{"id":7456,"date":"2015-07-17T03:33:01","date_gmt":"2015-07-17T10:33:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/alien-isolation-embrace-your-inner-schoolgirl\/"},"modified":"2024-10-22T11:51:33","modified_gmt":"2024-10-22T18:51:33","slug":"alien-isolation-embrace-your-inner-schoolgirl","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/alien-isolation-embrace-your-inner-schoolgirl\/","title":{"rendered":"Alien: Isolation\u2014Embrace Your Inner Schoolgirl"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"AlHeader\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Alien: Isolation
\nThe Creative Assembly\/Sega<\/p>\n

I\u2019d heard about Alien: Isolation through a friend of mine who had played it when it had first been released last year (2014). He related to me how similar it was to the indie-horror hit Outlast, how unnerving it was, and how he just couldn\u2019t compel himself to complete it (just like Outlast). He\u2019d made it to just about an hour and then called it quits, saying something about not wanting to compromise his already high blood pressure\u2026yeah, that\u2019s the ticket.<\/em><\/p>\n

I, of course, scoffed at this notion. Nothing could be as deliberately twisted and play with your nerves as Outlast did, as well as a few other horrific games such as the Penumbra series.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s just about where I had made it to in this new Alien game; around the one hour mark, and now I could see what he was talking about\u2026<\/p>\n

I guided the game\u2019s main protagonist, Amanda Ripley, down the dark halls of the decrepit and purportedly abandoned deep space station, the Sevastopol. Earlier, Amanda had been on board a much friendlier looking (albeit sterile) survey ship and had donned a space suit in order to investigate the space station. But things took a turn for the worse, and Ripley literally crash landed into one of the station\u2019s airlocks.<\/p>\n

\"Al3\"<\/a>
Courtesy – Creative Assembly<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While I was being freaked out by the station\u2019s tense atmosphere, I couldn\u2019t help but admire the attention to detail that the developers had mustered, in this (gratefully) faithful interpretation of Ridley Scott\u2019s 1979 horror\/science fiction extravaganza, Alien. Everything, from the gratuitous puffs of steam spewing forth from doors, to the submarine-esque deep toned creaking sounds\u2014they even nailed the classic retro-futurism of the late 70s with some old boom boxes, complete with tapes, scattered around. Finally<\/em>, someone had paid accurate attention homage to the original, classic film.<\/p>\n

One of the things that loomed in the back of my mind was that I was going to die. Yes, playing Alien: Isolation, is comparable to embracing your inner sadist. It\u2019s only a matter of time before the titular monster, replete with barbed tail, pupil-less gleaming eyes, razor sharp claws, and drippy-drool-y fangs will find you. And when it does, things probably won\u2019t go so well for you.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s because Alien: Isolation is one bad mammer jammer of a merciless game. I had thought that Dark Souls II\u00a0was unforgiving, but at least in that game when you got offed, you could study the movements and actions of your foes and come back better prepared to face them. In this latest Alien game, the actual alien itself is so unpredictable that you can never truly be in a safe place, nor plan an appropriate strategy around escaping it\u2014or at least fending it off.<\/p>\n

\"Courtesy<\/a>
Courtesy – Creative Assembly<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Alien: Isolation is indeed a throwback, or a comeback depending on how you look at it, to the golden age of big-budgeted horror games such as Silent Hill and Resident Evil. And you will see that in both the visual and aural presentation. I can\u2019t tell you how many times I shifted uncomfortably in my chair as I peeked around corners, trying to see if the coast was clear to move down a foreboding hallway. The ships creaks and groans, and makes sudden unexplainable noises that startle you. They are more than enough to have you taking breaks and turning the lights back on in your room, murmuring yourself that it\u2019s only a game.<\/p>\n

After much apprehension, I had finally made it to the first storage room, where you can engage the game\u2019s nifty crafting system. It seemed like a safe enough spot, but I still found myself nervously glancing at the door while I assembled a first aid device. I won\u2019t name any names here, but the aforementioned friend of mine had relished the relative safety of this chamber and had found it a convenient place to quit his game here. He\u2019d explained that he was a true role-player, and that he\u2019d reconciled Amanda to sitting and waiting in the storage room until a rescue crew would eventually show up. From there he never touched the game again.<\/p>\n

\"Al5\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I wasn\u2019t quite as lily-livered (sorry pal), so I pressed on further into the game, which is almost more of an unpleasant exercise in anxiety more than a survival horror game. However, it has enough of an interesting story, gritty atmosphere, and intriguing mystery, to keep all but the wimpiest engaged enough to keep plodding forward\u2014or rather quietly creeping through.<\/p>\n

The story follows the aforementioned Amanda Ripley, daughter of Ellen Ripley, who is an engineer working in a very remote and unpopular quadrant of the galaxy in order to find out what happened to her big, bad, momma. Amanda learns that a rival corporation has recovered the black box flight recorder that was on board her ship, the Nostomo, and she, along with two others, are dispatched to retrieve it from the dilapidated Sevastopol space station.<\/p>\n

\"Courtesy<\/a>
Courtesy – Creative Assembly<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The actual alien itself is faithfully (and horrifically) brought to life, and is perhaps the best portrayal of H. R. Giger\u2019s original creature design that has ever been depicted in any form of media; certainly any video game. The overall graphical quality is quite stunning, and really sets the bar high for PC gaming standards, as well as next gem consoles. It\u2019s also evident that it was a wise choice indeed for Creative Assembly to hire ex-Crytek employees, as the lighting throughout the game is simply surreal. Owner of 4k gaming rigs in particular will almost feel as though they are in the game.<\/p>\n

If you have the intestinal fortitude (and patience) to withstand Alien: Isolation\u2019s nerve-fraying visual and sonic onslaught, and don\u2019t mind whimpering intermittently like a frightened schoolgirl, then give the game a chance; you might just enjoy the ride.<\/p>\n

Score: 83%<\/p>\n

Kane\u2019s Suggestion:<\/p>\n

You\u2019re going to need a muscley PC rig to draw out everything that Alien: Isolation has to offer. Here\u2019s a great suggestion:<\/p>\n

\"CYBERPOWER<\/a>
CYBERPOWER X99 CONFIGURATOR<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The CYBERPOWER X99 CONFIGURATOR<\/a><\/p>\n

Also, check out CyberpowerPC\u2019s website <\/a>for other awesome deals as well.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Alien: Isolation The Creative Assembly\/Sega I\u2019d heard about Alien: Isolation through a friend of mine who had played it when it had first been released last year (2014). He related to me how similar it was to the indie-horror hit Outlast, how unnerving it was, and how he just couldn\u2019t compel himself to complete it… Read More »Alien: Isolation\u2014Embrace Your Inner Schoolgirl<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":7450,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"","neve_meta_content_width":0,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2732,2741,2742],"tags":[2859,2860,2488,2486],"class_list":["post-7456","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-games","category-gaming-reviews-news","category-product-reviews","tag-alien-isolation","tag-cyberpower-x99-configurator","tag-game-review","tag-ian-kane"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7456","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7456"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7456\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15460,"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7456\/revisions\/15460"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7450"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7456"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7456"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7456"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}