Aliens: Colonial Marines

 Xbox 360
User Score
3.9

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 469 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 96 out of 469
  2. Mixed: 94 out of 469
  3. Negative: 279 out of 469
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  1. TheQuietGamer
    Dec 13, 2014
    4
    It looks like Aliens. It sounds like Aliens. It just doesn't feel like Aliens. Unfortunately what it does feel like is a bad FPS game. That's because it is one. Gearbox has squandered any potential the game could have had.

    The story is convoluted, bland, and at times really dumb. It's hard to give a crap about these meathead characters and often harder to distinguish which one is which.    It looks like Aliens. It sounds like Aliens. It just doesn't feel like Aliens. Unfortunately what it does feel like is a bad FPS game. That's because it is one. Gearbox has squandered any potential the game could have had.

    The story is convoluted, bland, and at times really dumb. It's hard to give a crap about these meathead characters and often harder to distinguish which one is which. There are moments where it mixes things up for the series fiction (a character from the movie makes an appearance), but overall it feels like a waste of time. The fact that it's cannon to the series is disappointing. I really wish it wasn't on both accounts.

    The story mode still could have redeemed itself had the gameplay been good. It's not. When it's not being a subpar and generic FPS, it's being a bad and boring one. Gearbox has taken one of the most iconic and threatening sci-fi creatures of all time and turned them into generic cannon-fodder. Shooting these almost mindless drones who do nothing other than jump in front of your crosshairs can be mindless fun at times, but it's sad to see them offer almost no threat to the player.

    Even worse are the human enemies. First of all why are we even shooting other humans? It's an Aliens game. The only things I want to shoot in an Aliens game are Xenomorphs. These shootouts are often tedious. It's simple pop-and-shoot gameplay. Constantly having to duck in and out of cover just slows things down. I was annoyed every time human enemies would appear and couldn't wait to get past them. They're almost dumber than the Xenos.

    Not even co-op can save the campaign. Sure it is a little bit more fun to play with some buddies, but it doesn't make the actual game better. It just means you have people whose company you enjoy suffering with you.

    The game does find a little bit of enjoyment it's multiplayer. However nowadays the only matches you are going to be able to find are team deathmatch. Balancing issues do get in the way. Playing as a marine is much more enjoyable than playing as a Xeno.

    Xenos are noticeably underpowered compared to the gun-toting marines. Their melee attacks are underpowered and they can't take as much punishment. The Xeno team is basically the losing one. Playing as a marine is quite fun. Teaming up with other players and trying to survive being hunted actually evokes the feeling of the film.

    The key to winning these matches is just getting for your team to get as many kills as you can a marine, and then when you switch to Xenos just try to not let the others catch up. When the marine players bunch up it's almost impossible to get kills as a Xeno. The multiplayer is almost dead and not worth putting down the more enjoyable shooters to experience.

