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Just when you thought it was safe: Missing Aliens games back on Steam
It's like that bit at the end of Alien. You're finally able to relax in the knowledge that it's all over, you're safe. You give Jones a hug, put him in the cryotube, get undressed down to your skimpy underthings, all ready to chill. Then suddenly... OH CRAP. You aren't safe. You never were. You thought you'd escaped, but Aliens: Colonial Marines and Aliens vs. Predator 2010 are... Still. On. Steam. And you're in nothing but your undergarbs. The two Aliens games mysteriously left the Steam station last week, but now they've returned with just as little explanation. The new year timing suggests licensing issues played their part, but there's not been any official comment on the matter - we've reached out to publisher Sega to find out more. In any case, the important thing is they're back, everything appears to be in order, and you should probably get some clothes on. Update: Sega had no comment for Joystiq, perhaps lest the Aliens hear it. [Image: Sega]
Aliens: Colonial Marines, AvP (2010) vacate Steam's air ducts
The age of digital distribution brings with it many joys: sales are frequent, there's less clutter around the home, and no more blowing into cartridges. Unfortunately, it also brings unique disadvantages, such as games suddenly disappearing from digital marketplaces. Such is the tale of Aliens: Colonial Marines and Alien Vs. Predator (the 2010 version) on Steam. It's likely that the games being removed from Steam is due to a licensing issue, considering that the games (which utilize properties owned by 20th Century Fox) were available right up until 2015 started. However, it's interesting to note that Aliens: Colonial Marines is still available as a digital purchase on both PSN and the Xbox Marketplace, while AvP is available not on the former, but the latter. Alien: Isolation is still available on all fronts, and the original version of Aliens Vs. Predator from 2000 is also still up for grabs on Steam. We've reached out to publisher Sega for more information, and will update if we hear back. In the meantime, stay frosty. [Image: Sega]
Sega pins Aliens: Colonial Marines marketing mishaps on Gearbox
After Aliens: Colonial Marines publisher Sega moved to settle a class-action lawsuit to the tune of $1.25 million in August for alleged false advertising for the game, it shifted the blame for the game's marketing issues to Gearbox Software, according to court documents obtained by Game Informer. Internal emails from Gearbox and Sega representatives cite examples of the former revealing information about the game without the consent of the publisher. One such email refers to a New York Comic Con panel in October 2012, in which Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford firmly states that a Wii U version of Aliens: Colonial Marines would launch in February 2013 alongside the other versions of the game. Emails within Sega stated that "no-one on the call was aware" of the Wii U version, and that it's "not been picked up so far." Of course, the game missed its Wii U launch window before Sega confirmed in March 2013 that it was no longer in development.
Sega moves for $1.25M Aliens: Colonial Marines settlement
Aliens: Colonial Marines publisher Sega has moved to settle a class-action lawsuit brought against the company regarding alleged false advertising to the tune of $1.25 million, according to court documents filed with the US District Court for the Northern District of California. Should the motion be accepted, plaintiffs Damion Perrine and John Locke would receive $2,500, while $312,500 would be used to cover their attorney fees. Administration fees would total $200,000. That leaves $735,000 to be divvied up among members of the class filing the lawsuit, with each share not exceeding $59.99. Game Informer reports that the number of claimants is estimated to be roughly 135,000 people, which equals roughly $5.44 per payout. While that's not exactly what we'd call "rolling in the dough," the case could nonetheless set an interesting precedent for the way games are advertised. The days of the infamous "bullshot" could - could! - be numbered. If accepted by the court, the motion would protect Sega - but not developer Gearbox - from further litigation. [Image: Sega]
Michael Biehn: Working on Colonial Marines 'wasn't fun at all'
Actor Michael Biehn, who played Corporal Hicks in landmark 1986 sci-fi film "Aliens," recently described Gearbox Software's first-person shooter spinoff, Aliens: Colonial Marines, as a "passionless" project, and revealed that reprising his film role in the game "wasn't fun at all." "It seemed kind of passionless," Biehn said in an interview with Game Informer. "I think in movies, television, and the gaming world, you get some people that are really, really passionate, and some people that are just going through the paces." "They think that because they have a brand name they're going to get a hit game or hit movie out of it," Biehn continued. "That certainly was the situation on [Aliens: Colonial Marines]." In contrast, Biehn praised his follow-up experience voicing Sergeant Rex "Power" Colt in Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon, due largely to the hands-on involvement of creative director Dean Evans. "Dean is such an interesting and creative presence," Biehn said. "He has such energy and such passion. One of the things that I really, really enjoy working still in this business is finding people that have that kind of passion." [screenshot courtesy Game Informer]
Aliens: Colonial Marines DLC concludes with 'Stasis Interrupted'
The final Aliens: Colonial Marines DLC, "Stasis Interrupted," is available on Xbox Live, PSN and Steam today. This single-player add-on, which is free for Season Pass holders and $10 for everyone else, follows three different characters through an interlocking story, ultimately shedding light on what went down with Corporal Dwayne Hicks between Aliens and Alien 3. Despite being panned by critics, Aliens: Colonial Marines wasn't a total dud for publisher Sega: As of May, 1.31 million copies of the first-person shooter have been shipped out into the wild. A Wii U version was also in the works before being canned.
