Alien Isolation review by NinthElement 2015/11/11 07:25
Alien Isolation is a first-person adventure developed by Creative Assembly, and has been praised by many as being the first game in the Alien franchise to succesfully convert the sheer terror of the original movie into a playable and absorbing experience. You play as Amanda Ripley, daughter of Sigourney Weaver's character Ellen in the movies, searching for answers about her mother on a near-derelict space station.

As you begin the game, the first thing you may notice is how faithfully the retro-futuristic look of the Alien movie has been replicated, i.e the version of the future as envisioned in the eighties. At the same time, everything feels real and believable, even atmospheric. Indeed, the graphics in this game are stunning most of the way through, with excellent lighting effects and spectacular views of space to be enjoyed on occasion. The incidental music is also remniscent of the movie, and can change at times to warn you of impending danger.



There is a fair amount of foreshadowing before you first encounter the notorious Alien of the title, as you would expect in a game like this. This is not an alien you can just unload your ammo into and wait for the next one to spawn. Hell no. It's completely invincible and kills with a single hit, and attacks with such ferocity that if it spots you then you're as good as dead, except for much later in the game when you can scare it away briefly with the flamethrower if you have enough fuel. The alien also has a high degree of artificial intelligence - some encounters are scripted, but whenever it's active it really acts like it has a mind of its own because it doesn't follow predictable patrol patterns, and is known to adapt to player tactics to avoid or counter it.

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The alien is both the most compelling and the most frustrating adversary you will face in the game. An hour or two of gameplay passes before it takes an interest in you, but once it does it stalks you persistently for the best part of the game, providing a constant state of dread. Sometimes you have to sit in a hiding place for what feels like ages while you wait for it to go away, watching on your motion tracker in the hope that it'll scurry off elsewhere long enough for you to move quickly and quietly to the next safe spot. In theory this isn't exactly a recipe for fun, but in practice you can't help but appreciate the realistic tension and sense of danger it creates.

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There are significant threats other than the alien on the station. Many of the surviving people there have become lawless and split into gangs, and will shoot strangers on sight. The explanation for their murderous behaviour is a tad unconvincing to be honest, but the effect is having to use stealth to avoid firefights in a few specific areas as you can be killed very quickly by bullets (this game loves realism).

More scary than the rogue humans however are the "working joe" androids. Initially they appear harmless, but it is soon revealed they have a tendency to use excessive force on anyone they deem to be doing something unauthorised, which can be as innocent as entering a restricted area or trying to use a radio to call for help. They have no weapons but are very strong and can grapple you, and they're always spouting unintentionally creepy phrases in a robotic voice (that is, unintentional within the fictional world of the game - the developers certainly meant the androids' words to weird you out).

You can craft devices and medkits during the game using objects you find along the way, as well as pick up a limited range of weapons. One of the more useful devices is the noisemaker, which you can use to summon the alien. While this may seem like a suicidal idea, it can actually be used to distract the alien while you run in an opposite direction. Or if you want to avoid some murderous humans, you can send the alien their way to give them something else to shoot at (but don't stick around to watch or your dastardly plan may backfire).

Overall this is one of the most innovative and exciting games of 2014, a terrifying and satisfying survival horror for gamers and Alien fans alike.