    Typically bad licensed games like this one are at least worth a rental for hardcore fans just to see what they have to offer. That isn't the case with this game. The references, easter eggs, fan-service, and cannon-story aren't worth the pain it will cause your inner Aliens fan. You're better off acting like this game doesn't exist. It's an Aliens game in title alone.    … Expand
  2. Oxcart
    Mar 3, 2013
    4
    A game that looked so good at its E3 demos, that was so heavily anticipated, and, let's face it, that is rooted so well in a legendary piece of sci-fi almost couldn't fail. And yet, somehow, Gearbox managed to pull off a total misfire with Colonial Marines. While it'd be easy to turn this entire review into a complaint festival, there are some admirable things about the game, so we'llA game that looked so good at its E3 demos, that was so heavily anticipated, and, let's face it, that is rooted so well in a legendary piece of sci-fi almost couldn't fail. And yet, somehow, Gearbox managed to pull off a total misfire with Colonial Marines. While it'd be easy to turn this entire review into a complaint festival, there are some admirable things about the game, so we'll start with those. It's clear that someone paid attention to the tech manual when they put the weapons and equipment together; it's consistent with the Colonial Marines Technical Manual released years ago with the blessing of those involved. Sound in all its aspects, foley and mixing alike, is a grand slam home run. The score is absolutely outstanding, something that should make Horner proud in how his film score was lovingly adapted to a game score. The levels that overlap the films are consistent and show continuity with events in the film. The weapons are generally faithful to the films, with the Smartgun particularly well implemented. The weapon modification/customization system is thin, but adequate and makes a difference. There are enough little toss-ins to make you feel like you're in the film. That is, until you add in gameplay, graphics, and programming. Then it's wrecked. For a game that was supposed to be a squad-based tactical shooter, A:CM is instead a generic rail shooter dressed up in Aliens clothes. There's no tactical anything in here; your allies are under AI control at all times, and won't even take a suggestion from you (not that there's a way for you to suggest squat). Graphics are horribly disappointing...more like abysmal. This is a console that handles high-power graphics Crysis 2, Crysis 3, Far Cry 3, and Enslaved so there's no excuse. Textures are unbelievably low-res; monitors are unreadable, props are blurry and pixelated. Lighting is good, but implementation of volumetrics appears to have been left off the to-do list. Voice acting is good, but the script, by and large, is the pits, chock full of macho-military cliches and stereotypes. The checkpoint save system was developed by a sadist; there are no checkpoints immediately prior to boss fights and checkpoints are spread far apart, meaning you will have to redo significant sections (and hear the same bloody audio) again and again. The AI is outright defective; it's a good thing that your squadmates are immortal, because an alien will be chewing on their helmets and they won't open fire. Expect no help from them. Overall, Aliens: Colonial Marines is valuable only to those who are diehard fans of the film. As a game, a 4 is a generous rating, earned more or less entirely by the audio department and a pity point. This game fell so far short of expectations and promise that it's just sad. It is worth playing if you're a fan, but not worth the $60 release price. Wait until it descends to the $20 range (which shouldn't take long), then go for it. I'm not mad about the game, just disappointed. It could have, should have, been much more.… Expand
  3. Useful1d1ot
    Feb 27, 2013
    4
    For apparent "fans" of the franchise, they really did drop the ball with this big heap of crap. leaving graphics alone and moving to mechanics it's terrible.. ai is awful gameplay feels sluggish and you don't at any point in time, feel like you're in the aliens universe..
  4. psbox362
    Apr 6, 2013
    4
    For the past 6-7 years, I've been waiting for this game to come out since it was first announced. I was amazed by the gameplay demo from E3. It looked genuinely terrifying. Marines were getting picked off from the shadows by lurking xenomorphs, the lighting was dark and atmospheric, you got to wield iconic weapons and equipment to fight off the monstrosities. The whole thing lookedFor the past 6-7 years, I've been waiting for this game to come out since it was first announced. I was amazed by the gameplay demo from E3. It looked genuinely terrifying. Marines were getting picked off from the shadows by lurking xenomorphs, the lighting was dark and atmospheric, you got to wield iconic weapons and equipment to fight off the monstrosities. The whole thing looked amazing.

    But then the game came out and I got the biggest kick in the nuts from any game I have ever played in my life. The final product is in no way similar to that magnificent demo we saw. In fact, it was much worse and practically unfinished. The textures are horribly outdated by at least 6 years. The adaptive lighting we saw was nowhere near as impressive as the demos. Even the AI suffered horribly. Xenomorphs mindlessly Zerg rush you rather than sneak around in the shadows, and your AI controlled teammates are practically useless. There's no real details on what happened, but the fact remains that Gearbox has somehow managed to rush a game that has been in development for over 6 years.

    To say that this game is buggy is an understatement. I've been left wondering if anyone has even playtested this prior to release. Probably the most damning of problems with this game is how easy it is to lose your progress in this game. Rather than creating a save file onto the hard drive like ever other game on the 360, ACM instead saves directly to your cache. This means that whenever you start the game without signing in to your gamertag, you lose everything. Campaign progress, multiplayer ranks and unlocks, everything, gone. You'd think it could be avoided by simply turning off auto-run and being careful to sign in before playing, but you'd be wrong. Mandatory updates for the game automatically sign you out before installation and are effectively a death sentence for your saves.

