Alien Isolation looks like Sega's best chance at a AAA hit in year

At least Gearbox isn't developing it this time around.

But yes, it does look very promising. I'll most likely pick it up on a last-gen console since I can't afford a brand new console (or PC for that matter).

 

I feel I will be very disappointed when this is released because I honestly get the impression that for all their talk about unscripted behavior and wanting it to be a real survivor horror game, they haven't noticed the glaring oversights that I've seen in the previews, nor are they pushing the envelope when it comes to survival horror. Examples:-

1. The alien is supposed to have unscripted behavior but what about the rest of the game like environment hazards and the androids. I've seen in numerous videos the same puzzle being completed followed by an android reanimating or the same explosion going off with a guaranteed alien appearance making you hide in the cupboard everytime. If you're going to beat the point about this game being unpredictable then 100% of gameplay needs to be unscripted. If you really want me to be out of my comfort zone then there has to be random times were it's near impossible to survive. There should also be multiple ways of escaping areas and completing the game, areas randomly getting blocked off on each playthrough with you having to find different ways to escape, weapon and ammo locations randomized everytime.

2. There should be a chance that you can get dismembered anytime in the game and even with you being dismembered you should still be able to complete the game. Even the alien should have a chance of being dismembered if you're good enough to do it. Things like this would keep you on your toes and even give a sense of achievement tipping the tables in your favour. I'm expect to see something like this on some level but I highly doubt it from what I've seen.

3. I saw the player get killed then spawned back again only a few steps away. This will kill the horror aspect completely if it stays the way it is. How can I get a sense of fear or panic if I don't risk losing progression. Checkpoints should only be between levels and there should be a hardcore one life mode from the get go instead of the usual unlocking it after completing the game.

4. This is a bonus idea that I would like to see but not too fussed if not. When the alien grabs you there should be a chance of you getting away and not done like the usual QTE either. The bumper buttons should be left and right punch with the triggers being left and right parry, cross button should be kick and you should be able to use and shake the analog stick to move out of the way of attacks and break loose. Your chance of escaping should be affected by how much you've wounded the alien, in other words the alien isn't going to have the same strength as before when you've just used the flamethrower on it. Being able to fight for your life with quick unpredictable actions would be amazing and something that wouldn't get old either.

 

That sounds like a novel amazing feature but if it was in the game you can be sure they'd advertise the shit out of it.

 

The third point could just be because of it being a demo at an event, though I wouldn't be surprised if the checkpoints are like that in the final game because modern game design.

 

So why does the internet hate SEGA because this game has a Pre-Order bonus?

 

Because Ben Kuchera is an idiot and he told them to hate SEGA.

 

People hated this long before Ben Kuchera said anything about it. Not only that, in this case he's actually right. (Though more because he's just repeating what others have said) There's no reason to pre-order a normal game that's probably not gonna be out of stock aside from the consumer not having to pay extra for on-disc DLC. And if the game turns out to not be as good as you hoped it'd be, you end up wishing you had waited for a price drop. With publishers making games look better than they are, it's hard to expect a heavily marketed game to be as good as the publisher makes it out to be with the various demos they've shown people.

Now here is the reason why SEGA especially is being ragged on about this:

They were one of the worst offendors of making a game look better than it actually was with Alien: Colonial Marines. Before it was released, the game looked like it had great graphics and impressions from the press were great. But when it came out it turned out to be terrible. You can argue that Gearbox is more to blame for this than SEGA, but SEGA still allowed this to happen. Now SEGA is asking you to put your faith into that their new Alien game will good enough for you to pay full price at a specific retailer, and if you do that, you won't have to pay extra for these on-disc DLC missions in which you can play through a couple of scenes from the original Alien movie for which most of the original cast recorded lines. Pre-order DLC is something that really shouldn't exist, as it only benefits the people selling you the game and not the consumer. They get money you potentially wouldn't have spent on the game, you get an extra piece of content that should be in the main package to begin with. SEGA is now taking an even bigger piece of content that should be in the main package than usual, and if they're successful in getting more pre-orders by doing this other publishers could take this as an example for how big the pre-order DLC can be. Making the game industry another bit worse.

Then there's also SEGA asking for your faith in them putting out a good Alien game right after putting out one of the most disappointing games of all time, which just so happened to also be an Alien game. Right now SEGA needs to try and win people back, and they're not doing that by trying really hard to get you to pre-order the game.

 

So all of the reviews so far are very positive aside from IGN (lol), Polygon (lol) and Gamespot. So this does seem to be a pretty big critical hit. Lots of 9s and 8s.

EDIT: Here's a video of Jim Sterling, who is a big Alien fan, playing the game:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mAfcPhO-Y8

 

On all the reviews I've seen the alien is almost completely unscripted, even at times waiting to ambush you. That was something I was hoping for. So far complaints seem to be about back tracking and walking (LOL) but from my point of view back tracking is only a problem when you span large distances or a level gets reused to pad out the game. The only issue which seems to be legit concern is that there's too much repetition and considering the overall content shown in reviews and the average 20 hour playthrough I can see this being true.

Still I will have to try this out at some point, the atmosphere looks absolutely fantastic so it's right up there with games I like, even though it's a powerless character game. I prefer the fight or flight type of game with you being at a massive disadvantage relying on your cunning and skill to beat the odds.

 

Probably rare enough for this not to happen to a lot of people, but still, weird.

 

From what I can understand, the Xenomorph has some nasty rubberbanding problems. Jim Sterling, despite his high praise of the game, also said the game can be rather frustrating because of that.

 

This game is amazing. Anyone who hasn't bought it, certainly should.