Alien: Isolation

[skacky]

I thought the whole atmosphere processor shenanigans in Aliens were great, personally. Maximum tension there, and I like how some of the marines disobey Gorman's orders (was it Hicks who pulled a shotgun from his backpack?). I hold Aliens (Director's Cut only) as the equal to Alien but not for the same reason. The latter is the ultimate horror film in my eyes while the former is the ultimate action film. The best part being that they both share the most badass heroine in cinema. The other two films are forgettable.

 

[Malpercio]

Yeah, I killed the woman at Gemini too the first time I saw her. =_=

Later she got killed by the Alien while he was roaming the zone looking for me, weird NPC.

 

[Kirkpatrick]

DC skacky , really? I don't know, maybe I got too used to theatrical cut, but DC for me had way too many unneeded scenes that ruined the pacing. In any case, it is an awesome action movie, that's certain.

 

[Unkillable Cat]

Useful tip of the day, since you can't skip these videos in ANY OTHER WAY:

Here is how to the skip intro:

Steam\SteamApps\common\Alien Isolation\DATA\UI\MOVIES

AMD_IDENT.USM

CA_IDENT.USM

FOX_IDENT.USM

just delete the . before USM ( AMD_IDENTUSM )

 

[Unkillable Cat]

My horrible deaths in this game are taking on a new spin - I'm in a room with a hostile android, I walk away from it and it watches me enter a closet, doesn't seem to mind.

Alien drops down in the next room, stomps around, enters this room, android starts its "What are you?" speech, Alien approaches android, then makes a direct line to where I am in the closet and kills me, the QTE prompts don't even show up.

I wonder... do the Alien and the androids "share" the same information? You know, like how the humans keep talking between themselves. "Found anything?" "Keep looking!", etc.

At least I know now how to do this sequence properly: Use the computer in the other room to call the android over to "perform maintenance", then get in the other room while it's busy.

 

[Morgoth]

Any chance you're playing on hard?

I only played on Medium and the Alien never did such stupid things on me.

 

[Unkillable Cat]

I am also playing on Medium.

 

[sser]

My horrible deaths in this game are taking on a new spin - I'm in a room with a hostile android, I walk away from it and it watches me enter a closet, doesn't seem to mind.

Alien drops down in the next room, stomps around, enters this room, android starts its "What are you?" speech, Alien approaches android, then makes a direct line to where I am in the closet and kills me, the QTE prompts don't even show up.

I wonder... do the Alien and the androids "share" the same information? You know, like how the humans keep talking between themselves. "Found anything?" "Keep looking!", etc.

At least I know now how to do this sequence properly: Use the computer in the other room to call the android over to "perform maintenance", then get in the other room while it's busy.

The Alien heard you posting on the Codex.

 

[Aldebaran]

The game improves significantly after the medical bay section is over. The Alien seems to switch over to primarily patrolling the vents and waiting for noises to bring him into the hallways. One thing I have noticed though, is that in the section where you get the flamethrower, you are given far too much ammunition. Essentially you can run through the level and blast the Alien with a short burst whenever he pops up. Maybe fuel becomes more scarce later on, though.

I also find it a bit odd that the Alien is afraid of fire if they are basing this on the first movie primarily. While later films might have ruined it, it was quite clearly implied that the Alien was not afraid of fire. After all, it was Ash who suggested the crew use flamethrowers to defend themselves and herd the Alien. Obviously he had no intention of letting the Alien die, or the crew members live if they intended to harm it. The flamethrower did little to stop the Alien's beeline toward Dallas in the vents, and it took a shuttle's thruster to the face without being incinerated.

 

[Morgoth]

I am also playing on Medium.

Verify Integrity of game cache in Steam, make sure all files got downloaded.

 

[Trash]

Currently playing it on hard. And it is proper hard. Humans spot me quickly but the Alien really goes all out. Fucking thing comes at me like a rocket whenever it finds me. And it finds me constantly. Not only because it has better senses and spots you far quicker but also because the bitch seems to search a lot more fanatical. This game is fucking harrowing.