    I seriously hate calling anything a "COD clone", but what else can I say? Guns have attachments and different skins and half of the game is spent on fighting Weyland Yutani mercenaries. That's right, you fight other humans in an Aliens game. Sure, I expected Wey-Yu to make an appearance in the story at some point, but these guys show up on the second level and utterly destroy any sense of fear that the xenos built up in the introductory level. There's hardly any tension in the game as you carry all of your weapons on your back. So, whenever one gun is low on ammo, you just switch it out for another until you find more ammo for it.

    You'd think that since the game's story was approved by Fox as being the canonical sequel to Aliens and Alien 3, that the writers would go all out to make sure the story was amazing, right? Sadly that's not the case. Indeed, most of the game's plot seems like an excuse to just revisit locations from the movies. ACM hardly answers any questions from the movies, nor does it add anything exciting. They had even brought back a supposedly dead character from Aliens and handwaved the details of his survival with him literally saying, "That's a story for another time". If that's not a copout in story writing then I don't know what is. Even the characters aren't that interesting. They could be amusing at times due to their banter, but there's not much for the player to get attached to.

    The multiplayer is probably the only thing that's genuinely worthwhile with this game. Playing with your friends in versus mode is great fun. While playing as Marines, you organize together a survival strategy, and as Xenos, you work together to harass and hunt down the marines. It kind of like running a haunted house and feels familiar with playing as an special infected in Left 4 Dead. Fun aside, the multiplayer also suffers from it's share of problems. Just like the campaign, bugs are prevalent and quite common. Also, lag is a major factor that can severely break the balance of the game and make it almost impossible to play properly.

