14 DAY TRIAL // One of the big games at the E3 trade show in Los Angeles was Aliens vs. Predator from Rebellion, which aims to reinvent the long running franchise and deliver a videogame that takes the best bits of the original title in the series while offering a more modern experience.
But before Aliens vs. Predators, there was a lot of talk about another videogame using the same characters, called Aliens: Colonial Marines and was set to be created by Gearbox. With the advent of Aliens vs. Predator, there were rumors saying that Colonial Marines was being canceled.
That is simply not true, according to Randy Pitchford, who is the president of Gearbox. He told Kotaku that Aliens: Colonial Marines was being worked on and that the release date was set for early 2010, sometime after Aliens vs. Predator.
It's an interesting decision to ship two games that are tackling the same characters and being so close, as there is a risk of sales cannibalization, but fans of sweaty and scared Marines, tough and brutal Predators and quick and slimy Aliens are sure to be content with the decisions made by SEGA and Gearbox.
Pitchford has also said that there's a Nintendo DS version of Aliens: Colonial Marines being developed and set to arrive in 2010 but would not offer any details related to its content.
The PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of Aliens: Colonial Marines should deliver a combination of squad-based shooter and survival horror game. There will be cramped corridors to move through, a wide arsenal to be used against the enemies, the ubiquitous movement sensor to scare players out of their pants, and skills and equipment to be managed for the entire squad.
At the moment, Gearbox in working on another shooter, called Borderlands, so don't be surprised if Aliens: Colonial Marines is detailed a bit so that finishing touches can be applied.