TheAliensfranchise has proven to be a versatile concept in the world of video games.There are survival horror games, action shooters, Metroidvanias, and evenlight gunarcade machines all set in this universe, and they all feel like they work perfectly in concert with the themes and tonethatthe movies set forth.Looking at theAliensin particular, it feels like the easiest fit for the movieshouldbeapplyingthis to a co-op shooter along the lines ofLeft 4 Dead, Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2,throwing you and your friends against waves of xenomorphs.
Five years ago, Cold Iron Studios releasedAliens: Fireteam Elite, a three-player, third-person, co-op shooter that took you on an adventure in the iconic setting.It was a solid effort, but aside from theAlienscoat of paint, it didn’t seem to have a unique hook that set it apart from other competitors in the genre.I only ran a few missions of it with some friends, and we all agreedthatit felt like a good start and hoped that Cold Iron wouldgeta chance to improvewitha sequel.
After some time withAliens: Fireteam Elite 2, which came out last week, I think the follow-up lands more in the more-of-the-same camp, as itmanages to still besolid fun without breaking the mold in any meaningful way.There’s still a lot to like here for fans of either co-op shooters or the Alien franchise, but I wish itwasmore ambitiouswith the formulaof both.
The biggest change the gamegives youis more options foryourcharacter creation.Everyone plays a unique Colonial Marine, allowing you to customize your cosmetics, loadout, and build how you see fit. The class system has been reworked, with new options that fit into standard archetypes.Each has its own special abilitythat can rangefrom buffingotherteammates to placing a powerful turret.None of the five primary classes feel like they are the “right” option, and each player ends up with an important skill to bring to the squad.
The coolest innovation is the inclusion of an extra class called the Specialist,which isacompletelycustomizable class that can drawfromany perksthatyou’ve unlocked across all classes.It’s clear that this is meant for playersthathave invested more timeintothe game, as you have to rank up two classes to a specific levelin orderto access the Specialist, but it’s a nice inclusion that can add variety to subsequent playthroughs.
The Pulse Rifles Feel Great But The Enemies Don’t
Returning from the first game is the clever grid-based perk system that adds an extra dimension to leveling up. As you level up your specific class, you’ll unlock new perks that are placed on a board. More spaces are added to the board as you level up, and each perk you place takes up a certain number of spaces. Some of these perks also need to be connected to another perk they are modifying, so it gives you a fun little spatial puzzlethat you needto optimizein order toarrive at the build you’re looking for.
In general, each has access to a primary weapon, which isfrom a shared poolthatall classes can choose from, a secondary weapon,which hasa smaller pool specific to your class, and a sidearm,which hasinfinite ammo for when you find yourself in a bind.More guns are unlocked as you level up your accountoverall, and others aremadeavailabletopurchaseviacurrency earnedwithinmissions.The look and feel of the guns is strong, capturing the signature sounds ofAliensperfectly. Wielding the iconic pulse rifle while seeing your teammate mowing down xenomorphs with the smart rifle truly makes you feel like you’re right in the middle of a cinematic bug hunt.
Stats on these guns can be modified by purchasing various gun partsthat have theirown pros and cons, but I found thisto bea bit more fiddly than satisfying.Categories of gun parts are slowly unlocked as you progress, which felt like an odd decision that prevented me from getting too invested in this subsystem. They do have a tangible effect when used properly and add to your overall combat rating, but looking through options for gun barrels and magazines wasn’t the most compelling use of my time between missions.
While thetactile feeling of the gunsis there, the enemies felt spongyin a way that robsshooting of some of its impact.There’s a decent variety of enemies, from neat Xenomorph variants to synthetic soldiers to more Prometheus-influenced creatures, but thereare too many of themthattake way too much firepower to take down.Watching a teammate get picked up by one of the larger Xenos is initially shocking, but whenI can unload an entire clip into it without it reacting to my gunfire in any visible way, it becomes more tedious than tense.
The different enemy types give the game much needed variety in its encounters, even if it probably could have used a bit more. I like that there are different types of Xenomorphs, but for the most part they all act pretty similarly, differentiated by weak points or minor tactile changes.They feel perfect for holdouts, as their vicious hunting behavior seen in the movies translates well to fighting mobs of them, but there’snot enough tacticalvariationto make encounters feel distinct.
It’s the introduction of the synths that helps change things up a bit, making it more like a traditional cover shooter where you’re caught in gunfights with other soldiers as they attempt to flank you or flush you out.Even better iswhen you runinto both of them at the same time, occasionally coming across themwhilethe two campsare battlingit out among themselves.
The Best Aliens Locations in the Series
Even if the encounters feel pretty similar,the thing thatmakes missions feel distinctfrom each otheris the variety of locationsthatyou visit throughout the game’s fifteen missions.These are classic Aliens fare, dropping you in an abandoned colony, a Weyland-Yutani spaceship, and an underground mine. There’s even a series of missions that let you explore an Engineer ship, with some of the most striking visuals in the game. Obviously these are all stylistically borrowed from other Aliens media, but the recreations of the spaces are impressive and always a joy to explore.
The wonderful scoreof the gamedoubles down on theAliensvibes, evoking the classic 1986 film with its music.It brings the locations to life, creating a moody atmosphere for exploration and a thrilling tone to the encounters.The game’s biggest advantage isbeing ableto believably place youintothis beloved setting, and the music is the cherry on top that brings it all together.
