LONG POST WARNING. HOLY CRAP I DID NOT THINK IT WAS THIS MUCH I'M SO SORRY!
Okay, I honestly can't believe this game. As you guys can see, I have a fairly low post count on GAF. I rarely ever choose to post impressions after playing a game, and also don't usually choose to join in debates. But THIS game is different, and after just playing the first encounter with the Alien, I feel as if I have to tell you guys about this game.
First, I am a pretty big SURVIVAL horror fan. On the 360, my favourite horror game was easily the first Dead Space. I couldn't get enough of that game, however, the second and third one didn't quite do it for me (despite thoroughly enjoying both of them). I have played both Amnesia games as well as Outlast, and while I did enjoy them, I never really found them enticing enough to play all the way through. Now, I am a pretty big Aliens fan. Preference wise, I like "Alien" more than I like the sequel, however I do love both movies a ton. The more intense, horror like atmosphere of the first one is what makes me love it so much, and while Aliens is still a superb movie, the first one is just perfect in my eyes.
Now, prior to playing this game, like everybody else here I was definitely worried. Not worried enough that I wasn't going to buy this game if it turned out bad, but definitely still skeptical about how it was going to turn out. Because of this, I tried to keep myself away from as much of the media as possible. I didn't watch any gameplay of the Alien itself, and I stayed away from reading any of the reviews, which I still have not read yet (although I did glance at the scores). I wanted to make sure that going into this game I was going to have the purest experience possible. My Dad also is a pretty big Alien fan (he showed me the movies when I was younger), and when I told him about this game, even though he isn't a gamer, he agreed we would sit down and play through a portion of it tonight.
Fast forward to about two hours ago, me and my dad finally sat down and loaded the game up. I chose the Xbox One version over the PS4 version randomly because I feel like I have too many games on my PS4, and was interested in seeing how it played on the Xbox One. We have a pretty solid sound system in my basement, so we brought the Xbox One down there and cranked up the volume since everybody else was out of the house LOL. Now, if there is one thing that stood out to me from the beginning, it was the sound design. This game sounds incredible, and every single step and noise sounds like it is actually around you (we are playing in surround sound mind you). While the beginning of the game is slow for a while, it does a great job of letting you get used to the controls, and also introducing you to the setting of the game. While I feel like many people may be bored during some of this portion, my dad and I were absolutely blown away by the detail of every room that we went through. Even rooms that are simply meant to pass through, we took our time looking at everything, reading the posters and graffiti on the wall, and searching for the hidden audio logs and so on. The immersion was insane, and the atmosphere felt tense even though I had told him that the Alien wasn't supposed to appear for a bit. We re-watched both Alien and Aliens yesterday, and you can tell that the devs really care about the series.
Now in the essence of me saving time (because I would really like to get back to playing), let me just tell you guys about what made me come and write this post. I'm going to try and avoid direct spoilers, and instead describe how I felt playing the game. The first encounter with the Alien in this game is absolutely amazing, and is definitely one of those gaming memories that will stick with me for a very long time. You know those threads that you always see about best parts in gaming? Yeah...this is one of those times. It is these types of moments that define gaming, and actually really make me remember why I sit here and play these things to begin with. I can't even tell you the last time this really happened (although I'm probably sure it had to do with Dark Souls), but this part of the game just instantly gave me those feels). While you guys may think I am completely overdoing this, just remember, I wasn't going into this game expecting it to be the greatest thing ever...I just wanted it to be good.
Basically, this encounter is perfect for any fan of this franchise. The scariest part of the whole thing in my opinion was simply the footsteps. We cranked up the bass, and just hearing the Alien walking around was enough to blow me away. I'm not usually one to get scared of games, and while I wasn't completely shaken, I was definitely completely immersed and focused on trying to stay alive. While many people here are going to complain about the save/checkpoint system, I believe it was the best thing to do in this game. Dying at least has sort of a consequence, and it really does make you want to take your time and try to outwit this monster. What would be the point if you could just respawn halfway through and run to the end? In my opinion that defeats the purpose of the game, which is why I definitely enjoy how this has been handled. While I'm sure I was probably being a little bit too cautious, I was just having so much fun playing at such a slow pace. Peeking around every single corner and barely moving, listening to the Alien walking around was literally the greatest thing I could have asked for in this game. It may be the smallest thing, but just the sounds of the Alien make it seem so damn scary. My dad doesn't pay attention to any survival horror games, but I could tell that he was blown away watching this. I also replayed the encounter after with headphones on (I bought the headset adapter earlier today and was using Studio Beats by Dr.Dre), and it sounded just as good. The thumps from the footsteps felt really close through the headphones, making it just as tense the second time.
