The Alien Franchise

[thecolorsblend]

'I've just seen the new Ridley Scott – I know who the new Ridley Scott is, and it's David Fincher.'

All this time, I thought I was the only one who held their work (in film in general, not specifically this franchise) in just about equal regard. My affection for Fincher's work overall edges out Scott. Such is life. But yes, in my book, the two are practically neck and neck. Nice to know I'm not the only one thinking this way.

[The Dark Knight]

A new Alien TV series has been announced. It'll air on FX and Ridley Scott is serving as executive producer.

This is something I'm interested in. I wouldn't mind if it was an adaption of Alien Isolation, which I consider to be canon.

[Silver Nemesis]

Alien: Isolation is great. I've been playing it a lot over the past week. One of the reasons I enjoy it, besides it being a satisfying expansion of the Alien mythology, is that it reminds me of the classic survival horror games of yesteryear. Survival horror has always been one of my favourite gaming genres. The heyday for that type of game was between the release of the first Resident Evil in 1996 and RE4 in 2005. Back in my teens and early twenties I used to play every survival horror game I could get my hands on.

Resident Evil, Silent Hill, Clock Tower, Alone in the Dark, Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem, Fatal Frame/Project Zero, Dino Crisis, Parasite Eve, Cold Fear, Haunting Ground, Dead Space, The Thing, Onimusha, Ghost Hunter, Cursed Mountain, The Blair Witch Project PC games, The X-Files: Resist or Serve, Dementium, Forbidden Siren, and many, many others.

Alien: Isolation is the closest I've seen any modern game come to capturing the feel of those old classics. There's an episode of the sitcom Spaced where Simon Pegg's character praises Resident Evil 2 as "a subtle blend of lateral thinking and extreme violence" and that description could equally apply to Alien: Isolation. Every Alien fan should experience it.

[Silver Nemesis]

A new Alien videogame is coming out later this year titled Aliens: Fireteam. Apparently it's a co-op third-person shooter set 23 years after the events of Alien 3.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1GRp19A89A&feature=emb_logo

I think most fans would prefer a new single-player survival horror game in the style of Isolation, but Fireteam might be ok.

[thecolorsblend]

Disclaimer: I am not a gamer by any stretch of the imagination.

Still, Aliens: Fireteam sounds kind of interesting. I'm not promising I'll check it out. But don't be too surprised if I do.

[The Dark Knight]

I think most fans would prefer a new single-player survival horror game in the style of Isolation, but Fireteam might be ok.

I'm busy enjoying Hitman 3, which is my favorite game series of all, which is all about stealth and creativity. That suits Alien as well, but I'm glad they're going the heavy artillery route this time. Isolation is great, but there's been many times when I've been wanting to cut loose rather than hide and make do with limited resources.

[Silver Nemesis]

There's definitely room for both styles of game within the franchise. The key here is in the title. It's Aliens: Fireteam, not Alien: Fireteam. Alien: Isolation reflected the tone of Scott's original film, and this game should reflect the more action-oriented style of Cameron's 1986 movie.

Back when I was a teenager I used to play the Aliens versus Predator games on PC (I hated the AVP movies, but the games were good), which also gave you the option of playing as a marine.

I never played the Colonial Marines game that was released back in 2013, but I've heard it was disappointing. So we're due for a good Aliens shoot 'em up.

[thecolorsblend]

A new Alien TV series has been announced. It'll air on FX and Ridley Scott is serving as executive producer.

This passed on by without much comment from me. I should say that this does seem kind of interesting. Particularly, the angle of the show being set on Earth. Off-hand, I'm not aware of anything in this franchise dealing with Earth too much (unless Alien vs. Predator counts).

Between the newer Scott prequels, this TV show and the video games, somebody behind the scenes is obviously very keen to explore this franchise.

[The Dark Knight]

(I hated the AVP movies, but the games were good)

I quite like the concept of the first AvP but it's nonetheless a misfire. The other films are scars on both characters are should never have made it past the scripting stage.

The Batman/Aliens crossover comic is surprisingly good, and has great art and lots of atmosphere with the jungle and spaceship settings. The nightmare of Bruce's parents dying via chestburster is a standout, and Batman himself is enjoyable as a badass detective. If anyone hasn't read it I recommend doing so.   

[Silver Nemesis]