Alien: Isolation

[Angthoron]

whats next youll tell me that specialised mouses r beter then my ibm mouse from '97?

fu u trols

 

[ghostdog]

Bah, weak sapiens. Neanderthals notice at least up to 200 FPS.

 

[sexbad?]

I made it past the first alien encounter in medium mode... simply because it left me alone. Then I started noticing bugs. I've been recording the whole thing for a possible review, so I may make a funny video about the bugs.

At one point, I encountered a character model that spawned before the character was supposed to have any interaction with me. Other times, the androids would attack me and then just stand there after I quicktimed them away. Also twice now, most of the level disappeared (and sometimes the sounds stopped playing too), so I would be running around in what looked like the void of space while androids chased me into walls that I couldn't see.

As I returned to a tram station to get to the medical area, two fellows came out of another tram, stood there for a little bit, and then ran and "hid" as I approached them. Each time I got close to them, they would find somewhere else to duck and cover, until I heard my motion tracker ping. The alien showed up and ran toward them as I left for the next level. It was quite an entertaining encounter, and I think the alien was supposed to spawn a bit quicker.

 

[Deleted member 7219]

Just completed first part of the medical ward. Tense as fuck.

Alien didn't seem to be cheating. I'm playing at medium though (thought it would be less aggravating that way, going by some of the reviews). There were points where I walked into a room and it was stood there, not facing me, but facing to the side - and it didn't see me. Stark contrast to human/android AI where they seem to see you even when their back is turned.

Still, my statement stands. Tense as fuck. There were a few times where I was hiding in a locker and I was sure he was fucking with me. As soon as I completed the mission objective I got the hell out of there. I didn't run, but I sure as well tried to *walk* as fast as possible.

Features of the alien that are brilliant - the animations, the way the tail slithers around the floor.... really does look like the real thing.

Features that need improvement - elephant footsteps.

Spoiler

As for the doctor guy... screw him. Loudly announcing "I'm just going to go into this other room and prime the elevator" breaks all the rules of surviving a horror story. As soon as he said that, I took the back way to the elevator (discovered it earlier). Having a motion sensor that told me the alien was heading right for him definitely helped with the decision

 

[Deleted member 7219]

I am honestly not following a lot of the criticisms of the game here...

I mean, so far my impressions of the game have been mostly good.

Spoiler

Pros:

- Graphics are very good, I'm running downsampled 3k + resolution game with everything on max, it looks super nice.

- The A.I is actually good, and it's quite clever. I had zero bugs so far after 6 hours gameplay, virtually zero. I don't understand why so many people seem to have problems, or criticize the A.I.

- The story is actually interesting, and I enjoy reading all the audio logs and mails from the terminals. I LOVED the part when they visit LV-426 again and find remnants of the nostromo crew there, nice touch C.A.

- The atmosphere and setting is 100 % on target. This is every alien fan's dream, so definitely mine. They got so much of the setting, just right. The sounds and music are top notch, too.

- The gameplay is very good, and you feel engaged in the story and the game. There's some QT events and stuff.. and stuff like pressing buttons for doing actions, but that's not a lot, and I enjoy it. Very interactive.

- Lastly, this game is SCARY. Turn up the fucking volume, and lights out. Trust me, you are gonna get scared, because the sound design and visuals are so good.

Cons:

Yeah there's alot of corridors, but they aren't linear. The maps are big and lots of stuff to do and see. But you're on a fucking spaceship, of course there's a lot of corridors and doors and shit you gotta open.

It can get ABIT repetitive opening doors n shit, but it's not really as bad as most people make it out to be

A 9/10 for me, easily. If you're an alien fan like me, this is by far the best alien game we ever gotten, and you should buy it.. or if you're a broke piece of niggerfaggot, then pirate it. It's worth it.

Welcome to the Codex. I enjoyed reading your post.

Don't feel like you need to say shitty things like niggerfaggot to fit in, though.

