Gearbox to develop Sega's Alien FPS

by James Ransom-Wiley { Dec 15th 2006 at 10:50AM }

Sega has revealed that Brothers in Arms creator Gearbox will develop its Alien FPS. The announcement comes padded with a lil' promise, as Sega has declared the shooter "will retain the atmospheric look and feel of the original films" -- we'll interpret this line to be a reference to Alien and Aliens, not the additional sequels (and certainly not AVP).

With the game not scheduled for release until 2009, neither Sega or Gearbox is saying much else. Should we assume, given Gearbox's history, that this Alien FPS will be squad-based, with a touch of strategy?

See also:
Alien games to burst out of Sega's chest
Obsidian to helm Aliens RPG for Sega

Tags: 360, Alien, Aliens, Aliens-Colonial-Marines, FPS, Gearbox, Obsidian, PS3, Sega, Xbox 360, Xbox360

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

EYECANDY @ Dec 15th 2006 10:59AM

Imagine an Aliens version of Gears of War. That would be awsome.

Bakabaka @ Dec 15th 2006 11:03AM

If they want Aliens done right, they should talk to the Unknown Worlds team that created the Natural Selection mod for Half-Life. If there was ever a game that captured the mood and excitement of the Aliens movie, it's NS.

http://www.unknownworlds.com/ns/

LumberJackOff @ Dec 15th 2006 11:13AM

Lame

Matt @ Dec 15th 2006 11:18AM

Just sanction and release Aliens Doom!

jayntampa @ Dec 15th 2006 11:33AM

I think this is an excellent, if unique, choice. Gearbox's slower movement in games (methodical, squad-based) will help add the level of tension necessary to set the IP apart. They shouldn't try to emulate Gears of War (as good as that is) or Half-Life ... I want something new. Gearbox is a very capable developer, and I bet they're itching to stretch their wings which means we should get some really good results as consumers.

VampireHunter Z @ Dec 15th 2006 11:34AM

Gears actually captured some "Aliens atmosphere" when you first encounter the Berserker. Aliens is one of my favorite series hopefully they don't screw it up.

Daniel @ Dec 15th 2006 11:35AM

Actually, a first person shooter based around the look, environment and atmosphere of Alien3 would be absolutely awesome, thank you very much.

What is with the movie snobbery of Joystiq bloggers??

Ben @ Dec 15th 2006 11:38AM

Needs one thing:

Bill Paxton.

Solid gold.

chimp o death @ Dec 15th 2006 12:22PM

@#7 Daniel:

Did you ever play the SNES Alien 3 game? It was a pretty hardcore side-scrolling platformer/shooter, with environments straight out of the third film.

I think Gearbox is a great choice for a developer, based on their Brothers In Arms work. The enemy AI in Earned in Blood was amazing.

The only thing I hope for is for one of these Sega games to return to the real roots of the series as found in the FIRST film. ALIENS is one of the great af/action films with some horror elements and I love it. But the first film is one of the best pure horror films ever. The mood and atmosphere is second to none, and the supnse of the seemingly unstoppable single creature is second to none.

uh_oh @ Dec 15th 2006 12:23PM

It needs colonial marines!

Pip @ Dec 15th 2006 1:03PM

Base it on Alien^3? What? Don't we have enough games of running through sewer like environments?

I say we have it set on Earth. Earth Wars style.

pixelator @ Dec 15th 2006 1:12PM

9: YES! Probe's ALIEN3 on SNES was a total classic, excellent art and a kinetic feel somewhere between Prince of Persia and Another World.

Sadly, I doubt we'll see a return to the atmospheric first film. Most of the Alien games have been all about the blast-em-up spirit of the second film. In fact, whenever you even bring up the idea of an Alien series game, most people assume you're talking about the action and visuals of the Aliens.

As for the JQ blogger snobbery, I'd agree there, too. A3 was no ALIEN or ALIENS, but it diverted the storyline and dared to be truly, profoundly bleak in its outlook. It suffered from multiple writer/director-itis, to be sure, but it had some visual and conceptual gems stuck in there... As well as the unedited version being a much better work overall (with the capturing of the alien left in).

Now Alien Resurrection? That film was a bitter pill for Alien fans to swallow. Funny where it shouldn't have been and unfunny where it tried to be, the sarcastic slapstick goo-fest just blew it on so many levels -- especially considering they had the director who brought us City of Lost Children.

Even AvP wasn't too bad. Entertaining, simplistic and honest in what it was trying to do. A dumb, fun popcorn flick. It also probably killed both franchises for a long time (lol).

But yeah, the first Alien would make SUCH a great atmospheric game if done properly and with strict attention to detail, sneaking around corners wondering when you're going to get popped... I just don't think developers will want to create a game with just a handful of non-military types and ONE alien when they can go with the Aliens storyline and have gobs of marines vs. gobs of aliens.

If I were doing it, I'd make various sections of the game represent the better elements of the films. That's if they're going to put some real effort into it and not just slap an Aliens look on a generic FPS game.

Tomas @ Dec 15th 2006 1:20PM

2009?
freeze me a la Cartman and wake me up then.

Pete C @ Dec 15th 2006 1:30PM

Dope.

Jason Cross @ Dec 15th 2006 2:10PM

If you haven't played Monolith's Aliens vs. Predator 2 game, you're really missing out. They did an AWESOME job with that one, and it's probably the best Aliens game around.

Daniel @ Dec 15th 2006 2:58PM

pixelator - good calls on many fronts, though dare I say it ... I didn't hate Resurrection. Some awful aspects to it, but some parts I loved, like finding the alien experiments gone wrong (maybe some laughed at that but I thought it was pretty dark!). Definitely number 4 on the list of Alien movies but I can still watch it and be entertained.

I actually still haven't seen the unedited version of Alien3 though I hope to find it sometime in the future. Alien vs. Predator, also, had its moments but just seemed to be rushed. I mean, the first fight between the Alien and Predator was frikkin' fantastic, but they needed MORE of that on all front throughout the movie. Don't get me wrong, I love the first Alien and the suspense aspect, but I assumed there was no way in hell AvP was going to be like that ... sooo, they may as well have gone all-out with the action, which they didn't.

Either way, 2009 can't come soon enough.