Aliens: Colonial Marines trophies reveal extended campaign DLC
A new set of unlockable trophies has surfaced for the PlayStation 3 version of Gearbox Software's Aliens: Colonial Marines, hinting at the imminent release of a new batch of downloadable content. Judging from its trophy descriptions, the "Stasis Interrupted" downloadable content offers a new single-player campaign, with trophies available for story progression and audio log collecting. Stasis Interrupted will likely premiere as the last of four add-on content packs promised by the Aliens: Colonial Marines Season Pass, following up on the previously released Reconnaissance Pack, Movie Map Pack, and Bug Hunt Pack. Speaking with the Nerdist podcast recently, Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford revealed that the company will cease development for current consoles once it has completed its DLC plans for Colonial Marines and Borderlands 2. Pitchford also hints that a new IP is in development at Gearbox, which the company will officially announce "sometime later."
Men's Room Mayhem hits PSN next week, Aliens: Colonial Marines DLC
The former Sony Liverpool devs at Sawfly Studios are bringing Men's Room Mayhem to Vita next week, via PSN. It should arrive on May 21 in North America, although as always with news revealed by the PlayStation Blogcast, dates can be subject to change. If you're curious about the curiously named game, Phil Gaskell from publisher Ripstone describes it as "Flight Control meets Carry on at Your Convenience." – No, it's not the flight paths of... that stuff, but about getting patrons to where they need to go. "In Men's Room Mayhem you're hired as the janitor of your very own chaotic men's room," said Gaskell on the PlayStation Blog. "You're responsible for directing patrons, keeping everywhere sparkling clean and steering patrons away from trouble! You need to get your customers safely to the urinals and cubicles in time – otherwise there'll be a few nasty accidents for you to clean up!" The Blogcast also outed a wee (ahem) bit of other content in next week's PS Store update. A "smattering of DLC" is coming to Aliens: Colonial Marines, although the podcast wasn't any more specific than that. A digital PS3 version of Mugen Souls is also due.
Sega Sammy posts fiscal net profit, Aliens: Colonial Marines shipped 1.3M [update]
Sega Sammy reported financial results for the fiscal year ending March 31 2013 today, noting a net profit of ¥33.5 billion, which converts to $331 million. The figure represents annual growth of 53.3 percent. However, the company's operating profit decreased year-on-year by 67.3 percent, down now to ¥19.1 billion, or $189 million. While Sega Sammy made significant net profit, largely through gains on the sales of "investment securities" and transfers of employees' pension benefits, the company noted decreased demand for packaged games in light of global economics. Sega Sammy said it must adapt to a market leaning towards games on social networks and smartphones. That decreased demand was coupled with a year of restructuring at Sega Sammy's US and European divisions. With less games coming out as a result, it's no surprise Sega Sammy saw decline in packaged software shipments, down to 10.8 million overall. They include 1.31 million units of the critically panned Aliens: Colonial Marines, as well as 1.36 million for Sonic & All Stars Racing Transformed and 940,000 for Football Manager 2013. Meanwhile, Yakuza 5 shipped 590,000 units since its launch in Japan in December 2012. Sega Sammy's biggest success gaming-wise looks to be Phantasy Star Online 2. The PC and Vita MMO has a subscription base of over 2.5 million now, and the company said revenue from in-game purchasable items "exceeded forecasted levels." Sega Sammy forecasts it will ship 11 games on PC, 7 on Wii U, 7 on PS3, 6 on 3DS, 5 on Vita, 4 on Xbox 360, and 2 on PSP in the fiscal year ending March 31 2014 - of course there'll be some crossover there. The company estimates a 41 percent growth in net profit for the next fiscal year, up to ¥47 billion, or $464 million. Update: Sports Interactive's Miles Jacobson tweets Football Manager 2013 has now passed the 1 million mark for sales, having done so five months earlier than FM2012 did.
