Xbox Series X|S Review Key Provided By Cold Iron Studios
Shovelware and half-baked ideas, plague the once-great co-op survival genre that the Left 4 Dead series had cemented in gaming during the late 00s, with really only a few unique titles that truly hit the mark. Cold irons Studios’ Aliens: Fireteam Elite is one of those few titles that, for the most part, carry on the staple elements of what made that game great, culminating in a very enjoyable experience overall. Though the game has some shortcomings, the pros far outweigh the cons due to its fun multiplayer aspects and the perfectly blended gameplay and source material.
Story
In this game, you’ll play as a member of the 3-person squad called Fireteam Elite. It’s a team of highly trained Colonial Marines working for Weyland-Yutani. Aboard the UAS Endeavor, you and your team carry out missions that reveal a higher, overarching plan set in motion.
While I’m really glad that this game expands on the story and characters of the franchise, because of its multiplayer focus, I really never found the story to be super important. There definitely are some cool twists and turns that happen but this genre really never calls for much story. It’s there for those who want it though and I’m glad that the devs didn’t go the lazy route.
Gameplay
At first glance, AFE comes across just like any of the other titles in the genre; you squad up with a few people, go through each campaign’s handful of levels and shoot anything and everything that moves, the end. While that certainly is the majority of the game, there’s way more to it that gets revealed as you play.
This title utilizes many customization and RPG mechanics that fit in so well and even enhanced gameplay overall. You can customize not only your character but their weapons as well. This isn’t limited to just cosmetics either as you can add different attachments that improve different attributes of your arsenal.
There are four playable character classes, each offering their own unique weapons and skills that they can use. My favorite one to play as was hands-down, the Demolitions class. This class offers a Smartgun that automatically locks onto enemies as you fire. It’s the most satisfying gun I’ve ever used in a video game, it’s that cool.
On top of the classes and weapons, you can also level each class up, unlocking new Perks and Skills to add to them. This aspect is cool because each of these cores and/or modifiers are shaped a specific way and you have to fit them into your Perk Grid, similar to a Tetris level. If something doesn’t fit, that means you have to level up to unlock more space.
Like weapons attachments, these different perks offer better weapon improvements. This is denser than it sounds, especially since you can earn or purchase many more in-game. I enjoyed messing around with the Perk Grid to see how I could totally maximize my character’s power.
As far as the actual gameplay goes, it’s buttery smooth. I haven’t had much fun with a co-op shooter since Left 4 Dead 2 because of the bar it set, but luckily, AFE comes surprisingly close in fun factor. The Xenomorphs are quick, relentless, and straight-up overwhelming at times. Even on casual, these baddies are a test in might.
AFE offers a plethora of enemies, most of them created specifically for this title. The two categories are the Xenos and the Synthetics, with tons of sub-categories within them that shake gameplay up tremendously. I really liked the implementation of these two different enemy factions because they differ so significantly from each other and will actually fight each other as well.
My least favorite thing about this game is the fact that playing without real people can really make it feel bland. The game’s AI teammates Alpha and Beta are useless. This is a game where you truly need to play with real friends or cooperative randoms to enjoy what it has to offer.
Audio and Visuals
This game couldn’t be any more reflective of its source material. It’s bananas, over-the-top, and even scary at times. The Pulse Rifles look and sound like they were ripped right out of the movies and the environments you fight through are as tight and claustrophobic as they should be. Even the music is exactly how it needed to sound in order to feel connected to the films. This title would make an Alien fan’s heart sing.
Replayability
Due to its heavy multiplayer focus, the game is worth multiple playthroughs right off the bat. There’s also a horde mode, plus higher difficulty settings that become unlocked upon finishing the game. Playing by yourself though, the mileage may vary.
What It Could Have Done Better
A part that didn’t always seem to deliver was the matchmaking system, as connecting with randoms didn’t prove to be fruitful. Most times, I’d just have to settle for Alpha and Beta because it couldn’t find me any real players. Not sure if this is in part to a low player count or a weak system in place. Having a quickplay system implemented would kill this issue entirely.
I also didn’t like the fact that when you want to choose a mission, that the game’s NPC who gives them is always talking. Jumping in and out of matches becomes monotonous not only because of this aspect but because of others that follow.
Backing out of a mission closes out the mission section entirely and makes you listen to the character yet again in order to choose another. Tedious issues like this are definitely something that feels like its mission selection needs to be carried out in another way. As this is a multiplayer-focused title, getting into matches should be quick and seamless, not time-consuming.
As far as gameplay complaints go; I had issues with aiming when I had teammates behind me. As shown in the above image; if someone is behind you, you cannot see your screen all that much. Having squadmates become invisible when in back of you would easily make gameplay more enjoyable.
I also found a lot of the mission’s objectives to be the same idea recycled over and over. Go here, turn it on, and enemies appear. I just wish that there had been more variation in it to make things feel less scripted and more unique.
Verdict
Aliens: Fireteam Elite feels like a great step in the right direction when creating a modern co-op survival title. There are a few little issues though that the devs didn’t take into account when it comes to the multiplayer aspects that the game holds so prevalent. I think with patches or updates though, these could increase the playability of the title overall.
That being said, this is one of my favorite new titles to play with friends because of how different it is from the zombie games that bloat the genre. It offers new ideas and a new addition to a beloved franchise. If you want a new title to play with friends, look no further, this is the one.
