They just have to turn the 'G' into a 'C'.

The demo vs. final comparison is really strange. It should be the other way around.

This seems quite appropriate. It doesn't matter who actually developed the game as it all comes back to blaming Gearbox. They were in charge of this turd. After the Duke Nukem Forever mess - granted they were patching together a somewhat messy product to begin with, but still - I don't have much trust in them anymore. Hell, I'm afraid to see what they'll do with the Inglorious Bastardized version of Brothers in Arms.

here's a nice comparison between the old demo and the released version. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3z2qVebxlUo

The differences are astonishing...

Funny, Steam fails to show me the changelog via the browser.
Let's take a look at what the first patch brings?
http://www.bluesnews.com/s/139024/aliens-colonial-marines-patched
The game seems to have a particular problem with doors. I think, it should be dubbed "The Doors Patch"
Fixed collision issue where bullets would not pass through certain open doorways. (a minor problem for a closed-space shooter)
NPCs no longer attempt to open doors while being welded. (Who's being welded?)
Fixed issue where Raven could sometimes pass through welded door. (Nevermore)

Addressed an exploit where players could melee while throwing a grenade or placing a claymore. (I wanna see that)
Spitter's "Acid Spray" now originates from the mouth. (...wow)

This does look like a disaster. And to think this was an FPS that actually interested me, which is a rarity in itself.

It has been uploaded!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGX2WE4QUw8
poor poor extremely angry Joe.

For bigger LOLs, check out his "top 10 reasons A:CM will kick ass" first, to see just what he was expecting.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOAxAECFuG4

TET should cheer him up with free GOGs again.

Great stuff. Poor Joe! I'm going to take his advice and wait for a price drop - a really steep price drop.

This ought to be 10 bucks or less come the next winter sale with the DLC included or if not, I can always wait for the following year's sale.

I haven't been following this game at all, but decided to watch this video.

After a minute I was thinking that they didn't know what they were talking about. The sections in the video marked FINAL look considerably better than those marked DEMO.

Then I read "Labelling between 1:10 and 3:05 is messed up - looks like our brain couldn't face the truth either. Fixed version is up on the main site"

(shocked expression)

Oh... wow.

Video with corrected labeling on videogamer.com

*reinstalls Aliens Vs. Predator*

Pretty sad when Rebellion of all developers makes a better game than a supposed AAA studio.

Interesting editorial on why most Alien themed games are probably going to be shit: http://www.penny-arcade.com/report/editorial-article/colonial-marines-failure-why-it-may-be-impossible-to-recreate-james-cameron


There's still no excuse for this appalling spectacle, but whatever. I suppose I'll be able to get it for 5 bucks in about 8 weeks and confirm for myself that it sucks, perhaps enough liquor will make the confirmation process entertaining regardless.

As a fan of the game, I would just like to point out that many people passing judgement on it are people who have not played it themselves and are relying on reviewers and their critical scores.

Back when AVP was released in 2010, Game Informer gave it a 4.5 review or some similar low score. If you get a chance to read it, do so. The complaints are absurd for it and it was well liked after people gave it a chance. I watched the demo reels back in 2011 but never watched another for fear of spoilers. If we set aside the whole "GEARBOX LIED TO US" argument with the graphics, these are the complaints I've been hearing the most:

- Weapons don't do enough damage (These people obviously never played AVP 2010)
- Pulse Rifle sounds annoying (This was an actual reviewer complaint)
- AI is broken
- Swarms of enemies ala Call of Duty

Ok, the AI....friendly AI is useless. On Ultimate Badass difficulty they are dumb as shit and won't assist you in fighting back. They never do enough damage and constantly block your shots. That being said, the ENEMY AI is surprisingly cunning. They will come out of the ceiling, the walls, they will flank you in addition to swarming you like in the movies and previous games. If you don't check your flanks, you will be killed by a xeno that snuck his way around to attack you from behind. The fact that the "swarms of enemies" has been criticized just shows how selective the memories of people can be. They obviously never played any of the AVP games for PC which reveled in throwing countless xenos at you....anyone who played AVP 1999 will remember how frustrating it was seeing all your armor and health go away in 2 hits from missing that one bug in a group that attacked you.

I've invested 14 hours as of this message into the game. I've beaten the single player and while I will say the plot is laughable most of the time, the immersion into being a marine on LV-426 is A+. When you get to Hadley's Hope and you are fighting for your life in operations like those marines did in Aliens, you feel like you are in the movie. AVP 2010 only captured the feel of the movie in the first marine level (the colony building) and it was never seen again. A:CM captures it perfectly and you feel like you're actually in the movie, or at least the aftermath of it.

As a HUGE Aliens fan (you have no idea how huge) I had a ton of expectations for this game, probably more than the average reviewer. I dropped $50 on the game and another $25 on the season pass. Am I disappointed with it? Not at all. I've enjoyed the experience in single player, but the multiplayer...this is where the game shines. Everyone works as a team since going lone ranger results in instant death for either side. I've had amazing experiences with many of the maps I've played and really feel a sense of accomplishment when our team manages to finish an entire survivor round or make it to extraction. I don't feel like I'm trying to justify my purchase by forcing myself to like it either. I legitimately think this is a good game and actually plays better than AVP 2010 (which had terrible multiplayer and took way too many liberties with the marines gear).

That being said, before jumping on the bandwagon to just label the game as utter shit, actually play it and try to keep an open mind when doing so, even if it takes awhile to go on sale. Also, keep in mind, that because this is a license tie in game it is primarily designed around fans of the movie, probably moreso to those of us who are obsessive over it. Hell, they actually named the manufacturer of the pulse rifle (ARMAT) so attention to detail was put into making it as authentic an experience as possible. But if you didn't like the movies or only had a passing interest, I don't think it's going to stand out as spectacular. Gameplay wise though, with co-op and mp, I think it stands up and will likely be favored in a year or two after price drops.

EDIT: Kotaku review here.. Ignore reading the actual review (the only time I will say that) and look at the side bar on two things he felt were high enough on his list of things he disliked about the game: the guns sound annoying and the level design was claustrophobic. The guns sounds like the movies and the level designs are ripped from the fucking movies, where it was SUPPOSED to be claustrophobic. And it lends itself to the tense firefights you have in the game.

Remember our little discussion on this subject a while back?
If you want to blame something for the decline in pre-orders and day 1 purchases (which IS NOT nearly as low as you thought) blame this kind of release. People pre-ordering and getting this level of quality makes them do exactly what you described above: Wait for a sale. (That's what I will do as well as far as this game is concerned. I will pre-order Heart of Swarm, though ;) )

You can also blame this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mf5Uj4XIT1Y