Colonial Marines co-dev TimeGate files for bankruptcy protection
Section 8 developer and Aliens: Colonial Marines co-developer TimeGate Studios has filed for bankruptcy protection in the Texas Southern Bankruptcy Court, revealing that it owes its creditors between $10 million and $50 million in debt. Court documents note that TimeGate seeks protection from creditors while it reexamines its finances, Polygon reports. Currently, the company owes large, unspecified amounts to partners such as Epic Games, Agora Games and DJ2 Entertainment. The petition names nearly 50 creditors in all. TimeGate recently lost an appeal in its long-running legal battle with publisher SouthPeak Interactive, potentially owing $7.35 million in damages and losing its rights to the Section 8 intellectual property. Aliens: Colonial Marines, which TimeGate developed in partnership with Gearbox Software, is the subject of an ongoing class action lawsuit. TimeGate's current project, the minimalist free-to-play shooter Minimum, was announced in April.
Sega and Gearbox targeted in Aliens: Colonial Marines lawsuit
Gearbox Software and Sega have both been named in a class action lawsuit alleging that the two companies knowingly misrepresented Aliens: Colonial Marines in trade show demos. After the game was released to negative reviews, some players and critics claimed the game's trailers and demonstrations didn't match up to the final product. The lawsuit's plaintiff, Damion Perrine, and the law firm of Edelson LLC have decided to take the matter to court for consumers. The suit cites a tweet from Gearbox head Randy Pitchford, who called initial complaints over the delta between demo and final game "understood and fair." The legal action also suggests demos were misleadingly labeled as "actual gameplay," and that Sega embargoed press reviews until the early morning of Colonial Marines' release date, preventing early buyers from discovering the differences. Accordingly, the suit asks for class action damages for anyone who pre-ordered the game or bought it on release day. The next step in a class action suit like this will be for the courts to certify the class. Unless Sega and Gearbox fight for a settlement right away, Edelson will next need to figure out how many players were mislead in the way described in the lawsuit. Once determined, the class will be notified of the suit, and the case can move forward.
Aliens: Colonial Marines for Wii U 'no longer in development'
The Wii U version of Aliens: Colonial Marines is game overed, man."Sega can confirm that the Wii U SKU of Aliens: Colonial Marines is no longer in development," a company representative has informed Joystiq.Discomfort over the game's heartbeat rose this week after the title missed its first quarter launch window and publisher Sega was unable to confirm an updated status. Aliens: Colonial Marines currently stands as one of the worst-reviewed games of the year.
Aliens: Colonial Marines for Wii U misses launch window, Sega declines comment
The Wii U version of Aliens: Colonial Marines missed its first quarter launch window at the designated retail rendezvous point and its fate is currently in question. Gamespot asked Sega yesterday if there was a new debut date for the year's highest profile disaster (you're welcome, SimCity) for the Nintendo console and the publisher responded, "Still no comment on ACM, sorry!"Gamespot notes this is the third time the publisher has refused a status update and Demiurge, the developer tasked with the Wii U version, isn't talking. Randy Pitchford, CEO of Gearbox Software (which put its name on the box for the other console versions), was also unsure last month if the Wii U version was coming out, noting it was Sega's decision.
Sega Europe acknowledges Aliens: Colonial Marines trailers didn't reflect final content
Sega Europe will alter its deceptive trailers of Aliens: Colonial Marines in the UK to acknowledge the difference between promotion and final product. GI.biz reports a complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority in the UK by a Reddit user triggered Sega to make amends in order to avoid a formal investigation."Sega Europe acknowledged your objection that the trailers did not accurately reflect the final content of the game," Niall McVeigh, complaints executive at the Advertising Standards Authority wrote. "[Sega] agreed to add a disclaimer, both on their website and in all relevant YouTube videos, which explains that the trailers depict footage of the demo versions of the game. The disclaimer will be visible when each online trailer is played."According to the ASA website, the organization received four complaints. It's widely known now that Sega and developer Gearbox Software misled the press and public with inaccurate demonstrations of Aliens: Colonial Marines for years. The game currently stands as one of the worst reviewed titles of 2013.
Aliens: Colonial Marines patch fixes a lot of things, even the flamethrower
Clean up on aisle Aliens: Colonial Marines – Sega launched a patch to address a few of the issues in Colonial Marines, including various visual improvements, improved texture resolution, audio fixes, increased enemy and friendly AI responsiveness, modified enemy collision detection and NPC navigation, fixed spawning issues, removal of the ability to walk outside of maps, and many more, listed in full below.Our favorite from this extensive list has to be, "Addressed an issue where Ripley's Flamethrower (bonus content) would sometimes fire continuously without player input." The update should automatically install on Steam, so unfortunately there's no way to keep that particular glitch (feature?) in your game.When Colonial Marines launched in February, we found it to be a broken, unfinished mess, and most others agreed. Since it hit stores, developers Gearbox, TimeGate and publisher Sega have yet to agree where the blame lies. TimeGate let go 25 people in early March.
