The Screen Addict | ๐๐น๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป: ๐๐๐ผ๐น๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป (๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ฐ)
Now that Ridley Scott, Fede Alvarez and Noah Hawley have taken the franchise in an entirely different direction, the ๐๐น๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป: ๐๐๐ผ๐น๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป feature-adaptation will probably no longer happen (not counting the animated TV series made from the gameโs cutscenes).
What a shame.
I am a casual player at best, but there are definitely a couple of videogames that I would love to have with me if I ever found myself marooned on a desert island. Those titles are Capcomโs ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐๐๐ถ๐น (any entry except for the Revelations storyline), Rockstar Gamesโ ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ๐ณ๐ ๐๐๐๐ผ (San Andreas if I were permitted only one) and Segaโs ๐๐น๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป: ๐๐๐ผ๐น๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป.
It probably wonโt come as a surprise to people who know me well that these games all have strong movie-ties.
๐๐น๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป: ๐๐๐ผ๐น๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป truly is something else, though.
First of all: this game is HUGE. Even in the โeasyโ mode and with a little help from YouTube, ๐๐น๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป: ๐๐๐ผ๐น๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป will take multiple days to finish.
Furthermore: it looks and sounds absolutely incredible. The gameโs designers clearly and respectfully paid homage to Scott, Giger, OโBannon, Shusett and other notables of the franchise โ not to mention the fact that it features excerpts of Jerry Goldsmithโs magnificent original score for ๐๐น๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป (๐ญ๐ต๐ณ๐ต).
But most importantly: ๐๐น๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป: ๐๐๐ผ๐น๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป incorporates tons of elements and story beats from the first two films, which makes it all the more heartbreaking that a big-screen adaptation never materialized.
Sega, 20th Century Studios, Creative Assembly and the rest of the creative team unquestionably took great care to get the look and feel of this game absolutely spot on, and boy did they deliver.
The story is set fifteen years after the events of ๐๐น๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป and follows Amanda Ripley (yes, Lt. Ellen Ripleyโs daughter), a Weyland-Yutani engineer who travels to the deep-space base Sevastopol Station to recover a flight recorder and hopefully learn more about her momโs fate. Unfortunately, the crew of the Sevastopol recently went on an expedition to Acheron, a moon in the Zeta-Reticuli system also known as LV-426โฆ
Sevastopol looks eerily similar to the commercial towing-vehicle Nostromo, and in ๐๐น๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป: ๐๐๐ผ๐น๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป the player gets to explore every nook and cranny of this massive ship. To wander around on a Nostromo-like space station should already be a dream come true for every fan of the Alien franchise โ it certainly was for me, anyway โ but to do it with the exact tools and equipment featured in the films (Flamethrowers! Motion Trackers! Androids!) is simply mind-blowing.
Although the lionโs share of the storyline takes place on Sevastopol Station, the game wisely does not limit itself to one location. The player goes on space walks, docks with other ships, and even visits the Derelict on LV-426!
The fact that Sigourney Weaver did some additional voice-over work to give the story even more body, clearly shows that she appreciated the concept and is further proof of ๐๐น๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป: ๐๐๐ผ๐น๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ปโs exceptional quality.
A feature-adaptation might be out of the question, but letโs hope The Walt Disney Company (which now owns the Xenomorph) applies its strategy of IP mining to videogames as well and greenlights a long overdue sequel to this glorious game.
Seek it out and get your Alien-fix.