What really drags the game down for me is that you don’t really do much in missions. You go from place to place, usually interacting with a terminal thatmoves the story forward a little, but only after you fend off wave after wave of enemies.It’s definitely a horde shooter at its heart, but I want more than just a series of holdouts in neat locations.Reflecting on other co-op shooters I’ve enjoyed, the most exciting missions require you todo some otherpiece of business during these sections togive youvariety and keep you moving around the space.
There’s a memorable mission inBack 4 Bloodwhere you’re defending a bar,andyouneed to keep the jukebox active throughoutthe mission, giving you something else to focus on while you mow down zombies.GTFOhas great examples of this, requiring you to shout out passwords to someone manning a computer while creatures bear down on you.As much as it can be fun inAliens: Fireteam Elite 2to prep an area with turrets and mines, I spent too much time standing in one place blasting a shooting gallery of enemiesthat popup around me.
While you each have specific roles on the team, the game rarely felt like it requireda level ofcoordination that made the co-op feel collaborative and satisfying.
Four Players, But Not Four Jobs
One mission gave me the coordination I was looking for, but it only made me wish forthecomplexity to show upmore.At one point, you’re trying to break into a placethat’sfull of synths, andthere’sa series of turretsthatare raining bullets down on you.In order todisable them, you need to fight your wayupto terminals that turn them off.It’s the most tactical encounter in the game, requiring you to cover your teammates as they make their way to the terminals before the team can collectively proceed.Cold Iron showed with this mission that they were capable of executing morecomplicatedideas, but nothingelse in the game gave me the collaborative spiritthatI wantedfrom the game.
Another significant change Cold Iron made was adding a fourth player to the squad. One of the things I ran into with the first game was that my co-op shooter friend group was four people, so it felt a little awkward to figure out who didn’t get to play.The extra player is a move that will likely satisfy more peoplewho werein the same situation, but I don’t know if thedesign of thegame actually calls forthefourthperson.
Since you don’t really have tasks to split up during missions, it’s mostly just about having another marine in play to deal damage, and the spaces don’t really feellike they arelaid out to accommodate the extra character. Most of my time was spent playing with random players online, and we were constantly stumbling over each other and getting in each other’s way.Maybe once I gettogethermy crew to try this out, that will change, but it felt like they just added a fourth playerbut didn’t try to think of any ways thatthey could use the higher player count to make it more dynamic.
An Aliens Story That Gets the Job Done
Throughout the ten-hour campaign, the game tells a decent littleAliensstory, but nothing we haven’t heard before.There’s a mad scientist at the center of the narrative, and her plotinvolveselements from bothAliensandPrometheus, weaving together strong parts of the franchise intoonecohesive tale.Unfortunately, thedelivery of the plotcan be a bit of a drag. Between missions, you need to chat with a seriesofNPCswho have dull or annoying dialogue, and the amount of talking really drags.You’ll get some audiologs during missions that feel a little better delivered, but they usually stop everything for you to listen, which messes with the pacing.
On top of that, the quips your characterssayare incredibly dumb and repetitive, often just blatant references to the moviewithout anyappropriate content.I know references can sometimes be a nice little burst of nostalgia, but hearing my character say “I am the ultimate badass” multiple times during one mission gets old fast.
I felt satisfied with my playthrough of the campaign, but it’s clearthatthe game is built for you to replayit.I focused almost entirely on the Machinist class,who was able touse drones and turrets, and I didn’t even fully unlock everything for them. To get through all five classes fully, you’ll have to go through these missions over and over, and their mechanical simplicity doesn’t provide the variety that would make me want to revisit them.
Final Verdict: Fun With Friends, Forgettable Next to the Genre’s Best
Obviously there are a few difficulty levels, and they will definitely provide a different experience, but I don’t think it’s really in a way that meaningfully changes how you play.Fireteam Elite 2introducesthe idea ofChallenge Cards, which can be selected at the beginning of any mission,andtheseprovide the most compelling way to mix things up.These alter the game in different ways, either making things more or less challenging for you, orproviding different levels of rewards.
These can range from more ammo to less health, but others are a little more interesting.My favorite onethatI ran acrosswas one thatmade both the player andtheenemiesdo75 percent more damage, which alles feel faster and more lethal.I don’t think they are a reason to replay the game, but they certainly will make it more interesting if you choose to do so
The problem withAliens: Fireteam Elite 2isn’t that it’s a bad game. It’s pretty fun when you’ve got a solid team that’s effectively synced up. However, the game doesn’t stand out from the pack in a meaningful way.
There are definitely more interesting co-op games that addmoremechanical complexity tothemissions, and there are also better Aliens that capture thespirit of the franchisemore accurately.Much like using the classic pulse rifle, confronting Xenomorphs always works best in short, controlled bursts, and games likeAlien: IsolationorAliens: Dark Descenthave figured that out more effectively.
If you know three otherAliensfansthatyou can convince to play with you, you’ll definitelybe able toget several nights of fun out of it;justknow that it doesn’t have the depth required to make it the forever game it wants to be.
Review code provided by publisher. Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 is now available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, and PCill launch later this fall