Report: Layoffs at Aliens: Colonial Marines dev TimeGate Studios
Twenty-five people were laid off at TimeGate Studios, one of the developers behind the recent bomb Aliens: Colonial Marines, Polygon reports. TimeGate President Adel Chaveleh says the layoffs are spurred, in part, by the transition to next-gen consoles, and Polygon cites a publishing deal that fell through."Today, we had to make the difficult decision to let go of some great game developers," Chaveleh says. "This is never easy, and we're doing all we can to assist those developers affected. TimeGate is preparing, as is the entire industry, for the transition to next-generation consoles and new business models. As part of this reinvention, all projects and strategic initiatives continue to move forward at the studio."TimeGate is based in Houston, Texas. Since its announcement in 2006, Gearbox Software spearheaded development of Aliens: Colonial Marines, though the work was shared with TimeGate.
Players probe the code of Aliens: Colonial Marines, find some fixes
Maybe when the industry and players panned Aliens: Colonial Marines for being a hot mess, it was only because we all approached it from the wrong angle. Perhaps Colonial Marines' true gameplay value lies in its modding opportunities, specifically those that would fix the game's graphics, lighting, AI, UI and anything else that might need it.Groups of players with programming skills are taking to the Colonial Marines source code, attempting to patch up the game (for PC) on their own. The Steam and Gearbox forums host a number of fix guides, including this step-by-step walkthrough with pre-made files from Steam user adonys.Gearbox forum member kutjong notes an interesting phenomenon within the Colonial Marines code: "It's quite fascinating to study the .ini files. In PecanCompat.ini you can see all the graphics cards that qualify for a certain class. The most modern graphics card in that list is from 2007!" This Gearbox thread in particular hosts some comparison screenshots from before and after players have fiddled with the code, including the enhanced shot above. Game on, coders.
Aliens: Colonial Marines storms this week's UK charts
Disaster or no, Aliens: Colonial Marines is still a big enough name to not only take top spot ahead of Dead Space 3 in the UK charts this week, but to become the country's biggest new release of 2013 so far - a stat perhaps scarier than anything in the game itself.Dead Space 3 is in second place this week after a 57 percent drop in sales, while the traditional mid-term holiday bump - sales rose 39 percent overall from last week - sees Assassin's Creed 3 and Halo 4 re-enter the top ten at sixth and tenth respectively.Ni no Kuni and DmC: Devil May Cry suffered big drops last week, and both continue their descents this time around. Ni no Kuni's third week in Europe sees it tumble to 25th, while after five weeks DmC almost leaves the top 40 altogether, coming in at 39th.
Metareview: Aliens: Colonial Marines
Get away from this game, you @#%$!. Our review of Gearbox's Aliens: Colonial Marines found it "devoid of any redeeming qualities whatsoever." Let's find out how others felt. EGM (90/100): "On an express elevator to otherworldly awesomeness."meanwhile, everyone else... OXM UK (60/100): "It needed to offer intense combat against an unstoppable force, deft storytelling that matched the cinematic flair of the films, and some new ideas that could have rejuvenated an overexposed franchise. It needed, in short, to be a better game." Edge (50/100): "Colonial Marines feels stiff, shallow and dated. First announced for a 2008 release before the Aliens franchise machine prioritized other projects, it feels like more work has been retained from that initial production period than either Gearbox or Sega would care to admit. " Game Informer (40/100): "Take away the Aliens license, and you've got a shooter that has no reason to exist. It would be like stripping the terraforming from Fracture or playing Inversion without its gravity-defying gimmick. At its best, it's barely mediocre." Eurogamer (30/100): "It's shocking stuff, certainly one of the most glitchy mainstream releases of this hardware generation, and the sort of thing that would barely pass muster as a low budget game from 2002."
Aliens Colonial Marines review: Bore to the corps
Aliens: Colonial Marines seems like a product developed over a series of Friday afternoons. You know, those long days where passion felt throughout the rest of the week has dissolved and all that's left are the moments you count off in your head as the clock inches toward closing time.Though my tongue is planted firmly in cheek as I describe Gearbox's development schedule, Aliens: Colonial Marines showcases the monstrous pendulum that swings between the quality of the products released by the Texas studio. Whatever magic Gearbox pours into the Borderlands series, it isn't to be found here, and despite being blessed with a franchise practically tailor-made for a video game adaptation, Aliens: Colonial Marines is devoid of any redeeming qualities whatsoever.
