Welcome to the first installment of a video game review column I plan to run several times a month here on TRPWL. Our first contribution comes from Zarrah Angel, who reviewed the game Alien: Isolation for the Xbox One.
It’s Xenomorphin’ time! This new Alien: Isolation game has got me jumping out of my panties and fangirling at the same time. I’ve had a long time obsession with the Alien series and the new Alien game puts you right into your long time favorite horror-science-fiction film! I can only really explain it like this: the first half is 1979 first of the series “Alien” movie and the second half is if Ridley Scott had returned to do a sequel. The gaming experience opens up and you go places and see shocking things you didn’t anticipate.. then sheer terror ensues.
The quality of Isolation is obvious from the second the game boots up. Everything is so realistic. You really get the feeling of being on the ship, it’s spooky and invigorating. As soon as you get into it, you can tell how sharp and cinematic it is. A unique POV experience using only basic tools given to you. The screen remains very icon-free and really makes you feel like you’re truly on your own.
This game is certainly faithful to its movie counterpart. Everything is spot on, the story makes sense as you are playing Ellen Ripley’s daughter, Amanda. She wants to find out what happens to her mom so she takes the excursion to immersfully throw herself into danger that her mother has given birth to (technically speaking of course). As soon as you are dropped into the game, you almost feel like you are in the movie and on the Weyland Enterprise ship, Nostromo. Everything feels the same and all of the equipment is eerily spot on.
Going into this, I thought I would be sneaking around one fierce Xenomorph. As I played I realized there are many more obstacles in my way. The game gives you droids, looters, and stuff like military personnel to keep you busy along your journey. From key cards to doors and sneaking around in vents. The enemies and the way the gameplay ran kept me sitting in constant fear of being discovered and facing my gruesome death time and time again.
It’s all about survival! In reference to the movies, the best way to destroy a Xenomorph is to kill it with fire! Unfortunately, there’s not much fire to play with for your fight to survival. You’re armed only with a few melee weapons to start and towards the end you get a flamethrower. The flamethrower was like a victory tool for making it as far as you did. It’s all about your simple willingness to sneak around and make smart decisions. Some of the negative reviews I’ve seen seem to include misinformation (you’re not finished with the alien halfway through). In general, people need to understand that it’s a stealthy game requiring patience; if you become too reckless, you will face consequences.
As far as gameplay time, it took me about 16 hours to complete the game on hard mode. The first few hours are purely tutorial. I haven’t tried any of the other modes, so be prepared to give this game the time and attention it deserves and will most certainly need. As I mentioned earlier, there’s a first half and a second half. A lot of people complain about how long the game is, but a fan like me loves every minute of it. This is a LONG game and requires time.
I recommend playing this game at night with the lights off and a good gaming headset for its full effect. For me, I don’t believe I would’ve gotten as “FUCK SHIT DAMNIT” and “Niiiiice Alien, let’s be friends please” if I didn’t have my surround sound headset. Overall, If you’re not into stealthy games, I would not recommend this to you. It’s very challenging as well (I played on hard, so I don’t know what the lower difficulties are like, but I’m not sure how much easier the game can be made) so keep that in mind. If you like stealth games, and you like the Alien franchise, GET THIS GAME NOW!
Follow Zarah on Twitter, buy her gifts from her wishlist here, and view some of her porn at Burning Angel.
I have several other performers lined up to do reviews and you’ll be seeing Zarrah again as well, but are always looking for more. If you’re interested, please contact me electronically.
Alien really got under my skin. I saw it when I was way too young for it and to this day I sometimes have nightmares about xenomorphs. Gotta love H.R. Giger’s ability to effect the mind! I’ll probably try Isolation at some point as Evil Within left me a tad disappointed and luke-warm.
More reviews from zarrah please !