Now that Daybreak and Cold Iron Studios have announced the release date of August 25 for Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2, it’s time for fans to get excited. It’s been nearly five years since the first game released, and despite the limited content, the game has remained a favorite among fans of the Alien franchise. Its “realistic” simulation of being a Colonial Marine allowed fans to customize their combat kits, play-style, and weaponry, with the Hardcore Mode even allowing player-created Colonial Marines to die permanently. Now, the franchise is returning with its second installment, which looks to build off of what fans loved in the initial release while improving the formula and adding in a few surprises.

This is a great chance to check in about what you’re most anticipating in Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2. While I remain a DIE HARD fan of the original (I put in an ungodly amount of playtime), there were aspect of the game that I felt were lacking. Most notable for me was the way Xenomoprhs, particularly the elite ones, were absolute bullet sponges. While I could do the mental gymnastics to justify this (the lore across the expanded universe differs about how impenetrable the chitinous armor is), it never really squared well with the 1986 film upon which the game is based. In Aliens, the Colonial Marines took down the Xenomorphs pretty quickly with the M41A Pulse Rifle. Developers at Cold Iron Studios have noted this issue and promise the Xenomorphs in AFE2 will be less spongy and much more aggressive and lethal. This will maintain the difficulty without the absurd HP. I look forward to seeing how this plays out.

Another promising aspect of AFE 2 is the new class system. I’m particularly curious about the Duelist and Specialist classes. As with most fans of the first game, I loved spending hours tinkering with my perks grid and trading build ideas with friends. The ability of the Specialist class to mix and match from all the classes makes this very promising and something I can’t wait to dive back into. As for the Duelist, the ability to carry two powerful rifles is another fan-dream come true. Like a lot of folks, I love the weapons lore of the Alien franchise and am thrilled to nerd out about it in AFE2. That the developers included content from Alien: Romulus is a bonus situation I’ll be talking about.

Of course, there are a lot of other improvements to celebrate, from the new enemies to the improved horde mode, and even having a fourth player on your fireteam. And for those who enjoy the hard difficulty settings, abilities will now do friendly fire damage—this is going to solve some cheese factor issues (looking at you Demolishers!).Tell us what you think! What are you most anticipating in the upcoming Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2? Share your reactions in the comments below or join the conversation on Boss Rush Network’s Discord, Facebook, and Twitter.

Featured Image: Daybreak