it was hunting me, but I'd led it in a circle so I was close to the door. "You can sprint for short distances!" the game urged me, and with the exit in sight I didn't want to press my luck so I took the advice and ran for it, the creature squealing at the sudden noise, my heart racing... and the door slammed shut in my face.
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| According to my Motion Tracker it's around here somewhere... |
An explosion moments later saved me, at least from the Alien, and we both found ourselves suddenly flung into zero gravity for a few confusing seconds. Then the gravity returned and I quickly legged it. "Get to the airlock" I was advised by my mysterious radio partner, which I headed to as fast and as cautiously as I could, hugging the edges of the area. The Alien was still in with me but didn't have a clue where I was fortunately. I flicked the switch for the airlock and the computer near-enough yelled down my ear "AIRLOCK CYCLING PLEASE WAIT". Flipping out my Motion Tracker I saw that little dot suddenly turn and head in this direction far faster than I'd like. Spotting a nearby equipment locker I piled in, slammed the door closed, and waited. I could hear the airlock cycling but couldn't otherwise see or hear anything other than my Tracker beeping, then just when I was about to consider getting out a dark smooth long head moved into view... and turned in my direction. "Press Left Trigger to hold breath" the game advised and I did that, and in real life too. A row of sharp teeth started inspecting the locker's grill and I additionally ducked down (yes, in both game and reality again). Then after a few absolutely nerve-shredding seconds, blessedly, it moved away. I flung open the door, dived into the airlock, and pressed the switch as the Alien fought to get in. I'd survived, for now. Yay. Oh, then I got sucked out of the goddamned airlock. Whoops, forgot they did that.
Alien: Isolation is in a tough place PR-wise after the twin disasters for the franchise of Aliens: Colonial Marines and Prometheus, but it's the only thing that could've worked: taking the series back to basics. It's also very literally the Alien game I said I most wanted this time last year: a horror game like Amnesia where you can't kill the creature. After being burned so many times (I'm still sore about that Colonial Marines preview event - seriously, read it, it's embarrassing) in my heart I know I shouldn't be looking forward to this...but for the sheer guts it took to make an Alien game set in a '70s spaceship with no guns and a female protagonist at last I'm definitely excited. Now we even have a release date: October 7th 2014 on PC, PS3, 360, PS4 and Xbox One. I'll be there with my fingers tightly crossed. Please please please please...
Most Anticipated Feature/Element: Finding out where the Alien actually came from would be a good start!