    All in all, I'd say rent the game if you are still interested in playing it. But if you insist on buying, please wait for the price to drop and more patches to be released. Because at this point in time, this game needs a lot more work to be worth considering spending money on. From what I'm seeing Gearbox is still working on more patches to clear up the bugs. They have already tweaked the AI, but probably won't do much to improve the graphics on the 360. If I notice any fixes worthy of changing my score, I'll edit as I deem appropriate. But for now, my score stands as is.    … Expand
  5. SimpleMethod
    Feb 13, 2013
    4
    Aliens: Colonial Marines is a colossal disappointment. But I shouldn't of expected more seeing as how it is an outsourced game from the always reliable(NO) Gearbox Software, with only one game that is decent, borderlands. Anyway, they up with Duke Nukem, and they up just as bad and sadly, possibly worse with Aliens. Jesus, why can't there be a decent Alien franchise game? Would it beAliens: Colonial Marines is a colossal disappointment. But I shouldn't of expected more seeing as how it is an outsourced game from the always reliable(NO) Gearbox Software, with only one game that is decent, borderlands. Anyway, they up with Duke Nukem, and they up just as bad and sadly, possibly worse with Aliens. Jesus, why can't there be a decent Alien franchise game? Would it be that hard to put some effort into a game and not use last generation graphics? or perhaps at least ATTEMPT to immerse us in the Aliens world? well, hopefully this is the last batch of from Gearbox for a while.… Expand
  6. NipplzDaClown
    Feb 17, 2013
    4
    I rented Aliens before I would spend another sixty dollars for a game I wasn't too sure about. I am glad I did because I wouldn't have spent thirty dollars on this game. While I did have a little bit of fun with a few hours of multiplayer matches the overall quality of game was not fully up to the sixty dollar price tag. As a gamer I am telling you to wait until this game is cheaper or toI rented Aliens before I would spend another sixty dollars for a game I wasn't too sure about. I am glad I did because I wouldn't have spent thirty dollars on this game. While I did have a little bit of fun with a few hours of multiplayer matches the overall quality of game was not fully up to the sixty dollar price tag. As a gamer I am telling you to wait until this game is cheaper or to rent it like I did.… Expand
  7. KleenexTex
    Feb 13, 2013
    4
    Please don't buy this game, it's a major disappointment all round. It's so bad I felt compelled to sign up to metacritic so that I could prevent others making the same mistake as me. Save your money or better yet, buy Borderlands 2 if you haven't already got it.
  8. TheAmayan
    Feb 14, 2013
    4
    Aliens: Colonial Marines is a poor attempt to satisfy any fan looking to get more out of the franchise. The singleplayer, which may be the most anticipated portion of the game, is laughable. Terrible AI and ugly textures completely throw you out of the experience immediately. The story doesn't do anything to pull you in. The voice acting is good but none of the characters are memorable, IAliens: Colonial Marines is a poor attempt to satisfy any fan looking to get more out of the franchise. The singleplayer, which may be the most anticipated portion of the game, is laughable. Terrible AI and ugly textures completely throw you out of the experience immediately. The story doesn't do anything to pull you in. The voice acting is good but none of the characters are memorable, I didn't care for anybody in this game. Gameplay is very basic, you point and shoot at aliens jump at you and human enemies who are dumb heck. The game does have a good stealth part where you lose your weapons (for some dumb reason), and you travel through a sewer crawling with enemies. I really enjoyed that part of the game and the multiplayer can be fun for a couple of hours. But those few things aren't enough to put down $60, its a rental at best. You're probably going to see people who say the game is awesome and that reviewers don't know what they're talking about, but I read and watched their reviews and everything they have to say is spot on! If anybody tells you that Aliens Colonial Marines is awesome, they either have low standards for video games or they're in denial.… Expand
  9. djamestc
    Feb 23, 2013
    4
    It's not that Aliens:CM is absolutely terrible.... It's that it was a colossal disappointment. So much hype for a game that looks unpolished and at times unfinished. It is full of bugs, and I don't mean xenomorphs. Very disappointing that gearbox and sega would release a game in the condition of this one.
  10. TragicShow
    Mar 1, 2013
    4
    This game is pretty disappointing. The story isn't very compelling or even interesting for that matter. The AI is terrible, when the aliens charge your position, it seriously looks like a bland, cardboard cutout is moving across the ground. The graphics and appearance of the game are pretty bad. The only good part is
    the multiplayer, without the multiplayer, I would give it a 2.
  11. Awesomo3000
    Mar 13, 2013
    4
    I think this is a great game but I put in the disc before signing in to my profile and once I was at main menu it reset my profile on the game.I am very disappointed about this I was a high lvl and I finishe the campaign once they fix this I will play again my gamer tag is: Anthony Ferris I was lvl 17 for aliens and lvl 34 for marines please fix this and my profile if fixed let me know
  12. MGTE
    May 4, 2013
    4
    WHY?? WHY!??? i am a huge fan of the original Aliens movie and i was expecting so much from from Gearbox, where is the emersive story that we have been promised?? and the why we are fighting humans for the most of the time?? in the aliens game??? and the worst thing is that apparently there is one guy from the original crew who is still alive, i swear after that you will be like...WHY?? WHY!??? i am a huge fan of the original Aliens movie and i was expecting so much from from Gearbox, where is the emersive story that we have been promised?? and the why we are fighting humans for the most of the time?? in the aliens game??? and the worst thing is that apparently there is one guy from the original crew who is still alive, i swear after that you will be like... WhAAAAT. As for the story, it's just bad and the graphics are really bad even on the PC and the game is so easy, if you want to play this game i really reccommend playing it on super soldier difficulty because on easiest difficuly you can just run, run and run and the enemies will just look at you and stare for ten minutes. This game also offers a broken AI and a Multiplayer but there is not really that much to say, nothing original here. Thankfully this game has drop in drop out co-op mode so you don't have to suffer by yourself. Co-Op is the only way to play this game, believe me.… Expand
  13. electriclight41
    Jun 3, 2013
    4
    Man, the most frustrating thing about this game is its potential. If they made the xenomorphs a threat instead of retarded T-Rex wannabes, it would have been better. If they had dialogue that wasn't written by a high schooler, it would have been better. If they made the atmosphere creepy at all, it would have been better. When played with a friend, it's fun to go through, as it's notMan, the most frustrating thing about this game is its potential. If they made the xenomorphs a threat instead of retarded T-Rex wannabes, it would have been better. If they had dialogue that wasn't written by a high schooler, it would have been better. If they made the atmosphere creepy at all, it would have been better. When played with a friend, it's fun to go through, as it's not completely broken and entertaining to make fun of certain elements. But overall, it seems like an unfinished game from a studio that didn't really care.… Expand
  14. Eternal409
    Jul 29, 2013
    4
    I'm a huge 'Aliens' fan, watching all the films including the 'Aliens vs Predator' films.

