Surprised as I was by many games at E3 this year, none surprised me more than the once thought canceled Aliens: Colonial Marines becoming a canonical sequel to the films.

Having grown up on those movies and still possessing the old-school figurines, this news excites me beyond description. It also helps that the game is a blast to play, but we'll all have to wait until February of next year to get our hands nice and dirty with it.

Aliens: Colonial Marines interview

As far as becoming integrated with the overarching story, I believe Colonial Marines will be the first video game ever to become part of something as renowned as Aliens. Speaking to senior producer on the project, Brian Burleson about Colonial Marines becoming canon, he had this to say:

"It's amazing to think that the sequel to the films is a videogame and to be able to work with 20th century fox to make this canonical, you have to do a lot of groundwork, you have to meet the right people, you have to make sure you cross your T's and dot your I's 'cause so many people care about this and are passionate about this franchise that go back 26 years."

Colonial Marines will take place after the events of Alien 3. Expect to see everything in place, from familiar characters, weapons, machines and the xenos themselves. Gearbox wants to create a rich, accurate experience that Alien junkies will devour. After all, it's not every day that a project is green-lit like this.

You're probably going to be in this situation a lot.

The game itself will feature a four-player co-operative campaign where your friends can drop-in or drop-out at any point. For those who can't trust an online companion to help get you through the xenomorphic threat, split-screen will also be implemented. While Gearbox was mum on details about other modes, multiplayer will be a large factor of the game. Unfortunately team deathmatch was the only mode that was being shown off, but it was still rather fun.

Taking much inspiration from games like Left 4 Dead, team deathmatch revolves around two teams of five racing to a specific kill score. Regardless of your choice to side with the malicious xenos or the trigger-happy marines, each side will be customisable with various loadouts or classes. For example, the xenos will be able to choose between various breeds and can eventually evolve into something called a Crusher. Like the Tank in Left 4 Dead, the Crusher is a massive beast that can take a ton of punishment and excels at causing utter chaos. Since marines typically want to stay together to survive, the Crusher can charge in to divide the team, leaving the rest open to assault the helpless marines.

I wasn't lying. This thing is big.

The marine side of things allows you to choose an assortment of weapons and perks, while also generating powerful weapons that can be picked up throughout the level. For instance, the iconic Smart Gun is one of these pick-ups and makes short work of any kind of xeno crossing your path. Ammunition is limited though, so you'll need your team to back you or risk using up the powerful weapon just as fast as you picked it up.

Surely more modes will be revealed as time progresses, but from what we played Colonial Marines proved to be a fun multiplayer experience. If being canon for the series isn't reason enough to give this one a shot, then maybe the mixture of co-op and multiplayer will entice you further. Whatever the case, February 2013 can't come soon enough.

Labels: Aliens: Colonial Marines, Andrew Whipple III, E3 2012, Gearbox, Interview, PC, PS3, SEGA, Xbox 360

The original Borderlands was a huge surprise back when it released back in 2009, expertly combining twitchy, satisfying FPS action with stick-and-carrot loot collection à la Diablo and Torchlight.

Here in 2012, 2K Games knows that it has a hit on its hands, and gave Borderlands 2 one of the largest booths at this year's PAX East. With so many gamers frothing at the mouths for a one-way ticket back to Pandora, will Borderlands 2 be enough to satiate diehard fans of the first entry whilst still gaining new ones? I went hands-on with the game in an attempt to find out.

Borderlands 2 interview

One of the first things noticeable when firing up Borderlands 2 is how much more polished the game looks. Whilst the original Borderlands' art style was celebrated as unique and colourful, it also sometimes gave characters and items a shallow, flat appearance. I have no such complaint with Borderlands 2; guns, enemies and environmental objects appear much more detailed than before, and the game's sheer graphical prowess practically spills off-screen and onto the carpet.

Of course, more has changed than simply the presentation. Demo players at PAX East were able to choose from two character classes: the Siren, a rogue-like character prominently featured in the first game who specialises in stealth, and the new Gunzerker, an enormous brute of a character who wields two guns at once and regenerates health—I opted for the Gunzerker. Players are given three separate skill trees to fill out with points they gain from levelling up; we received fifteen to start the demo, and I poured mine into anything that would grant larger magazines and faster reload speeds.

And all the fools who lead their foolish lives may find it quite... explosive.