 

[skacky]

6 hours in and if the quality is as consistent throughout I can safely say this will be a serious candidate for game of the year as far as I'm concerned. I have almost nothing to criticize so far, the pros far outweigh the cons.
Also I got my head eaten after I accidentally walked under a ceiling vent with, you guessed it, dripping goop I didn't see. :D

BTW, this just happened. I could hear the heavy thuds as the terminal was working but it was too late!

 

[Angthoron]

I made it past the first alien encounter in medium mode... simply because it left me alone. Then I started noticing bugs. I've been recording the whole thing for a possible review, so I may make a funny video about the bugs.

At one point, I encountered a character model that spawned before the character was supposed to have any interaction with me. Other times, the androids would attack me and then just stand there after I quicktimed them away. Also twice now, most of the level disappeared (and sometimes the sounds stopped playing too), so I would be running around in what looked like the void of space while androids chased me into walls that I couldn't see.

As I returned to a tram station to get to the medical area, two fellows came out of another tram, stood there for a little bit, and then ran and "hid" as I approached them. Each time I got close to them, they would find somewhere else to duck and cover, until I heard my motion tracker ping. The alien showed up and ran toward them as I left for the next level. It was quite an entertaining encounter, and I think the alien was supposed to spawn a bit quicker.

Sounds like in your copy of the game, the Alien is you.

 

[Scroo]

Guys I might be stupid but how do I get past the first sneaking encounter?! The first one where you are alone, where you need to find that thing to fix the hacking device so you can get to the elevator. I'm playing on hard and when I pick up the hacking device the enemies spawn on top of the stairs and spread out in the large hall and whatever I'll do they notice me, even when I crouch and they have their backs turned towards me

 

[Luka-boy]

Sounds like in your copy of the game, the Alien is you.

Coming soon on theaters worlwide!

M. Night Shyamalan's Alien: Isolation: The Movie

Rated T for Twist

 

[skacky]

Guys I might be stupid but how do I get past the first sneaking encounter?! The first one where you are alone, where you need to find that thing to fix the hacking device so you can get to the elevator. I'm playing on hard and when I pick up the hacking device the enemies spawn on top of the stairs and spread out in the large hall and whatever I'll do they notice me, even when I crouch and they have their backs turned towards me

It's a tricky area. You can go back to the transit system and rewire the speaker system to bait some of them, or you can try and pick them off one by one, but it's way harder.

 

[sexbad?]

Guys I might be stupid but how do I get past the first sneaking encounter?! The first one where you are alone, where you need to find that thing to fix the hacking device so you can get to the elevator. I'm playing on hard and when I pick up the hacking device the enemies spawn on top of the stairs and spread out in the large hall and whatever I'll do they notice me, even when I crouch and they have their backs turned towards me

Up on the side that the bad guys come down from, there is an unlocked door that you can go through if you head up the other staircase and go through the well lit lounge sort of room. The door is big but barely distinguishable in the darkness surrounding it except for the fact that it has a green light on it. There's a guy who patrols around that area, but he can be attacked.

The fun thing is that the game gives you no indication that you can actually attack these people. You have the wrench thing, but it doesn't show up on screen except for when you swing it. I was convinced that I couldn't attack those guys at all for a while. If you kill any, though, for some stupid fucking reason you can't take their guns. You have to wait a little longer to get a revolver.

 

[Tehdagah]

Guys I might be stupid but how do I get past the first sneaking encounter?! The first one where you are alone, where you need to find that thing to fix the hacking device so you can get to the elevator. I'm playing on hard and when I pick up the hacking device the enemies spawn on top of the stairs and spread out in the large hall and whatever I'll do they notice me, even when I crouch and they have their backs turned towards me

Up on the side that the bad guys come down from, there is an unlocked door that you can go through if you head up the other staircase and go through the well lit lounge sort of room. The door is big but barely distinguishable in the darkness surrounding it except for the fact that it has a green light on it. There's a guy who patrols around that area, but he can be attacked.

The fun thing is that the game gives you no indication that you can actually attack these people. You have the wrench thing, but it doesn't show up on screen except for when you swing it. I was convinced that I couldn't attack those guys at all for a while. If you kill any, though, for some stupid fucking reason you can't take their guns. You have to wait a little longer to get a revolver.

