Aliens: Colonial Marines Info, Media & FAQ

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General Info

Platforms: Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and PC
Genre: First Person Shooter
Developers: Gearbox Software and TimeGate Studios
Publisher: SEGA in partnership with Twentieth Century Fox Consumer Products
Release Date: 12 Feb 2013
Rating: Pending
Official Website: http://www.sega.co.uk/alienscolonialmarines/
SEGA Blog: http://blogs.sega.com/usa/category/a...onial-marines/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aliensgames
Twitter: Gearbox / Sega

(The following is copied from the official Aliens Colonial Marines Website.)

Premise

Aliens: Colonial Marines begins with an ostensibly abandoned ship, the U.S.S. Sulaco, recovered in orbit around LV-426. Players lead a group of highly trained United States Colonial Marines as they board the deserted craft to uncover the fate of the crew. They will have to fight to survive unspeakable horrors and their own anxieties as they chase down the truth behind a galaxy-spanning deception that places humanity at the mercy of the most murderous and deadly species in the universe.


Game Information

You and your friends against the deadliest killers in the galaxy. Another glorious day in the corps.

Buckle up, soldier! Welcome to Aliens: Colonial Marines. Created by Gearbox, the critically acclaimed and fan-favourite developers of Borderlands and Brothers In Arms, this first-person shooter is steeped in the eerie, claustrophobic and terrifying atmosphere that made the Aliens films successful worldwide. You and your friends will become the most badass military outfit in the galaxy – the US Colonial Marines. It’s down to you to not just survive but wipe out the Xeno infestation.

Features:

Enlist in the Marine Corps
Bringing you a true sequel to James Cameron’s classic Aliens, get tooled up with classic Marine weapons including pulse rifles, motion trackers and flamethrowers.

The most authentic Aliens experience ever
Using authentic environments inspired by the film series including Hadley’s Hope, the Sulaco and LV-426, you will be immersed in an eerie, atmospheric world where any moment could bring your death.

Drop-in / Drop-out co-operative gameplay
The masters of co-op bring their expertise to the Aliens universe. Xenos getting too tough? Call up your buddies so they can drop in with extra firepower. The whole campaign can be played with a squad of up to four players, dropping in and out as necessary through self-contained missions within an over-arching narrative.

Loadouts and upgrades
Create your perfect killing machine. An extensive upgrade system allows players to customise their characters to play the way they want. Earn experience to get perks, new weapons and new looks for your squad.

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Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is Aliens: Colonial Marines?
A:CM is a first person shooter and is the spiritual successor, in video game form, to James Cameron's masterpiece, ALIENS.

"Our game's about becoming a Colonial Marine, and looking at it from the Colonial Marines' perspective." - Randy Pitchford, Gearbox President / CEO.

2. How many players will the game support in Coop?
The official website states 4 player drop-in / drop out coop via LAN and online. Randy Pitchford also confirmed it will be playable 2 player split-screen (console). Though no confirmation of 4P split screen yet, or mixed split-screen and online / LAN combinations.

3. Will there be a online adversarial multiplayer mode?
Yes. It was confirmed at E3 by Randy Pitchford and also by Zach Ford the MP Design Lead. More MP details can be found here.

Originally Posted by zaford20

There is a competitive multiplayer component for Aliens: CM. More details will be announced at a later date, but I can tell you now that its going to be just as polished and badass as the SP game.

4. Will there be playable aliens in the game?
Yes. It was recently confirmed at a GBX Press Event March 2012, that the games competitive Multiplayer will feature a number of playable aliens classes. We also know there wont be a single player, playable alien campaign in ACM though, since Gearbox have said they are focussing 100% on the Colonial Marines this time around.

5. Which game engine is ACM using?
A heavily modified version of the Unreal Engine 3. The lighting engine "Red Ring" is brand new, next gen technology built especially for Aliens Colonial Marines. It allows fully dynamic prioritised lighting. It uses deferred rendering which lights objects, creating sharp moody shadows in real-time, which replicates closer the atmosphere in the film.

6. Is this a remake of the cancelled PS2 Aliens Colonial Marines game?
No, its a brand new Aliens IP, according to Charlie Wiederhold who worked on the game early in its development.

Originally Posted by Wieder

The game isn't intentionally related to the previous game, but the title was absolutely perfect. It's not an association we're upset to have, as we all wish that game had been able to be finished because it showed promise. But yeah, any similarities are coincidences or just because they are good ideas for an Aliens game.

7. Will there be any Predators or AvP references in this game?
Again no. Gearbox have stated on multiple occasions that this game has no ties to the Predator franchise or AvP.

“We wanted to have more time with the marines – this time we’re in the boots of the Colonial Marines – so in that way you get to finally be them – use their hardware, all that kind of stuff. We’re not gonna mix in Predators and things – it always felt to me a little bit like someone was mixing their Wasabi in my Reece’s Cup, y’know – it always felt kind of weird.” - Brian Martel, Gearbox chief creative officer

8. Who wrote the story for A:CM?
Originally the story was a collaboration between Gearbox Software and the talented science fiction writers Bradley Thompson and David Weddle who most recently wrote for the Battlestar Galactica series. More recently the story has been credited to Mikey Neumann, Creative Director and Writer at Gearbox Software.