Once we had chosen our class and skill-set, my demo partner and I were dropped into the middle of a toxic swamp, and not so much as five seconds passed before we were swarmed by over-sized killer mosquitoes and large, stomping behemoths made of crystal. Anyone hoping to faceroll through the game with a partner will be in for a rude awakening; teamwork is paramount to avoid being overrun, as well as revive any characters who fall in battle (which happened to me more frequently than I would have liked; thanks Nick!). If you can stick together and unlearn the corridor-shooting tactics taught by games like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 or Battlefield 3, you may yet survive what Borderlands 2 has to offer.

Gearbox is promising a whole slew of new weaponry for Borderlands 2, and the guns I got to try out were all pretty sweet, including a submachine gun that dealt fire damage, a Gatling Gun-style repeated blaster that fired poison rounds and a two-chambered shotgun that turned anything on its business end into a warm pile of goo. Weapon drops in the demo were plentiful, ranging from a scoped, semi-automatic rifle (not terrible helpful against swarms of killer mosquitoes) to a quadruple-barreled shotgun straight out of Bulletstorm (much more effective). Each was satisfying to use, and should be a huge draw for players who exhibit magpie-like tendencies for collecting heavy firearms.

Impressions

Unfortunately, the demo ended far before I was ready for it to be over, and judging by how blink-and-miss-it my time with the game felt, Borderlands 2 should be just as enjoyable a time-sink as the previous one. Look for Borderlands 2 to strike out for more guns and more glory on 18 September in the US and 21 September in the UK.

Labels: 2K Games, Andrew Testerman, Borderlands 2, Gearbox, PAX East

I'm still not quite sure how the rest of the world feels about Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway. Maybe I'm just too afraid to ask, terrified of my blushing face sounding the alarm to others that I have poor taste in games, as they rip into Gearbox Software's 2008 shooter like a bullet through flesh. To many, I suspect, they were put off by overly-bright graphics; the hybrid first/thrid-person shooting mechanics; the tired old World War II setting. People don't hate the game, it's just one of those things that's passed them by without a care, and maybe they'll pick it up in the Steam sale for £3 then never really get into it. Maybe Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway isn't very good.

But I love it. I love it so much. I've completed it countless times, with gold medals on every level, on both console and PC. I adore the contrast between Eindhoven's watercolour scenery and the tossed, lank limbs of Nazi officers that drench the fields. I cherish the superbly-written dialogue between Sgt. Baker's squad; just on the right side of cliché to make you feel comfortable, but with some brilliant lines. I revere the emotional connection I have with the characters; the gameplay that's more like a puzzle than an FPS; the dark mood, creepy in the latter half of the game; the sublime, stunning, and surprisingly astounding twist as Baker descends into madness before your very eyes. In short, the shooting was great, the story was great, and the multiplayer was more pathetic than apathetic. But let's forget all about that.

That was 2008. Ever since the sly hint at the end of Hell's Highway that we'd be seeing a snowy sequel, we've waited with baited breath. In 2011, with the WWII scene deserted and the 'modern combat' scene becoming ever more crowded, could a new Brother's in Arms game pump new life into our favourite setting? Would the 1940s become the new heaven for gamers, and oasis of skillful shooting mechanics and a paramount emphasis on gripping story?

No. Instead, Gearbox laughed in my face, and punched me in the balls.



I could just imagine the Gearbox meeting now: "What are we going to do with our new BIA game? What new route could we take with such a stellar series?" And then Billy, all cloudy-eyed and smugly smiling, holds up a picture of Inglorious Basterds in one hand and a Left 4 Dead disc in the other, and wildly beats them together, like a demented child pushing two hamsters together to try and get them to do 'it'^[1]. Out of the broken, crunchy mess slithered Furious 4, born from evil.

Oh, look! He throws a tomahawk into a guy's face! That's new and exciting... Aren't those Nazis lovably incompetent? Ha! He shouted "Don't mess with Texas"! THAT'S PURE COMICAL GOLD BECAUSE IT SORT OF RHYMES!


...or not. Nothing in the trailer looks original or interesting. It looks like a tired and unapologetic scramble for attention; a once serious string of games now forced to wear a thong and prance about to hear those sweet sounds of applause again. Except, this time, people are clapping out of pity.

I'm being harsh, of course. I still love Gearbox; I can't forget the fun I had with Hell's Highway or Borderlands, and I know the team is a school of talented, intelligent developers who aim for the highest quality. Which is what makes the existence of Furious 4 even more disturbing and confusing. Furious 4 will not please anyone.

