Part of the problem with Aliens: Colonial Marines is that, in addition to having some serious, fundamental flaws at a conceptual level, the product that actually released for PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 is simply broken on a technical level. It is, pardon the pun, riddled with bugs. Spotty artificial intelligence, broken path finding, and terrible net code are just a few of the problems that players have taken to the Internet to complain about in the two weeks since Gearbox Software and Sega foisted their horrifying sequel on an unsuspecting public. It is a losing battle, and arguably a lost cause, but at least Gearbox and Sega are trying to fix the game.
Gearbox released a new Xbox 360 patch for Aliens: Colonial Marines that aims to repair some of the issues that plague the game. In the story mode, the biggest fix is repairing some of the non-player characters path finding abilities, keeping them from wandering off towards the wrong goal or spawning in the wrong places during certain story sections.
Other fixes to both the multiplayer and single-player games show just how broken Colonial Marines was when it shipped in February. One fix was built to repair “issues where multiplayer/co-op clients could see interactive objects displayed in different states.” This problem isn’t marked as “rare” in the patch notes either, meaning that two people playing the game online would regularly each see different parts of the environment.
PC and PlayStation 3 Aliens players will have to wait for this patch. Gearbox didn’t give an estimated release date for either platform.
Gearbox can patch away all they like, ultimately their image has been shot to pieces. Not only did they allow a bug riddled, low quality badly formed game to be sold as a AAA title. Their responses to the public (by Randy P in particular) smack of ‘we don’t care’. I am not alone at being really angry about being sold an item via the E3 demos and screenshots only to find that it bears little or no resemblance to product they actually sold. Some retailers are refunding gamers, others are not. But the damage is done. I will NEVER knowingly purchase another game that has had Gearbox involved. Borderlands 3 could be the best game ever invented but I still will not give Randy P. a single penny ever again. The RIGHT thing to have done, would have been to do a full product recall, and for Randy P. to have resigned. The fact that BL2 didn’t win a BAFTA this year is very likely to reflect the Academy’s disgust at Gearbox bringing the industries name into disrepute.
Here’s a short and simple answer to the problem: Quot rushing the damned game until it’s done, period! Why is it that you don’t see Microsoft releasing a Halo game every year? It’s because of quality over quantity. A shitty game is just a shitty game if it’s frustrating to play and full of annoying glitches of player control and development of the game. That’s what QT testers are for. To find those annoying bugs so the developers can fix them. If you can’t get performance and efficiency from your team, it’s time to sack them and look for better talent, plain and simple..
You clearly haven’t paid any attention to the greater picture of things. Yes, the game was rushed in the end. However, the other story is that it was announced 6 years ago and during that time, Gearbox kept putting its development in the background in favourite of Borderlands 1 + 2 and Duke Nukem. Allegely,Gearbox used funds from Duke and Aliens to develop Borderlands 1 + 2.
By the time Aliens was actually given proper attention, they couldn’t ask Sega for another extension.
So basically the squandered the title over more favorable and more money making titles? It should be that when they being something they should finish it instead of throwing in on the shelf to collect dust for 6 years.. Should’ve took this game and used resources from Duke Nukem if you ask me..
Yes, they used money from Sega that was appropriated for A:CM for Boarderlands and Boarderlands 2. They outsourced the ACM’s development to TimeGate. Once Sega got pissed enough to demand the release, Gearbox knew they couldn’t suck the money train from Sega any longer and released what they had. they did change a few things when they got it back from TimeGate, but really, they toned down the visuals, and hacked the code apart. Everyone was saying the game was not ready. Testers were saying the game needed tons of work. They basically gave us an Alpha stage game.
Appreciate the info on the behind the scenes of this game. Guess many people don’t realize that there’s more to a game than just making and testing it, you have to know what you’re doing when making a game as well, and sadly, guess some companies don’t quite grasp the reality that if you want success you have to listen to the people around you and have an open mind about it..
Well, there are two major things that piss off most gamers who have followed this story. Randy Pitchford (president of Gearbox) said that he and the developers are huge Aliens fans, and that this game would be a dream job for them. Also, the E3 demo from last year looks absolutely nothing like the final product. We’ve come to find out, that’s because Gearbox told TimeGate to “just make it look amazing. We don’t care if it’s actually doable”. I’m paraphrasing here. So you can see why people are so angry.
It’s sad really. I would imagine Sega has grounds to sue, like the rumors are saying they will. Gearbox misused funds, and that’s considered stealing. Gearbox has not made an official statement on the A:CM yet… I believe they are just hoping the longer they ignore it, people will just eventually forget about it. I have some bad news for them. We have nothing better to do than bitch and moan about a game! lol We’re not going anywhere. Unless I get my $70 back.
Another note, this game has technically been in development since 2006… 7 years.
A shitty game is a shitty game. It’s was clearly rushed full of bugs and should’ve been tested more thoroughly. If you can’t get a decent developer and QT tester what makes them think that they’re going to produce a quality game right out of the package/box? Stop rushing these games out! Why is it do you think that most games don’t release until 2 or more years? It’s because of quality over quantity. It doesn’t mean shit if your game doesn’t sell because of crappy controls, bad graphics, or bad storyline. History in this industry has already told us what happens to these companies when they don’t meet customer’s expectations..
This is depressing. I hate Gearbox for doing this to this game… I have been waiting for this game for about 12 years when it was announced in 2001 that it would be made for the PS2…