Aliens: Fireteam: 6 Things You Should Know

Game on, man! Game on!

Aliens Fireteam
Aliens Fireteam

Almost as a surprise to many, Cold Iron Studios recently shared an announcement trailer for their new third person shooter, and their first release: a game set in the Alien universe called Aliens: Fireteam.

Although the game itself was a project announced in 2018 (and we were reminded of that project in 2019) there wasn’t much to hear from them for a while, until now.

From the trailer, it’s possible to say it pleases not only those looking for some game like Returnal, but also the brave souls who seek the horror of Dead Space, the trigger happy fellas who enjoy Left 4 Dead’s horde shooting carnage, and, most of all, the xenomorphiles – or, actually, the xenomorphobes -, who will get to see (and kill) a lot of the xenomorph species in third person, as a colonial marine sent to the Katanga, a supposedly lost space station emitting a distress call.

Check out some stuff we’ve gathered about Aliens: Fireteam, coming out this summer for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X | S.

 

1. It’ll Be Packed With Action

Aliens Fireteam
Aliens Fireteam

The game will differ from Ridley Scott’s horror focus, and will center around shooting at moving, semi-sapient things, more akin to James Cameron’s Aliens.

Despite the success of the last big Alien universe title, Alien: Isolation, Cold Iron Studios are aiming for an action packed co-op with Aliens: Fireteam. You’ll be facing lots of alien monsters and other enemies, with lots of weapons to choose from and lots of acidic blood to bathe in.

So, instead of expecting to be scared of moving forward because of a jumpscare possibility, expect to be scared of moving forward because of a xenomorph horde possibility. Just kidding, you won’t be scared. You’ll be a battle-hardened colonial marine.

 

2. Tons Of Different Enemy Types With Unique Enemy AI

Aliens Fireteam
Aliens Fireteam

The variety of things to shoot at will be quite broad, but so will be the brains behind the intelligence of those things.

In Aliens: Fireteam, you’ll be facing more than 20 enemy types, including some of Weyland-Yutani’s Synthetics, and 11 different kinds of xenomorphs, from the simple and iconic facehugger, to the strong royal Praetorian. Each mission will give you the opportunity to fight against different kinds of enemies – one of those enemies, of course, will always be from the xenomorph species.

Of course, for that kind of variety to work out well, unique AI systems are needed. A facehugger just can’t behave like a Queen. That’s why we’re getting different behavior for different enemy types, a feature that will reward those who have preparedness and a xenomorph bestiary next to them.

 

3. You’ll Never Be Alone

Aliens Fireteam
Aliens Fireteam

Sure, there’ll probably be a Runner xenomorph crawling on the wall behind you, but that’s not what we mean by “never alone”.

In Aliens: Fireteam, co-op will be key to progress and survival; you just can’t go all Rambo and try to take on hundreds of xenomorphs by yourself.

In order to complete your missions, you’ll need a team composed of you and two other colonial marines.

But, if you just don’t like fleshy, live people, you’ll be able to choose to co-op with the AI (fortunately, not the ones from Weyland-Yutani). It’s worth noting that cross-play and local co-op will not be available.

For those not as brave as Ripley, having friendly company will definitely be a plus.

 

4. Different But Complementary Classes

Aliens Fireteam
Aliens Fireteam

In order to properly face the wide variety of obstacles, creatures and hostile technology on their way, the three colonial marines need some specialized training. That’s where classes come in.

You will be able to get a third person view of one of five different classes: Gunner, Technician, Doc, Recon or Demolisher. Those classes will be available to pick from before the start of each mission.

Remember, though, that a brave Demolisher doesn’t live much without a medic around; Dr. Doc probably can’t survive in a spaceship without a tech-savvy Technician marine to help them; and that Recon player won’t get through a horde of xenomorphs in the absence of a battle-hardened Gunner.

Those are some examples of why and how classes will complement each other, and players must use that to their advantage. Synergy between the three teammates will be as important as their individual capabilities, so knowledge of each class’s pros and cons is going to be very relevant.

 

5. Character Customization, Weapon Attachments, Personal Progression, Oh My!

Aliens Fireteam
Aliens Fireteam

Going into an alien ruin, facing off a bunch of xenomorphs and androids, collaborating with two other colonial marines to proceed to the next alien-filled place, and surviving to tell the story? That’s quite an experience.

In Aliens: Fireteam, that experience will be used to level up your character the way you think is best, just like in a good old RPG. Add in character customization, and you get a special, unique player made marine, who will surely survive, and not get shredded to pieces or face-hugged.

Equipment will also be customizable, with weapon attachments and kits becoming available or leveled up as you progress, should you want to turn the temperature even higher with that flamethrower.

 

6. Four Campaigns And Many Challenge Cards

Aliens Fireteam
Aliens Fireteam

The game is going to have four story-driven campaigns for you to beat, set 23 years after the original Alien trilogy. Different environments will await you at each of those campaigns, with unique scenarios for you and your two friends – or two strangers, or two AI friends – to wreak havoc in.

Of course, that wouldn’t be complete without replayability. Sure, the campaigns can be played more than once, but you can be assured it’ll be fun to play even after you’ve already beat them. That fun is guaranteed by obtainable Challenge Cards.

Different Challenge Cards will give you different challenges in a campaign, by activating mutators such as headshot kills only. Besides, you’ll get different difficulties to play with, bringing joy both to those veteran shooters who just love danger, and to the chilled out people who just want to see the story unfold.

Despite having announced four campaigns, Cold Iron Studios also plan to release post-launch DLC, and promises there will be no loot boxes or microtransactions in the game.

Aliens: Fireteam is coming out this summer for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X | S and Steam.

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