The developers probably thought that this would make the game feel like Cawadooty. Because muh survival horror.

 

[sexbad?]

But like two minutes after that room, you get a gun...

 

[Tehdagah]

But like two minutes after that room, you get a gun...

Can you get more than one gun in the game?

Edit: Well it seems that you can get a flamethrower. So I don't know, maybe the developers are just lazy, or the game was rushed.

 

[imweasel]

That fucking Alien asshole won't leave the area that i need to get through. I know he's gonna get me if I come out of hiding.

That fucking prick.

 

[Aldebaran]

No. It can't be scary, it's an Alien game. Whenever i see the him, i want him go get closer. I want to watch him move. I want to hug him.

It's not CA's fault it's not scary. The game IS tense, no doubt about that. The atmosphere is there, you feel vulnerable most of the time, the sound design is superb, the lighting is amazing. But you just can't make the Alien scary anymore. Especially if you're a fan of the creature.

I am going to have to disagree with you here: I think that you can make the Alien scary, and this was a great opportunity to make it scary again. The main problem is that you need to prioritize the themes of Alien before the movie itself.

First of all, we need to examine the reason why the form is no longer frightening, and quite clearly it is familiarity. Fear is, at its heart I feel, a response to what is not known or what could be. It is something ascribed to a potential and not an action or a fact. Once something is truly known, the mind starts devising plans or scenarios instead of encouraging flight. Imagine encountering a Grizzly Bear in the wild. To be certain, the shear extent of its killing potential carries with it a measure of fear, but you have been undoubtedly told many times throughout your life what to do in such a situation. Why not climb a tree, or play dead, or frighten it off with loud noises. Small dogs can frighten off Grizzly Bears if they are loud and persistent enough. But imagine the first human who encountered this hellbeast. This is no small task, since bears are firmly cemented in our minds as omnivorous animals that inhabit garbage dumps, and steal picnic baskets. To him, this hulking behemoth is capable of literally anything. He has discovered none of its limitations or characteristics, and can only assume that it is capable of anything.

As a terror, we know altogether too many traits about the Alien for it to inspire a great deal of fear in us. We know it drips ooze, loves to move through vents, has acid blood, it moves like a man, impregnates people with a facehugger, is born by bursting out of people's chests, kills people by sticking its second jaw through their face, and if you aren't a philistine you know it likes to rape people. The challenge, then, is to expand the audience's idea of what the Alien is, and contradict what they already know. By introducing new traits, and not further cementing the old ones, people's conception of the fiend become blurred, and the creature once again becomes more of a nightmare possibility than an object. So don't have the Alien hide in vents, be sure to include ooze filled sections of the game that conspicuously lack the villain, and include him in the white, brightly lit rooms where the first movie assured us that we were safe. Just do something new.

The problem with making the Alien scary is that many people assume that since the first movie is the scary one, dialing everything back to that point will make everyone frightened. It won't. It will only reaffirm their suspicion that they already know what this thing is. What you do need to dial back to that point is the minds of the creators. They need to realize that the Alien was limited by the fact that it was a man in a suit. If they tried anything too far out of the ordinary, then it would become obvious to the audience that this was a man in a suit, and the illusion would be ruined. One of the deleted scenes includes, for instance, the Alien walking on all four with its belly to the sky (a half hearted crab walk, really), but in order for this movement to have any effect on the audience, they had to see the full Alien, which didn't work because it was a Nigerian guy playing dress up. In a video game, this could absolutely work, and along with it any other frightening and inhumanly alien movements.

The Alien just needs to be alien again.

 

[Siel]

So is this game good? I hated Amnesia.

 

[Multidirectional]

Guys I might be stupid but how do I get past the first sneaking encounter?! The first one where you are alone, where you need to find that thing to fix the hacking device so you can get to the elevator. I'm playing on hard and when I pick up the hacking device the enemies spawn on top of the stairs and spread out in the large hall and whatever I'll do they notice me, even when I crouch and they have their backs turned towards me

Up on the side that the bad guys come down from, there is an unlocked door that you can go through if you head up the other staircase and go through the well lit lounge sort of room. The door is big but barely distinguishable in the darkness surrounding it except for the fact that it has a green light on it. There's a guy who patrols around that area, but he can be attacked.

