I'm assuming IGN and the like have limited time and had to rush through this game to review it. I can't believe they gave it a 6ish. This is a well made game. I rented it based on the reviews but now wish I would have thrown money at the developers. Yes, it's a total stealth based survival horror but damn if it doesn't keep me on my toes. I do spend a lot of time just hiding, and I guess the reviewers didn't have time for that, but I don't mind it. I'll end up paying Family Video 30 bucks to see this one all the way through. Kinda reminds me of Metal Gear on the NES hiding in crates, for you old guys like me.

Way to take that statement literally. I figured it was pretty obvious I wasn't literally meaning that.

What I mean is that this is a really, really different type of game. It almost feels like something an Indy developer would make. You don't have much ammo, your constantly under fear of death, and you feel incredibly helpless the entire game. It's a really tense experience. That's why I said that mainstream audiences raised on stuff like Call of Duty or even recent Resident Evil games are going to have a hard time accepting this game because of that. And when I saw only a couple of people can play it, I mean either hardcore gamers, or hardcore Alien fans will be the only ones with the patience to most likely see it through.

I'm enjoying the game so far, but I'm taking it real slow. I just got to the part where you encounter the synthetics damn there tough.

I'm about 10 missions in. Gotta say this is in the top few games I've played this year. A lot of thought went in to this one.

Dang. I have't played a video game in a year or two, but all the buzz on this one is making me want it. I LOVE the original Alien film and this sounds like my kind of game.

Finished my first playthrough last night, on Normal difficulty. This game is incredible. It's sadly going to get mostly overlooked on release, and then in 2 or 3 years when everyone has had a chance to play it it'll be remembered as a classic. The sound design is stellar, maybe the best ever in a videogame (play it using a good pair of headphones). Level layout and art design are superb. It's an absolute treasure for Alien fans. And the tension almost never lets up. I'm generally not bothered by horror, but the design of this game, and the sneaky, evil cunning of the Alien AI, makes it impossible not to be terrified on many occasions. Playing it on Hard difficulty is going to be a whole other level of palm-sweatiness, and I can't wait to do it.

My only criticism of the game is that it does overstay its welcome. It's 18 chapters long, when 12 or so would have been more than sufficient. It's great up until chapter 11 or so, and then the padding becomes obvious when you're going over some of the same areas you've seen before, hiding from the same enemies. There are entire chapters that involve completing an objective only to be told "that didn't work, we'll have to try another way." It's a tragedy that this aspect of the game isn't perfect, because the rest of it is. I would instantly call it GOTY if not for this one failing. It still might shake out to be the best game of this year, depending on other releases, but I really wish they'd tightened it up a bit.

Still, it's a very easy recommendation and I'm completely pleased that I bought it rather than renting. Zero regrets on that front if it means more games like this one can be financed and made.

Good job finishing it. I'm starting to see where the complaints about overstaying its welcome and the cheap deaths are vaild. I'm on chapter 12 now and I feel it's become very trial and error with long stretches of save points. I wish I was starting to wrap it up however I know I got a ways to go. I still think it's a great game but some flaws have started to show. I hope I have enough patience to ride it out. I guess it's a fine line for when a game is too short or too long.

I'm probably going to by this after Evil Within.

I'm only a little way into this, and so far the atmosphere and environment designs are both excellent. The cutscenes, OTOH, are horrendous. Laggy and buggy. They take me right out of the game.

The character models look plastic and robotic, don't they?

You'll probably like it more after chapter 13. Just a hunch. There's still some really good stuff to go.

I've seen the complaint about not enough save points elsewhere, but I don't think I can agree with it. With one or two exceptions, I never had a problem with that. Thorough exploration will open up shortcuts, and I didn't hesitate to backtrack to the last save point if needed.

Yeah, the game does have some serious framerate issues in certain sections. Not just the cutscenes. Most of the time it's not a problem, but it's very noticeable when it is. I hope they can iron out that problem with a patch.

Yeah, now I gotta backtrack on what I said before. I was stuck in a part where I must have died 20 times. Was frustrated then I decided to explore a bit and realized I missed a save spot. Saving there and then going on was much better. I guess my chicken-ass self, since this game is so intense, I just wanted to get to my objective and didn't want to spend time exploring knowing that I was going to get impaled at some point.

It's not just frame rates. Some of the cut-scenes are missing assets. One off the top of my head is early on when Ripley is talking to one of the other guys on the mission (before they get to the space station), and he's inputting data into a data pad, except there's no data pad, so he's just grabbing a handful of air and pressing his finger into nothing.

I haven't noticed many issues on that. Except that everyone seems to be pouring sweat. On that note, it seems like most of it's cut scene heavy at the start then not that much a little bit later in to the game.

Yeah, I never noticed anything weird like missing assets in a cutscene. And like Barth said, the game is very top-heavy on cutscenes; there are almost none in the last 2/3 of the game.

Good to hear. This game can be very conflicting for players like me who want to explore every corner and find every secret area and collectible. You just know you're gonna die while doing it.

Don't get me wrong, I'm enjoying the gameplay.

Thanks. I'm really considering jumping on this one. I don't mind horror but I absolutely hate being chased. I don't mind being stalked by an Alien but chased...f that. Is there alot of that here?

Pretty much my thoughts on this. Easily my game of the year so far, and I'm so glad I didnt really pay attention to the reviews. This is pretty much everything I have wanted in an Alien game. They nailed the atmosphere.

I cant really agree with some of the reviews and reports of cheap deaths. I think I have two missions remaining on my normal playthrough and I cant really remember a time where I died and thought it was a cheap death.

If you are patient and pay attention to the audio cues, it is pretty easy to anticipate where and when the alien will pop out. If you try to rush things, you will get killed, but I havent had a problem with any cheap deaths.

There is some fat here that probably could have been trimmed off, but I'm in no way eager for this to end. I've limited myself to playing only at night in one-two hour chunks, and I feel that is the best way to play it. If you tried to marathon it, I think that lends itself to not taking your time and the game starting to drag.

But yeah, I freaking love this game.

I guess that depends on what you mean by "chased." You have to be very stealthy in this game to survive. I'd say at least 85% of the game you have to be crouched. If you stomp around a lot or, god forbid, try to sprint, well...

^


Okay, I'm buying this today.

Yup. Moviepage, call Sega and ask for royalties.

I'm on the phone with them right now!

Is this scarier than the first Dead Space? I couldn't get thru that one. That damn game freaked the shit out of me!

Put it this way. Wanted to see if my daughter was a chip off the old block. Goddamn company. Died at 66 my ass. Always lying to me.

On the truth front. I loved the first Dead Space, but did not find it scary at all. Just a fun game, creepy here and there, but never did I feel scared.

Popped this one in, by the time I got to the space station, which is only a few minutes, I had to stop for awhile. It took me right back to how I felt when my dad took me to see it when I was a kid.

Of course they're sold out at both Gamestop stores near me. To Amazon I go!!!!