Something else that really blew me away was the integration of Kinect, which I really thought was quite cool despite it being rather gimmicky. For those of you that don't know, it is very similar to what was used in Forza 5. If you lean to the right (holding LB as you do this), your character will kind of peak out of cover, and then move back when you recenter yourself. You don't need to move very far, and it works perfectly, even playing in the dark. By straightening your body and kind of tilting your head up you are able to look above things, which is definitely my favourite part of the Kinect usage. As I was crouching behind a barricade, instead of just pressing the crouch button very quickly to look up and get back into cover, I chose to use the Kinect. The amount you move determines how much your character moves (like it isn't a predetermined distance), and just peeking enough to see the Alien on the other side of the barrier was so damn scary, but really really cool. It seems like such a small feature, and I'm sure many people won't want to play with it (I was going to turn it off at first), BUT IT IS SOMETHING I SO RECOMMEND. You need to at least try it. Combined with headphones, it was just asdjilhasdkjashdkljashdkasfa. To me, this is what makes the Xbox One version superior to everything else (except Oculus Rift support haha). I know some of you guys are going to want to go for the PS4 version because it looks better... but if that sort of thing doesn't really mean much to you, then get this version. There are a couple frame rate issues here and there (and I'm not sure how this is on the PS4), but I was able to stand it despite my hatred for anything lower than 30 FPS.
I don't want to overhype you guys, but in my personal opinion, this game is really damn good, and I have only done one single encounter. I can't speak towards the rest of the game, or how repetitive this may get, but right now, this is easily one of the best games I have played in a long time. I'm not saying there aren't any flaws, as there are a couple things I don't like. But, these are so tiny compared to everything that is good about this game, and I barely even notice them. I was so excited after playing the encounter, I literally just couldn't even believe that this game turned out the way it did. I know I might be going into way too much detail about some crazy tiny things, but to me, this is what makes the game. Honestly, this game was such a nice surprise. I'm surprised my Dad has stayed entertained as long as he has...usually he can't watch a game longer than thirty minutes.
TL;DR: IF YOU LIKE ALIEN(s) AT ALL, PLAY THIS GAME PLEASE.
Okay, I honestly can't believe this game. As you guys can see, I have a fairly low post count on GAF. I rarely ever choose to post impressions after playing a game, and also don't usually choose to join in debates. But THIS game is different, and after just playing the first encounter with the Alien, I feel as if I have to tell you guys about this game.
First, I am a pretty big SURVIVAL horror fan. On the 360, my favourite horror game was easily the first Dead Space. I couldn't get enough of that game, however, the second and third one didn't quite do it for me (despite thoroughly enjoying both of them). I have played both Amnesia games as well as Outlast, and while I did enjoy them, I never really found them enticing enough to play all the way through. Now, I am a pretty big Aliens fan. Preference wise, I like "Alien" more than I like the sequel, however I do love both movies a ton. The more intense, horror like atmosphere of the first one is what makes me love it so much, and while Aliens is still a superb movie, the first one is just perfect in my eyes.
Now, prior to playing this game, like everybody else here I was definitely worried. Not worried enough that I wasn't going to buy this game if it turned out bad, but definitely still skeptical about how it was going to turn out. Because of this, I tried to keep myself away from as much of the media as possible. I didn't watch any gameplay of the Alien itself, and I stayed away from reading any of the reviews, which I still have not read yet (although I did glance at the scores). I wanted to make sure that going into this game I was going to have the purest experience possible. My Dad also is a pretty big Alien fan (he showed me the movies when I was younger), and when I told him about this game, even though he isn't a gamer, he agreed we would sit down and play through a portion of it tonight.
Fast forward to about two hours ago, me and my dad finally sat down and loaded the game up. I chose the Xbox One version over the PS4 version randomly because I feel like I have too many games on my PS4, and was interested in seeing how it played on the Xbox One. We have a pretty solid sound system in my basement, so we brought the Xbox One down there and cranked up the volume since everybody else was out of the house LOL. Now, if there is one thing that stood out to me from the beginning, it was the sound design. This game sounds incredible, and every single step and noise sounds like it is actually around you (we are playing in surround sound mind you). While the beginning of the game is slow for a while, it does a great job of letting you get used to the controls, and also introducing you to the setting of the game. While I feel like many people may be bored during some of this portion, my dad and I were absolutely blown away by the detail of every room that we went through. Even rooms that are simply meant to pass through, we took our time looking at everything, reading the posters and graffiti on the wall, and searching for the hidden audio logs and so on. The immersion was insane, and the atmosphere felt tense even though I had told him that the Alien wasn't supposed to appear for a bit. We re-watched both Alien and Aliens yesterday, and you can tell that the devs really care about the series.
