ALIENS: COLONIAL MARINES was in development in February 2008, announced by 20th CENTURY FOX to be considered a true sequel to the 1986 classic ALIENS film, despite its new medium. Fast forward four years and numerous delays later, and the release of the highly anticipated title is finally here offering up a drop in-and-out cooperative multiplayer campaign, fun multiplayer modes featuring the continuing battles of space Marines against the Xenomorphs. Gearbox Software, having promised to stay as true to the game's predecessors as possible, as they're huge fans of the ALIENS franchise as well, have delivered something great that will have you hooked for hours on end before saying, "Game over man! Game Over!"

ALIENS: COLONIAL MARINES introduces players to a whole new set of Marines led by Corporal Christopher Winter and his group of fellow soldiers. Winters will almost always be joined in combat by O'Neal, Bella and Cruz, since the game's campaign is fully cooperative, but each character has their own unique personality that will make you care about, or despise, them throughout the new storyline. The game begins with the crew heading to the remains of the U.S.S. Sulaco to answer a distress call sent out by the crew from the original series. It's clear something has gone terribly wrong aboard the ship, and your group of Marines aims to find out what happened. Throughout the campaign, you'll find plenty of horrifying encounters with the Xenomorphs, including new species such as the enormous Crusher, and your team will be armed to the teeth with flamethrowers, M41A Pulse Rifles and the amazingly powerful M52 Smartgun. Gearbox provides plenty of fan service with epic showdowns against Xenomorphs while inside of the iconic power loader and staying true to the original locations such as the surface of the mysterious planet LV-426. ALIENS: COLONIAL MARINES is definitely a game created by fans of the series, for fans of the series.

The multiplayer of ALIENS: COLONIAL MARINES allows players to continue as space marines or go dark side as a deadly Xenomorph. The game features fully customizable characters including modified loadouts for humans and the ability to change the look of your Marine and Alien. Additional items can be unlocked to use in-game by heading to the four various game modes featured in the multiplayer.. “Team Deathmatch” is all about racking up the kills and places heavily armed humans against Xenomorphs with unique abilities that will slink and slither their way through air ducts to sneak up on the Marines and kill them with a quick melee attack. Other modes in the game includes the 4 vs. 4 match type “Escape,” where the human must overcome plenty of obstacles to reach the other side of the map, all while a team of Xenomorphs attempt to stop them. “Extermination” has two teams of six fighting for control of randomly generated locations around the map. ALIENS: COLONIAL MARINES also features its own version of the highly popular Horde mode called “Survival” where increasingly difficult waves of enemies attack a group of four survivors. Each mode offers something unique to the multiplayer experience in ALIENS: COLONIAL MARINES, but the most fun is easily Escape, as it forces teams to cooperate together to weld through doors and navigate through other obstacles in a desperate attempt to reach a safe zone. The matches played online are mostly lag free and it should only get easier to start a game as the fan base continues to grow.

If you're a fan of the film series you will love ALIENS: COLONIAL MARINES, plain and simple. The wisecracks between characters, frightening locations and authentic Xenomorphs are all fondly reminiscent of the highly popular series, but ALIENS: COLONIAL MARINES manages to include plenty of new content into the release that keeps the experience fresh while adding a whole new chapter to the legendary storyline. Mastering the controls is easy, shooting is loads of fun as Xenomorph acid and blood fly through the air, and the game rarely misses a step throughout the entire campaign. Gearbox and SEGA have something special here, and it won't be a big surprise to be talking about the next great ALIENS game from this team in the near future. Good thing there is cryogenic freezing to make the wait bearable!

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