 

[bonescraper]

how well did they manage to hit the visual style of the original film?

 

[1451]

Androids can see you because they AI sees you through cameras and informs them. What's ridiculous is that you can't attack them with your wrench, you can only kill humans in this game. And even this is problematic. I killed a dude and saved the game. His two companions found and killed me and when I reloaded his corpse was still there but there were three hostile humans again.

This game is so scripted.

 

[Machocruz]

The flamethrower did little to stop the Alien's beeline toward Dallas in the vents, and it took a shuttle's thruster to the face without being incinerated.

This reminds me how bad I am at connecting dots sometimes. I had always assumed the line about the alien being unkillable was not supported well, Ash was just trolling, etc., not only because Aliens showed otherwise, but also because the events in the first film were setup to where the crew never got a chance to test that assertion. Dallas panicked and started crawling around erratically instead of waiting for the alien to come to him and torch it. Parker couldn't torch it because Lambert conveniently wouldn't move her ass and Parker didn't have the wherewithal to try getting a different firing angle on it. Ripley ran away when she met it in the corridor outside the escape shuttle, even though she had a thrower. So for almost 30 years I've completely overlooked the fact that the end scene proves that flamethrowers would have not killed the creature. Herpaderp.

Still, the game does take liberties with the creature, namely the speed of the thing, which I pointed out earlier in the thread. It would be interesting to see if a slower moving version could still be made a threat, with proper ability to conceal itself among the shadows and textures of the ship like in the film. I think that would provide a different kind of tension, no less effective either.

 

[bonescraper]

What's ridiculous is that you can't attack them with your wrench, you can only kill humans in this game.

Are you a game joornalist perchance?

 

[Morgoth]

Androids can see you because they AI sees you through cameras and informs them. What's ridiculous is that you can't attack them with your wrench, you can only kill humans in this game.

Bullshit. EMP, Boltgun, Shotgun disables/kills them easily.

 

[Morgoth]

One of the rare games/engines that isn't simply technically gorgeous, but also nails everything artistically.

Logged in 19.6 hours.

10/10 would D1P again.

 

[Goat Vomit]

how well did they manage to hit the visual style of the original film?

Comparison

This is from the pre-order DLC though, right?

Morgoth, that's some stunning screens. God damn.

 

[ScottishMartialArts]

how well did they manage to hit the visual style of the original film?

Comparison

This is from the pre-order DLC though, right?

Morgoth, that's some stunning screens. God damn.

It could also be from the starting ship, the Torrens, which is said to be from the same manufacturer and to be a similar model as the Nostromo.

Totally digging this game by the way. Just finished the third mission a little while ago which features the first real face off with the alien. My heart was racing when I made it to safety and had to laugh at myself for getting so freaked out by a game. Took three tries to get through the final sequence, screaming at the end of both of the failed tries. I got to within visual range of the elevator I was trying to reach, but could see the alien slaughtering some humans, so I backed off down a stairwell to the last save point. As I proceeded back up the stairwell the bastard popped out of a vent right in front of me, I froze in terror, he pounced and the last shot was his mouth opening. Second, attempt I gave a wide berth of any ceiling vents, slowly crawling, terrified I was gonna draw him to me by sound. As I neared the top of the stairwell, I heard something behind me and he was charging up right around the corner, I panicked and continued to crawl rather than run; didn't work out well. In the final attempt, I got up the stairwell to the mezzanine above the lobby where the elevator was located. I continued to creep along and reached the lobby floor, but heard something, whipped around, and caught a glimpse of the alien up on the mezzanine! I dashed for the elevator alcove but was fumbling to activate the hack interface, and fearing he was right behind me, I cowered behind a bench in the alcove. I waited a second but he didn't seem to be approaching right away, so I turned back to the elevator, hacked it open, and then breathed an audible sigh of relief as the doors closed behind me.

