Movie Dos And Don'ts For Aliens: Colonial Marines

The Aliens franchise has had a rocky history both in video games and on the silver screen. In order to ensure the success of Aliens: Colonial Marines, here are some elements of the movies that should and shouldn't be included in the game.

Note: I am an Aliens fan, not a video game developer. These may or may not be horrible game design decisions.

DO: Include a chest-bursting alien scene
Seeing that baby xenomorph bust out of John Hurt's chest is probably the most iconic scene of the Aliens franchise, and would play out perfectly in a first-person action video game. If I was designing Colonial Marines, I'd have baby aliens constantly popping out of players' chests – especially in multiplayer. Can you imagine how terrifying/awesome it would be if there was a constant threat of more enemies exploding out of your friends?   

DON'T: Go overboard with the phallic-shaped xenomorphs
The original xenomorphs were badass; as far as I'm concerned, the baby alien mouth coming out of the bigger alien's mouth remains the pinnacle of crazy sci-fi monster design. Later in the series, however, the xenomorphs got a little...weird. I don't want to feel like I'm trapped in one of H. R. Giger's wet dreams while playing Colonial Marines, so hopefully Gearbox sticks to the classic xenomorphs when coming up with alien enemies.

DO: Have a frothy android freakout
In every Aliens movie, at least one crew member turns out to be a surprise android. While Aliens' Bishop was probably the coolest android, if you do find yourself confronted by a robotic ally-turned-enemy in Colonial Marines, the original Alien should provide the inspiration for the ensuing fight. Slapping, hair-pulling, and magazine choking should all be included, and the android should spray white goo everywhere when it dies, even though I still have no idea what that stuff was supposed to be.

DON'T: Make the player babysit a rug rat
The only reason the precocious little girl in Aliens didn't derail the whole movie is because A.) She was mute for half of the film and B.) It didn't interfere with Sigourney Weaver kicking major ass. While Ripley trying to protect a child from killer aliens was captivating on the big screen, it would be an unwanted distraction in Colonial Marines. Same goes for pretty much any escort missions.

DO: Have someone shout "Game over, man!"
Bill Paxton's panic attack in Aliens contains one of the most memorable quotes in the franchise's history, and it directly relates to video games. If I was creating Colonial Marines, I would beat that line to death. Anytime a trooper dies in the game – be it in single-player or multiplayer – Paxton's head should pop up in the corner of the screen and start yelling "Game over, man! Game over!" Hell, they should play it when xenomorphs die too, just a little slower so that it sounds sarcastic.

DON'T: Include anything from Alien Resurrection
From Ripley rubbing heads with a xenomorph in a bizarre pseudo-mating ritual to Ron Perlman, there's nothing in Alien Resurrection that needs to be included, referenced, or hinted at in Colonial Marines. Thankfully Colonial Marines takes place before Alien Resurrection, so there's little danger of that happening.

DO: Have Ripley kicking ass in an exosuit
Okay, so it's not going to be Ripley, but at some point in Colonial Marines someone's got to get into a giant mech and choke the life out of a xenomorph. None of those crappy QTEs, either – I want a full-on exosuit boxing sim. I know I just got done saying nothing from Alien Resurrection should be included in the game, but we could make one little exception if Gearbox wanted to provide players with the opportunity to knock out Ron Perlman. Maybe that could be the DLC?

What elements from the Aliens movies would you like to see included or excluded from Colonial Marines? Share your thoughts in the comments below.