10 Video Game Mods That Restored Essential Features
6. Aliens: Colonial Marines - Overhaul
When Aliens: Colonial Marines was released, no one was expecting the Charleston-dancing xenomorphs. Neither was modder James Dickinson, also known as TemplarGFX in modding circles.
Experienced in overhauling and revamping broken or buggy games, Dickinson decided that Aliens: Colonial Marines was to be his next white whale. A lifelong fan of the franchise, there were not enough games that channelled the high octane xenomorph-busting action of Aliens for Dickinson, so he set about trying to fix Colonial Marines.
With the latest patch released in September 2020, Aliens: Colonial Marines Overhaul is a project seven years in the making. Within the main campaign, Dickinson has restored a whole litany of accessibility, difficulty and mechanical options that either did not make it into Colonial Marines or were too buggy to actually use.
One of the most important restorations is the fear and terror a xenomorph should be able to muster. By reworking the titular Aliens' pathing and aggression, the mod succeeds in making these staples of sci-fi horror a viable threat in a game that made them into dancing punchlines.