Category: Alien

Alien: Prototype

Amazon.com: Alien: Prototype: 9781789090918: Waggoner, Tim: Books

After a near death encounter with the infamous Xenomorph species along with Amanda Ripley, Zula Hendricks has taken a security lead gig on Jericho 3, a a developing colony. The aliens haunt her nightmares and have taken a toll on her body but her drive to rid the galaxy of the beasts is still ablaze; at least she’s nowhere near Wey-Yu. But the terror never stops for long, a deranged scientist gets his hands on an egg and the experiment kicks off to study the beast, but something’s different; the host was a longtime medical guinea pig infected with the traces of a highly contagious flesh eating disease. What does this mean for the new born Xenomorph? One of the universe’s deadliest monsters has evolved…

Prototype is a actually a pretty good Alien story, despite the stock movie cover which originally put me off. The plague alien ( they call it a Necromorph in the book but I don’t want to compare Alien to DeadSpace ) is actually pretty badass and a really cool idea. Hendricks is a pretty good protagonist dealing with the pressures of being a leader and dealing with new kind of monster. I like that this story is a damn good case of how much devastation 1 Xenomorph can cause. While it’s connected to Isolation and a follow up comic, the book stands pretty well on it’s own. It’s well paced and it doesn’t take long for things to happen. In the end, Alien: Prototype is a fun Alien standalone that adds something new to the dreaded acid blooded monsters and is worth checking out. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Aliens: Fireteam reveal trailer

As a Alien fanboy, I bet you want me to be excited for this new game in the Aliens universe. Truth be told, I’m not. I wanted another horror game, not another action shooter. The graphics look fine but I’m not really impressed at the look of the Aliens. Maybe it will be good and slay those awful memories of that game we don’t speak of, but I’m not holding my breath. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Alien: Isolation (audiobook)

So if you’ve been following us for awhile, you’ll know how much of a Alien fan I am. My first dip into Audible was Alien: River of Pain (audio drama) and while it was a fun experience, as a writer I was curious how a novel would read. I chose the novelization of Isolation, curious how the terrifying game translated into literature. For a brief synopsis, check out my review of Alien: Isolation because this is strictly on the book experience. So did it live up to the game?

I’m sorry to say the game excels at being a gem of claustrophobic sci-fi horror while the book spends too much time on side plots and putting too much emphasis on Amanda Ripley’s abandonment issues and sulking nature on her life without Ripley. While I had no issue finding out about Amanda’s drunken step dad, her mom thwarting a mutiny at her last job, or the succession of bullshit and deception Amanda had to go through before that meeting Samuels, I did take issue with how much the book lingers on this and how little I feel was put into the actual story from the game. A few times I felt promise of the game’s terror but it’s either wiped away by a overly long flashback or Amanda starts an internal pity party instead of being truly scared as she was in the game. Also. I didn’t much threat from the Alien but more so the Working Joes. Another vital thing that bothered me was how every chapter ended with a audio log or transcript from the game that were frequently jarring at times. In the end, I just say play the game for a more intense, fulfilling Alien experience. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Alien: River of Pain (audio drama)

So this is a first for Saviorgaming as this is the first time I’m reviewing a audio drama via Audible, which is a pretty awesome service. I do plan on reviewing them in the near future so tune in for that. For my first full Audible experience, of course I’d pick a story from the Alien universe.

River of Pain runs in tandem with Aliens , following the downfall of the colony Hadley’s Hope as well as introducing us to Newt before we meet her in Aliens. Following Ripley’s disappearance and her encounter with the creature from LV-426, the Weyland-Yutani Corporation renamed the planet Acheron and began terraforming the planet with it’s flagship colony, Hadley’s Hope. The Colonial Marines offer protection and order for the civilians but there is friction between there new head, Brackett, and the science division of Wey-Yu. The company’s influence is strong. The Jordan family, surveyors, get an opportunity from the company to discover the last undiscovered area of the planet, and the crashed derelict the crew of the Nostromo had found decades before…

As far as a Alien story goes, River of Pain is pretty fitting and is a nice prologue to Aliens. I have to say I’m impressed and loved the movie grade sound effects; the voice acting is really fitting and well done and after the first chapter it was easy to get into. While there is some retread from the movie, it doesn’t feel like padding and thankfully most of the material is fresh. The complaints I have are small like the title “River of Pain” is pretty pointless and starting the story with Newt’s birth was just weird. In the end, if you love the Alien series, this is a cool experience I’d recommend checking out. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Day 31, Xenomorph

alien c1

Happy Halloween, and for the final day of our Halloween special I bring you the Xenomorph, my favorite biological death machine. Born with acid blood, razor claws, spear tipped tail, two sets of jaws, and and tongue that can pierce through metal is just the beginning of the horror of these iconic beasts. It’s easy to believe they are the perfect organism which only makes them more terrifying, whether one or a hundred, they are my ultimate beast. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Alien: Covenant “Last Signs of Life”

I admit I’m pretty surprised this came out but all the same happy it did. While many of the 40th anniversary Alien fan films were great in there own right, none of them dealt with the prequel material. David’s Lab was one of my favorite pieces of Alien: Covenant . Recreating the look and vibe of the lab was done really well and I like the use of score and music. I think Alien fans will appreciate this little film. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Aliens: Dust to Dust

aliens dust

In Alien 3 we learned the Xenomorph can adapt based on it’s hosts traits, giving us a dog/ ox alien in 3; Dust to Dust gives gives us a surprising take on the Xenomorph’s ability to change from there hosts.

Maxon is a  twelve year old kid living with his mom on a Terra-forming colony. One night he has a terrible nightmare, and wakes up to a dead animal on the floor and his mother is alarmed. He dreamed it was wrapped around her face. His mother isn’t so worried about that because outside the colony is under attack from a massive infestation of aliens. Without guns, just the bare supplies they can grab, they flee for an struggling, nearly full escape shuttle and barely manage to leave the area. When things seem to be going alright, Max’s mother’s chest explodes with an alien. The chest-burster kills one of the passengers but they seemingly kill it by destroying the ship around it. Now trapped in the sands during a violent sandstorm trying to reach an outpost to escape while being haunted by a one armed alien obsessed with Max…

Dust to Dust is a good ole fashioned survival horror story. I like that Max, a kid is the main character which adds some vulnerability. There are plenty of aliens, including a brief encounter with a Queen at the end, but I like Max’s connection to the one armed alien. The art is really good but sometimes the abundance of darkness makes some of the action scenes hard to track. The story is one of the better I’ve read in Aliens comics with some decent characters. If you are a Alien or horror fan, this is a cool comic to pick up. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

 

 

Alien: Harvest

Harvest is the last of the 6 and I have to say the most action oriented, actually in a way I felt there was some Alien: Isolation vibes here. While the Alien looks pretty convincing, the biggest flaw I see is I don’t like the weird flashy editing. Other than that, it’s a pretty good fan film. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Alien: Alone

I’m nearly positive that of all 6 Alien shorts, Alone may be my favorite of the 6. Trapped aboard a dying, abandoned vessel in the middle of space, an android deals with the prospects of dying alone, but when she finds a “friend” of sorts, how far will she go to help her friend survive? I love the twists the story takes, especially putting the Alien in a role I admit we haven’t really seen before. There is a great moment at the end where you see her and her friend united that was really cool to see. The pacing is slower but I liked the final product so I didn’t mind much. I definitely recommend it for the fans and may the gaming gods bring you glory.