The hardcore fans - the ones who have followed the Brothers in Arms series through thick and thin - aren't happy. Having waited three long years for a squeak from Gearbox, they're met with a co-op spin-off that many feel shouldn't be using the Brothers in Arms name at all. The people who Gearbox are trying to appeal to, those who've been wary of the BIA name in the past and want more casual fun, see right through the marketing trick. They'd rather stick with the tried-and-tested Call of Duty-s, Battlefields, or might even jump ship to quieter titles like Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad. Even those who are roped in by this new breed of BIA romp will suddenly find the fun times they had with three Nazi-scalping friends abruptly cut short, as Gearbox return to Baker's story.


Fans annoyed and betrayed, mass market uninterested, and even those who might enjoy Furious 4 when it hits in March 2012 won't see a follow up for a very, very long time, as Gearbox take on new projects and return to the good, old, proper Brothers in Arms. At the recent Gearbox Community Day, Creative Director Mikey Neumann promised that fans would still see the final chapter in Matt Baker's story. So why delay what could be a genre-leading game from seeing daylight, and instead let childish fantasies take centre-stage?

Footnotes

[1] Whatever 'it' is. We don't claim to know. ^[BACK]

Labels: 2011, Brothers in Arms, Brothers in Arms: Furious 4, Chris Hawke, Feature, Gearbox, Opinon

DLC Information


Basic information
The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned
DLC for Borderlands
Developer: Gearbox Software
Publisher: 2K Games
Released: November 2009

Platforms
PlayStation 3
Xbox 360
PC

So here we are, back in business! And it seems a perfect point to carry on from where we were before. Regular readers might remember that we were very impressed by Gearbox Software’s Borderlands here at GGTL and, wouldn't you know it, now there's the developer has released a DLC expansion to the already-great original.

The break from Gamer’s Guide to Life gave me a perfect chance to catch up on those few games I hadn't quite got round to completing yet. However, it also gave me the opportunity to explore some games I had finished in a completely new fashion, namely through newly-released Borderlands DLC, 'The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned'. As you can imagine, the expansion contains those ever-popular Zombies on an island. There’s a doctor too; another obvious hint of the title. But does the downloadable content live up to the impressive 9/10 we gave Borderlands?

You arrive on the island via one of those snazzy fast travel stations familiar from the original release, and are greeted by eerie green waters and gnarled trees - surely a pleasant environment for any intrepid explorer? It’s a bit of a change from the normal Borderlands feel, and is spiced up later in the story with impressive set pieces. The visual style unique to Borderlands is maintained through this DLC release, as is the humour.

This, of course, is great for the experience of Dr. Ned. It provides a way for people to relax, even when they're on a zombie infested island, and also provides the player with a way to connect with the game and story. I've always felt it's very important for developers to find ways to break through the barrier of the screen and get into the mind of a player – it has the sort of affect on the player which means players are chatting with each other about the release, even when they're away from the game.

So it looks good and sounds good, but what about the actual story? Well, it's pretty good actually – it’s no Uncharted, but then it is a DLC release, so strong story is probably not why you'll buy it. You'll have purchased it because you want more Borderlands, and the Zombie Island provides plenty of it. Some great twists make it something you will want to finish, and not just to see the ending. It really gives you a sense of wanting to achieve completion.

In terms of addition to the Borderlands universe, Dr. Ned provides more loot for the Border-explorers on Pandora, alongside more side-missions. The most notable of these side-missions is 'Braaaaaaaaaaiiiiins' which, as you may have guessed, involves collecting juicy zombie brains. One thing that makes it a little different is that each time you complete it you get it again only with a longer title and more brains needed.

With ‘The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned’, you get a modestly nice story which provides extra travels and loot for Vault Hunters. It's well-polished and -rounded and, seeing as Borderlands hasn't been out a year yet, the perfect addition if you get a bit bored of the main story. Gearbox have done what is best for DLC releases - they've kept all the mechanics that sold the original, namely the comedy and story, and fiddled around a bit, just to make an already impressive gaming experience even better.

8/10

Jacques

Labels: Borderlands, DLC, Gearbox, Jacques Hulme, Review

Gearbox have released some pictures of Borderlands’ box art, and boy, does it make us guys at GGTL even more excited for Borderlands.

In case you don’t know, Borderlands is a game that has been through development hell over the last 4 or so years, shifting art style completely last year (thankfully). The game’s main claim to fame is its guns. There’s quite a few of them; somewhere over the 1 million mark (they lost count).

Anyway, at some point I’ll write a longer article about why I’m excited about Borderlands, but for now, take a look at this awesome box art!

Borderlands is currently shooting for a release date of October 20^th in North America and October 23^rd in the EU.

Are you excited about Borderlands? Do you think this box art looks cool? Tell us in the comments!

Matt

Labels: Borderlands, Box art, Gearbox, Matt, Matthew Meadows