Review:
Early footage and design
descriptions of Alien: Isolation strongly suggest that The Creative Assembly is
crafting the Alien game we deserve--one that lovingly embraces the unique
sensibilities (not to mention aesthetic) of Ridley Scott's groundbreaking 1979
space thriller.
Gone are all the guns and
hordes of xenomorphs. This is back to the basics--one Ripley, one monster, and
a lot of horror.
The Ripley in question isn't
the exosuit-boxin' Ellen we all know and love, but rather her daughter, Amanda
(you may remember her being mentioned at the start of Aliens). Upon learning
that the USCSS Nostromo's black box has been uncovered at a space station
called Sevastopol. Amanda heads there with the hopes of learning more about the
fate of her long-lost mother. What she finds instead is more suspicious
Weyland-Yutani activity and a lone, hulking xenomorph.
It's that singular,
predatory threat that made the original film such a tense nail-biter, and
that's what The Creative Assembly is trying to recapture in Isolation after a
number of less-than-stellar attempts from other developers. There aren't any
full-scale "oorah" firefights in sight--just a lot of terrified gasps
and slinking in the shadows punctuated by the constant, nerve-racking need to
check your motion tracker. It's a change of pace that, as Alien fans, we
welcome.
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