    Expectations: I had quite big expectations going into this video game, due to the E3 2011 demo which was specifically designed to be solely used for that E3 demo. Scores: Graphics: 0/10 Campaign: 2/10 Sound: 8/10 Gameplay: 4/10 Multiplayer: 7/10 Final Score: 4.2/10 Final Verdict: I    I'm a huge 'Aliens' fan, watching all the films including the 'Aliens vs Predator' films.

    Expectations:
    I had quite big expectations going into this video game, due to the E3 2011 demo which was specifically designed to be solely used for that E3 demo.

    Scores:
    Graphics: 0/10
    Campaign: 2/10
    Sound: 8/10
    Gameplay: 4/10
    Multiplayer: 7/10
    Final Score: 4.2/10

    Final Verdict:
    I didn't realise there was any graphics in this game until I saw the textures which would have been good in 2002, the less said about the campaign the better (the ending is blatantly a set up for a sequel.) Inside this game the sound is the best part of this game simply because Gearbox actually used the same sounds for the xenomorphs and guns which were used in the movies. The ganeplay in this "game" is awful, the controls are laid-out terribly and they are highly unresponsive. The multiplayer is also another aspect dragging this title out of the dirt but the controls for the xenomorphs are wonky at best.    … Expand
  15. AverageGamerRev
    Oct 4, 2013
    4
    So I am a big fan of the series and the movies this game was 7 years in the making it really didn't come to par with some of the other games that came around that time. the graphics are lack luster and should have been better. the campaign was about 5 hours long, and remember this game took 7 years to develop. now the story wasn't all that bad but I will not spoil it for you but the finalSo I am a big fan of the series and the movies this game was 7 years in the making it really didn't come to par with some of the other games that came around that time. the graphics are lack luster and should have been better. the campaign was about 5 hours long, and remember this game took 7 years to develop. now the story wasn't all that bad but I will not spoil it for you but the final boss is to god dame easy. But I had fun with the game to playing with friends is the only way to go and the multiplayer just feels unfinished. now there are hidden guns that you can find threw out the game from the second movie "aliens" witch when you find them you can use them and so forth. now to really get in to the multiplayer you can customize your character any way you wont but not with full control you can pick a male or female customize the color of the armor and have 4 different emblems. with the aliens you choose between 4 different aliens with sertine skills and unlocks like changing the way they look. you can also customize you guns for the marines but that's really it. you get to go into a ship like the one in Prometheus witch is cool but that doesn't really help. this game flunked mostly because of the high expectations of it luckly I didn't run into any glitches my first time threw. its not a bad game but its not a so called good game. If your a fan of the series pick it up but if you not its not for you I give this game a 4/10.… Expand
  16. R3DSOXN4TION
    Sep 10, 2013
    4
    Rent it maybe only if your curious about multiplayer because thats the only thing that isn't painfully average or bad in this game. Do not buy, if you skip this game you won't miss anything.
  17. Ragnarok3
    Nov 26, 2013
    4
    Not great but not total I must admit, I went in with extremely low expectations. It's worth a play if you're an Aliens fan. The sound effects and soundtrack capture the feel of the film and the environments were reminiscent of the film as well. The story was interesting enough. Other than that, not really much I can recommend. The AI is pretty horrible, the graphics are relatively bland,Not great but not total I must admit, I went in with extremely low expectations. It's worth a play if you're an Aliens fan. The sound effects and soundtrack capture the feel of the film and the environments were reminiscent of the film as well. The story was interesting enough. Other than that, not really much I can recommend. The AI is pretty horrible, the graphics are relatively bland, especially in cut-scenes, and multiplayer is...meh, if you can even find anyone playing the game and tolerate the lag. Oh, and I haven't even mentioned the numerous glitches/bugs. I don't understand how you can ruin a game that draws from such excellent source material. If you're an Aliens fan, give it a rent. Anyone else, only if you're a masochist.… Expand
  18. ThePotnoodleBoy
    Jun 21, 2014
    4
    This game wasn't all that bad. However, it was terribly over-hyped and failed to deliver everything shown in the trailers, with more bugs than xenomorphs. But there is still enjoyment in this game once you get past the bugs and the outdated graphics, because killing xenos with a pulse rifle never gets old. 4/10
  19. CaptainAssassin
    Jan 22, 2015
    4
    This is a fine example of why you should STOP PRE-ORDERING GAMES.

