Oh, how blind we Xeno-fans were back in 2011. Just how exactly could Aliens: Colonial Marines possibly suck? As the craftsmen behind such acclaimed games as Brothers in Arms and Borderlands, Gearbox had our confidence signed and sealed, but couldn't deliver worth a damn. The gaping cavity Colonial Marines left in our chests was a hearty deathblow to our collective faith in a franchise that was already struggling to stay relevant. It put us in a state of deep existential longing for the future existence of a game that understood why the Alien is so iconic and terrifying, and on October 11th, our prayers to the Engineers were answered. Creative Assembly heeds the call of true horror preservationists and fans of Ridley Scott's 1979 masterpiece with Alien: Isolation. Reviews so far have been an above average mixed bag, but Alien nerds will definitely find more to love here than in that Gearbox atrocity we're all busy forgetting. Before we had a chance to play Isolation, the critical reception got us wondering a few things that we now feel confident answering. Is the game really 20-25 hours? Yes. Is it really that scary? By uprooting most preexisting FPS cliches, safety nets, and firepower for the sake of sneaky, powerless horror... yes, it most certainly is. Is it really that hard? Well... Hard Mode definitely is. Consider playing on Medium, and Hell - there's no shame in going for Easy. You'll die regardless. 7 things are certain - Alien: Isolation is a much better game than Aliens: Colonial Marines for these reasons...