I didn't attack a single one of them, I ran to the room on the left from the door where I picked up a hacking device and then crouched and kept going left two more times, had no problem sneaking past them. I'd hide behind the boxes near these people, and lean to see where they are, as soon as they go away from me I'd progress. Did this on Hard on my first try. Didn't imagine people would actually have problems with this part.

 

[Drakron]

Well if you think thats bad ... wait until the damned com station.

Tut Tut

... Indeed.

 

[sexbad?]

Guys I might be stupid but how do I get past the first sneaking encounter?! The first one where you are alone, where you need to find that thing to fix the hacking device so you can get to the elevator. I'm playing on hard and when I pick up the hacking device the enemies spawn on top of the stairs and spread out in the large hall and whatever I'll do they notice me, even when I crouch and they have their backs turned towards me

Up on the side that the bad guys come down from, there is an unlocked door that you can go through if you head up the other staircase and go through the well lit lounge sort of room. The door is big but barely distinguishable in the darkness surrounding it except for the fact that it has a green light on it. There's a guy who patrols around that area, but he can be attacked.

I didn't attack a single one of them, I ran to the room on the left from the door where I picked up a hacking device and then crouched and kept going left two more times, had no problem sneaking past them. I'd hide behind the boxes near these people, and lean to see where they are, as soon as they go away from me I'd progress. Did this on Hard on my first try. Didn't imagine people would actually have problems with this part.

Damn, you're lucky then. I would crouch and lean over a railing across the room from where they were, and they would see me after two or three seconds. It was pretty disheartening for them to have such accuracy with so few clues.

 

[Drakron]

Can you get more than one gun in the game?

Revolver, flamethrower, shotgun and nailgun.

 

[Ebonsword]

First of all, we need to examine the reason why the form is no longer frightening, and quite clearly it is familiarity.

I agree. A big part of what made the movie Alien scary to audiences in 1979 was that the creature was so, well, alien. It didn't look like anything people had seen before, and they had no idea of what it was capable of.

That's also, I think, why John Carpenter's The Thing is so effective (and the prequel is not).

What's a real shame is that Prometheus (despite being a pretty bad movie) gave them a perfectly valid lore reason to come up with a new creature as bizarre and frightening as the original Alien was in 1979, but the developer's wimped out and went with the same tired old xenomorph for the villain instead.

 

[sexbad?]

Well if you think thats bad ... wait until the damned com station.

Tut Tut

... Indeed.

Do you mean the part where you first encounter the robots? They were pretty slow for me, so I breezed right through it, except for when 90% of the level disappeared, and also when there was a vent overhead that the alien instantly killed me from.

 

[skacky]

To be honest, I've watched Alien hundreds of times (Aliens as well) and I still find the creature really scary. It's beautiful and gracious in a way but it's still a scary motherfucker. Alien is a horror film that is still very effective on me despite the fact that I know it by heart.

 

[Drakron]

Do you mean the part where you first encounter the robots? They were pretty slow for me, so I breezed right through it, except for when 90% of the level disappeared, and also when there was a vent overhead that the alien instantly killed me from.

Yes, you have 2 patrolling the main room, one patrolling the side room and two that will activate when the alarm goes off ... its pretty easy to get caught by the patrolling one since he have a long patrol route that will make you often to run into him.

Of course when the alarm goes off its a question of a mad dash to the exit since they dont run but can grab you easy, this isnt nearly as bad as later were ...

Spoiler

in the showcase room were one will activate and you have to kill him, the the rest of the room will activate and you have to kill them all, sure you can run when everyone gets active and delay them and even activate a fire trap but you need to kill them, the reactor is also pretty nasty as there is little place to hide and you have to use consoles around the area to start the purge

The only saving grace is they cannot run but if you get caught on a corridor you are screwed, I do have a somewhat cunning plan but it involves a schematic that you get on that area and a bit of backtracking.