    I really think it deserves a 3, but decided to give it a bonus point for only costing $10 in the clearance bin. This will be an ongoing example of how NOT to make video games— the only thing missing is its own desert landfill.
  20. Parag0N
    Feb 13, 2013
    3
    This game is total GARBAGE! Anyone who rates this game over a 5 either works for Gearbox/Sega or knows nothing about videogames. I rented this thinking how bad can it really be...ohhh how I found out. Finished the campaign on hardest difficulty with about 30/50 achievements in about five hours. There are really about three levels in the game that you go back and fourth through three timesThis game is total GARBAGE! Anyone who rates this game over a 5 either works for Gearbox/Sega or knows nothing about videogames. I rented this thinking how bad can it really be...ohhh how I found out. Finished the campaign on hardest difficulty with about 30/50 achievements in about five hours. There are really about three levels in the game that you go back and fourth through three times with different lighting. All you do is shoot wave after wave of the same enemies over and over again then the credits role.. after the worst final boss encounter in years. Multiplayer is nothing that hasn't been done in every other game this generation. The only redeeming value to this experience was the sound effects which are spot on with the films. Believe it or not the terrible Alien Vs. Predator game from a few years back seems like a masterpiece compared to this trash. Shame on Gearbox for this terrible letdown of a product for all the fans of the Aliens franchise, fans of their previous work, and ruining the opportunity to create canon material for a movie franchise. THIS IS THE CANDIDATE FOR WORST GAME OF THE YEAR!!… Expand
  21. DarrkHawk
    Apr 10, 2013
    3
    When game developers get pushed into making a public apology for a "misleading" trailer, This pretty much marks the scene for a game. Yes, I got hold of Alien: Colonial Marines a good period of time after release and after this announcement. Immediately I could see what the big uproar was about. First thing that is thrown in front of you with any game is the graphics, which feel like itWhen game developers get pushed into making a public apology for a "misleading" trailer, This pretty much marks the scene for a game. Yes, I got hold of Alien: Colonial Marines a good period of time after release and after this announcement. Immediately I could see what the big uproar was about. First thing that is thrown in front of you with any game is the graphics, which feel like it has been thrown together from the 64 bit era. The trailer of this game showed amazing graphics, amazing game play and intense scenes. With the graphics been first the rule out that the trailer showed, what would be next? Well, to be honest, I failed to find one aspect of this game that made it "good". Controls are sluggish, hit detection is just pure awful, voice acting is laughable, story is bland and just the general play of the game is, well, almost unplayable. The AI are some of the worst I've seen in a game and the enemies are so unpredictable and mostly, unavoidable which makes the overall game play extremely frustrating and boring. I understand that this game also has an online multiplayer feature but I didn't couldn't try it due to lack of interest in the game as a whole and the fact the one time I tried to play an MP game, after half an hour it didn't find me a game. Overall, this game is a failed struggle to save a dying franchise.… Expand
  22. GregoryGoblin
    Mar 8, 2013
    3
    Feels like a 2002/3 Xbox game and would only have been average then. Very poor for a recent release. I thought it looked poor on preview sites, I couldn't beleive it when the full release so shoddy. 6 years for this, what a shame! When it hits the bargain buckets, it may be worth picking up for a fiver?
  23. armstrong2805
    Feb 23, 2013
    3
    A Complete putrid POS. What the hell were they thinking?! Awful story, horrible graphics, and inept AI left this game in shambles. Multiplayer was a joke. And a bad joke at that. And it being an 'Aliens' game where the hell were they for the first 3 missions out of the 11? It is an Aliens game right? So why does it turn out to be a CoD? Who sabotaged this game?! I want to know who didA Complete putrid POS. What the hell were they thinking?! Awful story, horrible graphics, and inept AI left this game in shambles. Multiplayer was a joke. And a bad joke at that. And it being an 'Aliens' game where the hell were they for the first 3 missions out of the 11? It is an Aliens game right? So why does it turn out to be a CoD? Who sabotaged this game?! I want to know who did it! But the game's environment and sound samples where dead on. But those two things could not save this game. Its a complete mess.… Expand
  24. muzzirenti90
    Feb 14, 2013
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. If you could look past the graphics but with a game that has been in the process of ten year of development I didn’t expect anything more but to start of the game looked promising for the first half hour or so with the suspense of seeing a xenomorph in the shadows and not being able to shot it and with structure collapsing around you. Even being handed a motion scanner seemed to give this game a good vibe about the but unfortunately after the first level you had already seen all the game had to really throw at you. With very short cut scenes with terrible dialogue you couldn’t really connect with the very basic story line that didn’t keep you entertained. The more and more you progressed with the game the more you noticed how bland the environments, characters and guns etc really are and to make it worse the game was littered with countless numbers of glitches I found myself of teammates stuck in walls, falling through floors and shots from guns not registering. As promised I expected an intelligent alien AI to figure out how to hide in the shadows and surprise attacks but instead all I experienced was countless hordes of aliens running strait at you giving you plenty of time to react and kill with a few blasts of your guns. With the final boss being the Queen the game had a chance to restore some pride by giving you a badass boss battle to end but were let down again with a boss that can be easily defeated within a couple of minutes with teamwork, no bullets needed. This is the first game in a while that I couldn’t think on really any good points and that I was left thinking I have wasted my time and I was glad that it had ended.
    Multiplayer is also a huge disappointment with very weak aliens with bad controls and near to impossible to kill marines and a huge lack of customisation that was supposed to be a huge point to look unique online. Levels have a good size to them but with a lack of players in each round you can spend a while just trying to find enemies rather than being in the action.

