Aliens: Fireteam Is The Alien Game We've All Been Waiting For
Game over, man, game over. While Ridley Scott might be telling Disney to "get away from her, you b*tch" when it comes to the Alien franchise's next move on the silver screen, the expanded world of Xenomorphs and Facehuggers is carving its own niche in the gaming world. The eggs are hatching all over again as Aliens: Fireteam aims to capture the magic of James Cameron's Aliens from 1986 and hopes to answer the age-old question of whether Scott or Cameron's movie is the superior Alien outing.
As far back as 1982, the Alien movies have found a place in the growing world of games. From the OG Alien on the Atari 2600, through to the abysmal Aliens: Colonial Marines in 2013, and lauded Alien: Isolation in 2014, we've almost seen it all. Thankfully, there are plans to resurrect the potential of those fan-favourite Colonial Marines for another chance to kick some Xeno butt and blast these acid-bleeding brutes into the cold abyss of space.
What is Aliens: Fireteam?
The latest entry in the ever-expanding Alien mythos is developed by Cold Iron Studios and pits you and your teammates against the Xenomorphs in this third-person co-op survival shooter. It's a tongue twister on its own, but for those who've watched Aliens, those gritty goons delivered us some of the best characters to grace the franchise's 42-year history.
Aliens: Fireteam is coming to PC via Steam, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, and Xbox One. The shooter forces you to take on an alien horde with some vague hopes of survival. Whereas the survival of Alien: Isolation was a tense title that forced you to take on the Xeno with limited resources and your own brainpower, Fireteam is much like Aliens compared to Alien. It's an all guns blazing affair that hopes to blow a hole in our expectations.
A description for Aliens: Fireteam reads, "Set 23 years after the original Alien trilogy, Aliens: Fireteam drops players into the role of a Colonial Marine aboard the USS Endeavor, recently tasked with answering a distress call from the outer colonies. Deploy to overrun facilities, abandoned ruins, and strange alien landscapes as you battle terrifying enemies across four campaigns with two friends or AI teammates".
Playing a bit like Left 4 Dead (but in space) mixed with Gears of War, Aliens: Fireteam tasks players with taking on roles including Demolisher, Doc, Gunner, Recon, and Technician. You load up your arsenal and have to tear through waves of those toothy terrors. If you think you'll be facing-off against a lone Xeno like in Isolation, you're wrong - dead wrong. As well as 11 types of Xenomorph, the nefarious Wyland-Yutani Corporation has also sent in some of those typically unhinged synthetics to get in your way. We just hope there's a likeness of Lance Henriksen's Bishop to aid you on your mission.
What else do we know about Aliens: Fireteam?
Of course, this isn't the first time we've tried to barrel in with the biggest guns we've got as Colonial Marines. Fans of the franchise might remember Aliens: Colonial Marines, which failed to capitalise on what could've been a best-selling idea. Gearbox Software's game had a tumultuous development process, and although it tried to tie to the events of Cameron's beloved movie, ultimately fell short. Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford claims he lost up to $15 million of his own money, and worse than this, accusations of misselling the game led to a potential lawsuit between Sega and Gearbox. Here's hoping Aliens: Fireteam fares a little better.
In terms of what else you can expect from Fireteam, there are five character classes, you can customise and mod your weapons, there's character progression, and the chance to "mutate" each mission with a Challenge Card system. You'll jump into action in squads of three. There are four campaigns that each include three missions, however, there's the idea of replayability.
Cold Iron Studios boss Craig Zinkievich hyped the release of Aliens: Fireteam and told fans "This is the action game Aliens fans have been waiting for - hordes of different Xenomorphs swarming over ceilings and across walls, surrounding your team and striking from every angle. Work together, customize your character, utilise tons of weapons and gear and... well, you just might get your fireteam out alive."
It remains to be seen how much of a survival horror Fireteam is, or whether it's a straight-up shooter. We previously mentioned Alien: Isolation, which was a truly terrifying experience as you crawled through vents and evaded the Xeno as Ellen Ripley's daughter. As well as Isolation leading to a spin-off called Alien: Blackout, it finally showed us how an Alien game should be made. We're praying that even an ounce of its influence can be felt in Fireteam. Remember that in space, no one can hear you scream.
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Images via Cold Iron Studios | 20th Century Fox
