Zach Goodier
After Colonial Marines,
most of us Alien fans had a bad taste in our mouths, and feared that the long
awaited train wreck would mark the end of the Alien franchise in video
games. When news came down that Isolation was being produced, the mix of
anticipation and dread was palpable. So
does this title live up to our expectations, and is it truly the game that Alien fans have long awaited?
In short, the answer is a resounding yes.
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| Servastapol: the place where nightmares go to die at the hands of even worse things. |
We begin with Amanda Ripley, Ellen’s daughter, who has been
working in the region where the Nostromo went missing in an effort to find some
sort of closure for her missing mother.
Opportunity comes along when a representative of Weyland-Yutani
corporation comes along saying that the Nostromo’s flight recorder has been
found, and that a ship has been hired to take a small group to Servastapol
Station to recover it. Since Servastapol
is owned by a rival company, Seegson, the company is anxious to recover the
recorder ASAP.
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| Scenes like this really sell this as a faithful emulation of the original work(s) |
Upon arrival, attempts to hail the station are met with
static, unrecognizable responses, leading the crew to assume the transmitter is
down and dispatch Amanda with Samuels and Taylor, a legal representative for
Weyland, to board the station via airlock.
After being separated, Amanda quickly finds the station, which is in the
process of being decommissioned, has gone eerily dark, with few signs of life
aboard. It doesn’t take very long for Amanda to
discover why: a Xenomorph is loose on the station, and the few survivors that
are left have gone underground to avoid drawing its attention. What ensues is a quest to survive the
Xenomorph’s relentless hunt, and find a way to get off the station.
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| This scene is eerie, but at the same time really fits the role of Servastapol as a former hub of commerce. |
Story wise, this game does a great job of mixing up the
elements that made both the first and second movies great. The Xenomorph is a hunter, akin to the first
movie, while mixing the elements of mistrust and conspiracy that worked in the
background of both movies so well. As
you go through the game, survivors, androids, and even some of your friends
turn on you, keeping you on your toes, and always having to be ready with an
exit plan.
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| "Working Joe's" are cheap androids manufactured by Seegson... They rate fairly high on the "creepy" scale, but their static nature tends to make them far less of a threat than the xenomorph. |
Now, the major draw to this game has been the Alien itself,
using sophisticated “AI” to track down the player and offer unique and
stressful challenges each and every time you play, even the 3rd or 4th
time through. Now, there really is no
such thing as a true “AI” in video games, but this Alien is as close as anyone
has really gotten in a video game.
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| If this is what you see, then you're already dead. Just accept it. |
The Alien seems to randomly select directions, as well as
when to double back down a hallway.
Since you have no direct way of killing the Alien, your only viable option is
stealth. But that is difficult when the
Alien is running on a random path that prevents you from being able to learn
patterns or anticipate where it will go.
This makes for some very stressful moments throughout the game, as the
Alien challenges both your instincts on when and where to go and hide, as well
as your intellect in finding ways to move it out of the way, or towards a group
of hostiles to clear the way to an objective.
You always feel like the Alien has intelligence, and it’s movements
look and feel very natural, adding a very creepy vibe to match the tense music
that accompanies the Alien being in close proximity. You can outsmart it for a time, giving you the feeling of brilliance, but it always adapts to your tactics, learning your methods and adapting its' searches to limit your options, making the game feel harder as you expend your options, making your best option the one where the alien never even suspects you were there.
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| The motion tracker is here, and with it comes waves of tensity with each and every ping. |
Between the atmosphere, which is taken directly from the first
movie, even working in a few set recreate meticulously from
the original film, as well as mixing in some elements from the
second movie, like the motion tracker. Items
like the flamethrower and improvised devices like flashbangs and smoke bombs
can be crafted with materials you find throughout the station, and give you the
feeling that Amanda is truly a Ripley, with engineering prowess to match the
good survival instincts.
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| These are always a welcome sight, but they don't keep the Alien away, be careful of your surroundings before saving. |
The only faults this game has is that most of its big twists
and turns are also inspired by the original 2 movies. This makes them rather predictable, which
takes away from the impact. There are
still a couple of surprises, even for Alien fans, but if you’re a true fan of
the original movies, then you will probably feel ahead of the story for much of
the game. Also, the difficulty can make the Alien feel almost deaf/blind on
easy, and exceedingly sensitive on hard, so normal is recommended, but it can
still be tough at times, as this game requires as much patience as it does
nerves of steel. It has been said that this game is too slow
due to the death rate and slow pace, but I argue that this is meant to feel
more like the classic movies, with more attention to atmosphere and set pieces,
which really works in this game. This
isn’t a modern shooter, and you will be punished for even thinking that as you
play. You can’t just walk out and kill
the xenomorph, don’t even try. So for
those who like to let their guns and explosives do the talking, just don’t
bother picking up this game, the Xenomorph is too adaptable and naturally
resistant to simply drop it with a couple of shots from the civilian-grade
weapons you have on-hand.
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| With access to weapons like the flamethrower later on, you have effective defenses against the alien. However, they are only deterrents, and won't keep it away for long, especially with how it eats up fuel. |
Overall, this is one of my favorite games this year. While the story is a little too derivative at
times, it really does a good job of introducing a strong female character that
feels at least in the same league as Ellen Ripley. The Alien is the major draw, though, with
natural, yet erratic behavior that makes for a constant tension that gives this
game replay value. I’m hoping this is
the start of a new era in Alien games, with better attention
paid to getting the xenomorph(s) right, leaning towards experiences that make
you truly feel like the prey, rather than turning the most dangerous life-form in
the cosmos into a target in a shooting gallery.
This game could be a turning point for the franchise in gaming, lending
more focus to the quality of the alien and the levels, rather than making it feel like just
a generic shooter with Alien texture packs.
Good:
-Amanda is a worthy successor to her mother, Ellen Ripley.
-Servastapol has its’ own stories and lore to explore, which
adds a lot to the Alien universe.
-The Xenomorph is one of the best in-game enemies I have
ever seen, hands down.
-Crafting system makes survival feel like something you can
better prepare for, which makes the game more exciting.
Bad:
-Story can be derivative of the original 2 films, making most
of the twists rather obvious.
-Difficulty can be a bit of a drag, with the Alien sometimes
seeming too easy on easy mode,
failing to notice me in a relatively open situation, so mid-to-high difficulty
is recommended for a true “Alien” experience, but you will likely die quite a
bit.
Scully Rating: 9.0 out of 10