    To summarise this game it is very short to which you can complete in about 5 hours (11 levels) and you don’t need tactics to complete this game with ease just an itchy trigger finger and the game becomes very irritating with a countless number of glitches. The only thing I liked about the game was a Easter egg from the movie Spaceballs which brought a smile to my face. If you are a fan of Alien and don’t want to be let down avoid this game as you will be left disappointed.    … Expand
  25. Erupt50
    Feb 18, 2013
    3
    Not sure what I can say that hasn't been said already. Maybe this game needed another 6 years of development. I could forgive the horrible graphics if everything else wasn't just as bad. The player animations are terrible. The lip synching is almost laughable. The AI(both friendly and enemy) has to be the worst part of this game....almost to the point of making it unplayable. The singleNot sure what I can say that hasn't been said already. Maybe this game needed another 6 years of development. I could forgive the horrible graphics if everything else wasn't just as bad. The player animations are terrible. The lip synching is almost laughable. The AI(both friendly and enemy) has to be the worst part of this game....almost to the point of making it unplayable. The single player portion of this game is a 3/10. I'd give it a 2/10 if it wasn't an Aliens game.

    The multiplayer is really the only playable part of this game. Taking out the game's horrible AI and replacing it with human player AI shows signs of how great the game could have been. Unfortunately the multiplayer suffers from it's own set of problems and is unable to save the game overall. Matchmaking is pretty bad, as is the lag once you do get into a match. There are some pretty big balancing issues as well. Also, when playing as an alien the controls are inconsistent at best. There are only 4 modes to play as well, and although there is some customization and unlocks, after playing for a couple hours you will see the multiplayer portion of the game is not very deep at all.

