Next Tuesday, after having been in development in numerous capacities for over a decade, Aliens: Colonial Marines arrives, bringing with it a wealth of hype and expectation, given that it stands as a rare video game adaptation of a movie that is acknowledged by the studio to be a canonical addition to the franchise. Set shortly after the events of Aliens - perhaps best thought of as Alien 2.5 - we are placed in the shoes of a Marine who is, with his squad, searching for Ellen Ripley and any other possible survivors. Confirmed locations for the game include the Sulaco, LV-426, and also the Derelict from Alien. The game's potential to add to the mythology while also tipping its hat to classic franchise moments is unmistakable; there are so many brilliant scenes which could be alluded to while fashioning new, tension-dripping set-pieces. Simply, if references to these classic moments aren't included, then something clearly went wrong. Here are 10 classic moments Aliens: Colonial Marines needs to make sure to nod to...
10. The Dog Alien (Alien 3)
David Fincher's attempt at the Alien franchise may have been a spectacular mess, but it did have a few nice ideas, the most memorable of which is surely the scene in which a dog (or an ox, if you're watching the superior Assembly Cut) is impregnated by a facehugger, and ends up giving birth to a dog-alien hybrid, its canine DNA making it a more efficient hunter, capable of moving faster with its adapted tail and legs. Though it appears mostly in the form of garish visual effects, it's a novel idea and one which needs to be explored further in the franchise. It would take some work to tie this into Aliens, but given that LV-426 was colonised at the start of Aliens (before the population started getting wiped out), it's plausible that this colony included at least a few animals, many of which may have been impregnated by a facehugger. Why not have us perform a sweep of the colonised houses, only for a cat-xenomorph or another dog one (if they're not feeling too adventurous) to jump out of the darkness and attack?