Now in the essence of me saving time (because I would really like to get back to playing), let me just tell you guys about what made me come and write this post. I'm going to try and avoid direct spoilers, and instead describe how I felt playing the game. The first encounter with the Alien in this game is absolutely amazing, and is definitely one of those gaming memories that will stick with me for a very long time. You know those threads that you always see about best parts in gaming? Yeah...this is one of those times. It is these types of moments that define gaming, and actually really make me remember why I sit here and play these things to begin with. I can't even tell you the last time this really happened (although I'm probably sure it had to do with Dark Souls), but this part of the game just instantly gave me those feels). While you guys may think I am completely overdoing this, just remember, I wasn't going into this game expecting it to be the greatest thing ever...I just wanted it to be good.
Basically, this encounter is perfect for any fan of this franchise. The scariest part of the whole thing in my opinion was simply the footsteps. We cranked up the bass, and just hearing the Alien walking around was enough to blow me away. I'm not usually one to get scared of games, and while I wasn't completely shaken, I was definitely completely immersed and focused on trying to stay alive. While many people here are going to complain about the save/checkpoint system, I believe it was the best thing to do in this game. Dying at least has sort of a consequence, and it really does make you want to take your time and try to outwit this monster. What would be the point if you could just respawn halfway through and run to the end? In my opinion that defeats the purpose of the game, which is why I definitely enjoy how this has been handled. While I'm sure I was probably being a little bit too cautious, I was just having so much fun playing at such a slow pace. Peeking around every single corner and barely moving, listening to the Alien walking around was literally the greatest thing I could have asked for in this game. It may be the smallest thing, but just the sounds of the Alien make it seem so damn scary. My dad doesn't pay attention to any survival horror games, but I could tell that he was blown away watching this. I also replayed the encounter after with headphones on (I bought the headset adapter earlier today and was using Studio Beats by Dr.Dre), and it sounded just as good. The thumps from the footsteps felt really close through the headphones, making it just as tense the second time.
Something else that really blew me away was the integration of Kinect, which I really thought was quite cool despite it being rather gimmicky. For those of you that don't know, it is very similar to what was used in Forza 5. If you lean to the right (holding LB as you do this), your character will kind of peak out of cover, and then move back when you recenter yourself. You don't need to move very far, and it works perfectly, even playing in the dark. By straightening your body and kind of tilting your head up you are able to look above things, which is definitely my favourite part of the Kinect usage. As I was crouching behind a barricade, instead of just pressing the crouch button very quickly to look up and get back into cover, I chose to use the Kinect. The amount you move determines how much your character moves (like it isn't a predetermined distance), and just peeking enough to see the Alien on the other side of the barrier was so damn scary, but really really cool. It seems like such a small feature, and I'm sure many people won't want to play with it (I was going to turn it off at first), BUT IT IS SOMETHING I SO RECOMMEND. You need to at least try it. Combined with headphones, it was just asdjilhasdkjashdkljashdkasfa. To me, this is what makes the Xbox One version superior to everything else (except Oculus Rift support haha). I know some of you guys are going to want to go for the PS4 version because it looks better... but if that sort of thing doesn't really mean much to you, then get this version. There are a couple frame rate issues here and there (and I'm not sure how this is on the PS4), but I was able to stand it despite my hatred for anything lower than 30 FPS.
I don't want to overhype you guys, but in my personal opinion, this game is really damn good, and I have only done one single encounter. I can't speak towards the rest of the game, or how repetitive this may get, but right now, this is easily one of the best games I have played in a long time. I'm not saying there aren't any flaws, as there are a couple things I don't like. But, these are so tiny compared to everything that is good about this game, and I barely even notice them. I was so excited after playing the encounter, I literally just couldn't even believe that this game turned out the way it did. I know I might be going into way too much detail about some crazy tiny things, but to me, this is what makes the game. Honestly, this game was such a nice surprise. I'm surprised my Dad has stayed entertained as long as he has...usually he can't watch a game longer than thirty minutes.
TL;DR: IF YOU LIKE ALIEN(s) AT ALL, PLAY THIS GAME PLEASE.