 

[1451]

Not a game journalist yet. The future however is uncertain.
Making enemies unkillable in a game with action sequences is bad game design. Either give me an adventure or allow me to create the tools needed to eliminate the threats. Staring at a wall while listening to scary sounds is not my idea of a pastime.

Since hacking was mentioned, I'd like to state how I hate mini games. And in this game lots of interactions are mini games. While I understand that hacking must pose some difficulty and risks I don't understand why I have to press LMB+RMB+A to open doors. Since it is impossible to fail it should be an automatic interaction not requiring the player's input.

Despite my criticisms I also find this game amusing, the tension is real I have to admit. But it is so scripted that sometimes the illusion shatters.

 

[Morgoth]

You should become a game journalist.

 

[Aldebaran]

The QTEs for opening doors are in place because in a number of cases, timing is very important. If the Alien is in a nearby room, you have to make a decision on whether it is best to move on, and risk the QTE being interrupted by a tail through your abdomen, or scramble for a place to hide before he arrives. It is not unreasonable that you click the wrong input under the pressure, which costs you precious time. This did actually arise for me once, I had to turn two levers in a large room that the Alien never seemed to want to leave. I choked and pressed A instead of S, which resulted in him seeing me just before I could get back into cover.

Also the QTEs are there because of popamole.

Not necessarily related, but it could apply to the door QTEs, I logged into a computer in what appeared to be a safe room, only to hear the Alien drop from the vents behind me seconds after. Unfortunately, Ripley felt the need to properly log out of the computer before running and sacrificed her life to follow the manual's PC shutdown procedure.

 

[Davaris]

I killed a dude and saved the game. His two companions found and killed me and when I reloaded his corpse was still there but there were three hostile humans again.

This game is so scripted.

More like untested.

Not a game journalist yet. The future however is uncertain.
Making enemies unkillable in a game with action sequences is bad game design. Either give me an adventure or allow me to create the tools needed to eliminate the threats. Staring at a wall while listening to scary sounds is not my idea of a pastime.

Since hacking was mentioned, I'd like to state how I hate mini games. And in this game lots of interactions are mini games. While I understand that hacking must pose some difficulty and risks I don't understand why I have to press LMB+RMB+A to open doors. Since it is impossible to fail it should be an automatic interaction not requiring the player's input.

Despite my criticisms I also find this game amusing, the tension is real I have to admit. But it is so scripted that sometimes the illusion shatters.

Watched a walk-through last night and it looks like the same game as Doom 3, with a different paint job: No interactions. If you see anyone they want to kill you. If they do interact with you, its a cut scene or they are standing behind bullet proof glass, telling you what to do. And people leaving messages on tape machines all over the place. Who does that in RL?

"the tension is real I have to admit"

Doesn't look as scary as Penumbra. Those games give me the willies.

I don't know how people can stand these kinds of games after playing RPGs. The art is brilliant, but that's all you can say about AAA FPS. I don't understand why they spend countless millions on visuals and zero on the rest. Not upgrading my PC for this game.

 

[Aldebaran]

I noticed something else interesting. I had 12 fuel left for the flamethrower (about enough for 1/5 of a mouseclick) and the Alien had me completely cornered. Not wanting to run out of the precious fire of life before he was in range, I decided to wait for the last moment and simply aimed at him with the flame primed. Instead of the usual approach of an above average jet fighter, he actually walked towards me, paused in close range, and then walked into kill range. Unfortunately 12 fuels worth of fire only makes him angry. I am not sure if this is a routine the AI picks when you point the flamethrower at it, or if it was because I was cornered. If it is a flamethrower related event, then it could lead to interesting scenarios of trying to bluff him out of range in order to save as much fuel as possible.

Not exactly hyper advanced AI, but oh well.

I will research this next time I am doomed.

 

[Morgoth]

Short bursts will stop it and slow it down for a second, then it will charge again.. If it runs towards you and you fire at the last moment, it will knock you down to the floor with some damage taken while the Alien takes off.

It only fucks off immediately if you have plenty of gas in the tank for a long fire stroke.