The setting of the game takes place 15 years after the original Alien film and 42 years prior to James Cameroon's second installment of the franchise, Aliens. The player takes the role of the daughter of Ellen Ripley (the main protagonist in the Alien franchise), Amanda. Amanda has been sent to another space station under the name of "Sevastopol" in order to find the missing recording of the lost Nostromo crew and the whereabouts of her long lost mother. To her surprise, the bloodthirsty Xenomorph (alien) has already infested the space station and soon learns that it's not the only one aboard on the ship. The game uses a first person perspective of Amanda in order to make her way around the ship, gaining information every moment without being detected. Players will need to be cautious turning every corner and being a master of stealth or it's light out for you.
The player is given two important items at the start of every game, a flashlight and a motion tracker. The flashlight allows the player to see the Xenomorphs's movements as he/she progresses in the game. However, abusing this feature of the flashlight will cause more attention eventually alerting the Xenomorph . The motion tracker allows the player to give an estimate of the Xenomorphs's location on the tracker screen. While it may seem a whole lot easier utilizing the motion tracker in-game, think again. The motion sensor uses a "depth of field" effect that makes the player lose the ability to see in front of them. In other words, the player must take a choice to switch back from the tracker and the normal view constantly. The motion tracker gives only the player an estimate of the Xenomorphs's location rather than the accurate spot and proves useless if the alien is not making any form of movement. Players can make Amanda do a numerous of stealthy actions such as ducking under a table, hiding inside a lockers, crouching over pieces of furniture, holding your breath, and also grants the ability to run. While some of the features may seem beneficial, actions such as running not being used at the appropriate time will increase the risk of being captured by the Xenomorph.
To enhance the horrific feeling of the game, the system of the game doesn't display a "Heads Up Display" (HUD), instead relying on the player to make his/her own actions. The Xenomorph can make drastic sounds that gives off many hints if the alien is getting closer or feeling alerted. There is no actual way of killing the Xenomorph as oppose to other versions before the making of Isolation. The game also provides a crafting system in which the player is allowed to craft certain weapons or items to defend against the other robotic foes that lurk the station. Each individual level is non-linear and can be accomplished in many different routes/choices, this applies to the Xenomorph as well. The Xenomorph will be following certain trails around the space station. For example, the alien may find a locker open or an item missing which makes the alien more suspicious each time. If the player doesn't succeed in escaping or numerous disturbances, the Xenomorph will end up paralyzing the player with his tail before being dragged away as the screen turns black.
One of the intriguing things that Creative Assembly have brought out to the fans of the franchise was the exciting downloadable content that comes with the game via pre-order. Two downloadable content packs have been confirmed to release, one pack includes the original cast from Alien as they embark their journey once again to escape the alien. The other pack available only through the "Ripley Edition" of Alien: Isolation provides a special bonus mission from the first movie. It features the main protagonist and Amanda's mother, Ellen Ripley who as the last survivor of the Nostromo crew sets off to commence the self destruct sequence inside the spaceship and escape aboard back to Earth on the "Narcissus".
Alien: Isolation launches worldwide on October 7 for the Xbox 360, PS3, Xbox One, PS4, and PC. Playing the game at night with headphones on will certainly be a spooky experience any kind of gamer. The game definitely deserves to be given a try and perhaps redeem the Alien franchise and give a good name for horror gaming.
Tell me Se7ensinners, how will you survive the horrors of the Xenomorph?
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