At the EGX conference, Creative Assembly revealed their take on the critically acclaimed franchise with their latest game; Alien: Isolation. At the conference itself, we learned that Creative have spared no expense in creating an almost living, breathing replica of the 1979 Horror film. By digging deep into the 20^th Century Fox archives, CA have managed not only to find enough pictures of the original cast to rebuild the characters in a very well rendered style, but they have also managed to find the original analogue recordings of the soundtrack and sound effects. These finds have allowed CA to create a very impressive world that does a very good job of mimicking the tense, atmospheric feel that Alien delivered when it first hit the screens. CA stressed that they had spent a very long time replicating and expanding every detail of the film into the game, and this is shown in how even the everyday items like calendars are in the same place and position that they were to be found in the game.

One of the main points that came across during the stream was their emphasis on sound. CA talked about how sound made up a third of a good gaming experience, and they wanted to create  a game with sound that evoke a subconscious emotional reaction from the player as well as music that would fit the horror theme and keep the player on edge without exhausting them. Alien: Isolation features a newly built context driven sound engine. That is to say, a sound engine that will change and adapt the music within the game based on events that play out as you traverse the newly designed ship “the Sevastopol”. The sound (adapted from the original soundtrack with some tracks from the film added in for good measure) will change in volume, pitch and even climax as the Alien hunts you down and attempts to dispatch you.

This brings me onto the third aspect of the game discussed at the conference; the stealth. Gameplay footage played during the stream showed the player (revealed as Ellen Ripley) creeping through an abandoned ship. As as the Xenomorph is constantly hunting you, you must avoid him by remaining quiet, hiding under desks or in lockers; even crafting improvised weapons to distract him quickly become necessary to complete the puzzles you are presented with and to ultimately stay alive throughout the game .The music is low and ambient, portraying a feeling of being hunted, like the Xenomorph is coming personally for you, despite the fact that there are multiple androids and other human’s on board. These other characters will often hinder you, either acting aggressively or causing a commotion, which inevitably attracts the Xenomorph to your location. Whilst on the subject of mechanics and gameplay, CA has informed us that they are working with Oculus to bring Alien: Isolation to the Rift, allowing the player to fully immerse themselves in the Alien world. Pre-order content has also been made available, however CA says that it will be purely additional content separate from the main body of the game.

Are you ready to take on Xenomorphs in their latest digital outing? Let us know in the comments below!