9. When in the Aliens timeline will the game take place?
14 weeks after Ellen Ripley’s death in ALIEN 3, and 17 weeks after the events of James Cameron's ALIENS.

"Our game is set after the events of [the movie] Alien 3, which takes place very shortly after the end of Aliens. Our goal is to make a game that answers some of the questions from those two movies, and picks up the story basically right after the squad of marines was wiped out on LV-426 [the moon where humans first encountered the Aliens]." - Stephen Palmer

10. How accurate to the movies will A:CM be?
Gearbox have said they are looking to make a faithful and authentic Aliens experience for the fans. They are going back to the original classic pure Alien movies for inspiration, with both ALIEN and ALIENS being the main inspiration for the game, but also using expanded universe materials like the Aliens Colonial Marines Technical Manual by Lee Brimmicombe-Wood. On top of that, Fox has given Gearbox access to all the original mixed and un-mixed sound recordings from the films, along with all the production stills, Gearbox went and examined the original films print to make sure they could duplicate the unique grain and colour tone, and they even have a functional Motion Tracker replica along with their own real-life working M41A Pulse Rifle, built from a M1A1 Thompson submachine gun and a shotgun. See, Episode 13 of the Jace Hall Show.

"You know, it's always hard to keep everyone happy. At Gearbox, we have some of the greatest Alien fans right here. As long as we treat the brand sincerely and respectfully, that will reflect in the end result. I think when the players see the story and the game as a whole they will appreciate our efforts, so I'm not really worried. For example, I own several props from the movie, storyboards and probably every single Alien novel and 'making of book ever published. I really think all those hardcore Alien fans out there can rest easy: we are not going to disappoint you: a really awesome Alien game is what you'll get." - Brian Martel, Gearbox's Executive Vice President.

11. Have Gearbox worked closely with any of the original movie filmmakers?
They have been able to work with the well known concept artist Syd Mead who worked on the films and who went back and expanded some of the locations from the second film, like the Sulaco and Hadley's Hope. Also Gearbox's Executive Vice President, Brian Martel got the chance to sit down with Ridley Scott (the original films director), and view his storyboards and chat with him about the whole back story of where he thinks the alien came from.

"We are in contact with Fox, and they've provided a lot of material. We work closely with some of the special effects people at Amalgamated Dynamics, who did the special effects for Alien3, Alien: Resurrection and Alien vs Predator. We went and talked to them to get a better understanding of how the aliens work, and how they would design the aliens for a game. The writers' contributions were also essential in helping us create an experience that is as close to Hollywood as it gets. James Cameron hasn't been round for a chat yet, but hey, we'll keep knocking at his door. You never know..." - Brian Martel.

12. I heard the game is in development for the new Nintendo console, is this true and when will it be released?
The game is also in-development for Nintendo's new console the WiiU, but we don't have too many details on that yet, and there has been no official release date announcement.

13. Will there be DLC or an SDK release?
Unknown. Those kinds of details are likely up to Sega ultimately.

14. Will ACM appear on Steam / Windows Live?
pc requirements and steam pre-order info: http://forums.gearboxsoftware.com/sh...d.php?t=225932

15. What Digital Rights Management, if any will ACM use?
Still unknown.

16. Will there be a special edition / Store specific Pre-order bonuses?
Yes, there will be both store pre-order bonuses, and two separate special editions. See here for details.

17. Any idea about the system requirements?
Nothing official yet, but botman a Gearbox programmer estimated they might be similar to Borderlands.

18. Where can I find more information and media on the game?
Please visit the ACM News sub-section for news on the game. Also the following threads may be informative:-

• ACM April 2012 Preview Round-Up
• E3 2011 Preview Compilation Thread
• A:CM at Gamescom 2011! + New screens
• Aliens at PAX Prime 2011
• ACM News and Media Archive 2006-2011
• Everything We Know
• Plot Speculation & Concerns

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Official Box Cover Art

Wallpaper

Screenshots

Concept Art

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Video

A:CM 2008 Trailer


Aliens: Colonial Marines E3 June 1 2011 Teaser


Aliens: Colonial Marines E3 June 1 2011 Teaser (Extended)


Wii U footage shown at Nintendo's E3 press conference June 14 2011


Aliens: Colonial Marines Debut Trailer Sept 1 2011


Aliens: Colonial Marines Gameplay Demo Walkthrough Sept 30 2011


Aliens: Colonial Marines 'Contact Trailer' Jan 27 2012


(Single Player / Cooperative) Narrative Game Sulaco Footage April 4 2012


(Multiplayer Adversarial) Lost Hope Map Footage April 4 2012


May 2012 Suspense Trailer with official release date of February 12 2013


Preorder Trailer


Story Trailer


Survivor MP Trailer


Escape MP Trailer


A:CM TV Spot Trailer