Alien Isolation:
Alien: Isolation exists in a
special memory for me. The game was released in October 2014, and
even as early as June of 2015 it was on sale for twelve dollars. I
purchased it, but to disappointment: my five year old computer
couldn't process it. A:I became the impetus for a complete
reconstruction of my PC. That finally happened December of last
year, but I didn't return to the game. As I considered the prospect
of a game some have described as Sci-Fi horror, I worried I wouldn't
be able to enjoy it. I haven't watched a horror movie since Signs,
but I have this odd quirk: I read plot summaries on Wikipedia of
critically praised horror movies.
Finally I decided it was almost October
and what better time to play a horror game, (and I might play
Amnesia: The Dark Descent to complete the month).
After a week or so, I've completed
seven of the eighteen missions, so this will probably be a three week
series.
But my initial response, one third of
the way through: this is the best game I've played this year!
A:I is set 15 years after the
original Alien movie, which I have not seen (but I did read
the summary). The player controls Amanda Ripley, daughter of the
protagonist of Alien. The black box of the Nostromo has been
located and the Weyland-Yutani corporation offers Ripley a berth in
the recovery team. Since it may contain information about her
mother, Ripley accepts (And for everyone who has watched Alien,
you're going to have to accept that Ripley refers to Amanda and not
Ellen). Aboard the Torrens, Ripley
and four others on the mission arrive at the massive space station
Sevastopol. This is where the game begins.
I
won't talk too much about the story, but there are a number of items
which may be considered minor spoilers embedded in this article.
To
begin, after a catastrophic attempt to board the apparently derelict
space station, (and separated from the two crew members boarding with
me), I felt the darkness closing in immediately. In the first two
missions, which takes over an hour or two, one learns the breadth of
the system. The immensity, the anxiety, and the terror. Scrambling
through the trashed and abandoned station, a few desperate humans are
occasionally glimpsed, spray painting the walls in despair, and then
fleeing into certain death. But one man mentors Ripley. Throughout
mission two (mission one is on the Torrens – a tutorial and without
threats) the eponymous Alien remains out of sight, creeping through
the veins of the station. The very threat of his unveiling crushes
the player into the fetal position. Even knowing that the reveal
must be gradual and (to some extent) safe, doesn't alleviate the
suffocating tension.
When
the Alien finally enters, the designers use the perfect amount of
visual effect: only a single claw is seen, passing right through the
belly of the mentor. Before Ripley's friend can even speak he is
snatched away into the dark, like a fish upon a hook. That was about
an hour and a half in, and the game would take another half hour
before the alien descended from the ventilation system to have it's
first search for Ripley. Yet, those thirty minutes were agonizingly
intense. The most intense! But the next hour was even more intense,
and every hour supersedes the last in potency.
A:I
continually expands its options, which keeps one's heart pounding
even in the securest areas. The game embeds in the brain a feeling
of a presence always just out of sight. This obsession is
unmitigated by elevators, bright lights, or allies. It makes the
skin crawl at the slightest breath.
There
are other antagonists: the remnants of humanity, surviving in gangs
and desperate to protect their meager supplies. Unfortunately for
everyone, when they fire a shot, the real threat arrives in seconds.
Even
creepier than the Alien are the “Working Joe” androids under the
control of APOLLO. As the computer controller of the entire station
APOLLO manages the entire station, and it's gone crazy in the
inevitable way that all massive AI systems are bound to. The 'droids
are nearly impervious to harm, but this isn't the issue. Their
stare, with a look almost as if their eyes are on fire, and their
deadpan voice when they say “Come with me please,” before they
bash Ripley's brain in, strangle her to death, or snap her neck,
combine for a incredibly disturbing persona.
Even
more terrifying is their movement. Joes won't run, but will walk
towards Ripley faster than she walks. Only running will allow an
escape, and running draws the true threat. In the fourth mission,
after being frustrated numerous times trying to escape an area
secured by hostile Joes, I ran for five minutes. The 'bots couldn't
catch me, and I hadn't seen an alien the entire mission, so I decided
I was safe. Avoiding the Joes in narrow passages required trying to
maneuver around them as they said, “Let me help you,” with
outstretched arms. The last Joe managed to grapple poor Ripley, but
she beat him off with her wrench, stumbled away, under an open air
duct, and was immediately disemboweled by the Alien waiting in the
dark!
Working
Joes have other odd behaviors. I once accidentally threw a flare
into an empty room. No one could see it, but in ten seconds, five
Joes were milling about trying to find Ripley. Another time, a Joe
chased me into a room, where I hid in a locker. Instead of searching
the room and leaving he stood there, repeating, “I've got all day
you know ,” for at least ten minutes. Eventually I had to make a
run for it, because I believe he never would have gone back to his
station.
These
two, humans and Joes, are excellent auxiliary threats to the Alien
who is a threat to them all.
There's
so much more to talk about, which is great, because, as I've said,
this will take a bit more time to finish. So I'll leave discussion
of the Alien for next week.
Comments
Post a Comment