Aliens: Fireteam is set to release this summer across multiple platforms; and I have to tell you, I’m beyond excited. I’ve been a fan of the Alien films since my early years, growing up in the 90s. I’ve played video games featuring the franchise almost as long.
I have fond memories of playing the ridiculous side-scrolling shooter Alien 3 on the Sega Genesis. Something about the dystopic vision in 16-bit graphics captivated me. As I grew older, I reveled in the amalgamation of lore that was Alien Trilogy for the Sony PlayStation. The game surely doesn’t hold up to modern standards, but the first person shooter lives well in my nostalgia.
Aliens games have been hit and miss. We don’t need to delve into the bloodbath of reviews for Aliens: Colonial Marines; though I’ll privately admit I enjoyed that one too–especially the DLC. I hope that won’t discredit me in your eyes; I know it wasn’t worthy of any awards, but I’m a sucker for just about any Aliens franchise game.
Recently, I finished a playthrough of Alien: Isolation. The game made me feel young again–all that fear, the unbearable tension building with the story. The game recaptured the wonder and spine-tingling horror that made me come to love the franchise and the games associated with it. Unlike the other games mentioned in this piece, Alien: Isolation is not a shooter; rather it sits squarely in the survival horror genre. Players are forced to hide in lockers and beneath tables, craft tool to distract the Xenomorph, and to rely on their motion-tracker to survive nearly impossibly odds.
I still a enjoy a good bug hunt though. I’ll be playing Aliens: Fireteam on day one and may even upgrade my Xbox to the next gen system in the process. I love these games that much. So for today’s Boss Rush Banter question, I thought it worth asking, What is the best gaming genre for the Aliens franchise?
Now before you start shouting at me through the keyboard, I recognize that the mere framing of the question might already contain the answer. Perhaps Alien games are best suited for survival horror and Aliens games are best equipped for first person shooters; it would certainly parallel the direction of the films. I don’t think it has to be that way, however. I believe Alien: Isolation actually created a model for a compromise between weaponless survival games and mindless bug hunts, though that will have to wait for another article.
Tell us what you think! What gaming genre best fits the Aliens franchise? Share your reactions in the comments below or join in the conversation over on our Boss Rush Network Discord channel.
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