    Don't make the mistake I did by buying this at full price. If you are a diehard Aliens fan either rent it, or wait for a price drop, which won't take long. This game is on the fast track to the bargain bin.    … Expand
  26. RipperCaine
    Feb 20, 2013
    3
    This game reminds me a lot of Operation Racoon City. The verybad news is Operation Racoon City is a better game. ACm doesn't even make me want to try to finish it. ORC at least did that. Gearbox blew it big time here.
  27. urosdj
    Feb 28, 2013
    3
    this game is a horrible excuse for a game this franchise is falling apart boring game play and just well not so interesting at all(my opinion)you don't even need to play the game to understand its a horrible game you can just watch game plays and you can still see this game is not what fans were expecting AT ALL
  28. Xboxreviews
    Mar 26, 2013
    3
    Whats bad about this game? what's good about this game? That's the easier question.
    Bad graphics, dumb story, REPETITIVE GAMEPLAY, and HUMAN ENEMIES in this new creation from gearbox. I hate this game. I really do. Not because of the bad qualities, although that's a good reason, BECAUSE IT'S ALIENS AND I FEEL LIKE ITS JUST A TERRIBLE KNOCKOFF OF COD. Now i can tell what you what happened    Whats bad about this game? what's good about this game? That's the easier question.
    Bad graphics, dumb story, REPETITIVE GAMEPLAY, and HUMAN ENEMIES in this new creation from gearbox. I hate this game. I really do. Not because of the bad qualities, although that's a good reason, BECAUSE IT'S ALIENS AND I FEEL LIKE ITS JUST A TERRIBLE KNOCKOFF OF COD. Now i can tell what you what happened to that awesome demo in 2012, whatever it is, it's aliens colonial marines. This.... Game isn't. This is a shooter that doesn't hold up to its competition in the slightest. This is quite possibly, the worst game I have ever played. I know that there are worse games. But I haven't played them. Here's a challenge, play on ultimate badass mode, alone, with no one else even in the room to talk to, and TRY to have fun. This game makes me sad, gearbox has fallen. They have sealed their reputation not only as liars and cheats,but they have destroyed their reputation by making a false demo, making false promises, and using the hype machine to boost sales. DON'T WASTE YOU'RE MONEY ON THIS. If you really want a good aliens game, try the avp game that came out in 2010. But this game isn't worth a triple a price if it isn't a triple a game.    … Expand
  29. Brbreview
    Apr 24, 2013
    3
    Theres alot of things this game does wrong but a few things right. First of all, the atmosphere of the game fits with alien's franchise. Also the multiplier is pretty enjoyable but the lacks of map makes the game die fast. But the game gets pretty much everything else wrong. The graphics are really outdated and visually the game looks terrible. The biggest concern is the AI the AI willTheres alot of things this game does wrong but a few things right. First of all, the atmosphere of the game fits with alien's franchise. Also the multiplier is pretty enjoyable but the lacks of map makes the game die fast. But the game gets pretty much everything else wrong. The graphics are really outdated and visually the game looks terrible. The biggest concern is the AI the AI will just stand around and do nothing. You can beat this game easily on the hardest difficulty. The boss at the ending is so terrible its not even funny. The story and characters are also terrible so there's not much to look forward in this game. The game was rushed and they should have token more time to work on it. A good year might have made the game worth checking out.… Expand
  30. GameInterpreter
    Jun 17, 2013
    3
    Not much to say besides this game suffers from terrible characters and falsely advertised content from the original E3 demo that showed much higher detail, but the final product was poorly created and suffered from idiotic artificial intelligence, yet somehow still managed to entertain me at some points.

    3 out of 10
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Awards & Rankings

11
#11 Most Discussed Xbox 360 Game of 2013
57
#57 Most Shared Xbox 360 Game of 2013

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
48

Generally unfavorable reviews - based on 47 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 47
  2. Mixed: 24 out of 47
  3. Negative: 22 out of 47
  1. Console Monster
    Apr 3, 2013
    40
    There was a lot of hope for Aliens: Colonial Marines but it seems the gaming world is let down with another attempt to make a successful film tie in. The review should give you a few good reasons why the game suffers but other aspects such as the overused catchphrase ‘Stay frosty!’ and anticlimactic ending are a couple more to add to the list and this is why you should wait until this game gets thrown into the bargain bin before you purchase.
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  2. GameCritics
    Apr 1, 2013
    20
    I'm not that witty, but I am pretty vulgar—as a result, all I can say is that if Aliens: Colonial Marines had been fished out of a Marine's colon during emergency surgery it wouldn't surprise me in the least.
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  3. Games Master UK
    Mar 24, 2013
    62
    An unremarkable FPS plagued by dim AI and repetitive set-pieces. [Apr 2013, p.68]
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