Praise be to the franchise-holding overlords; there's finally a downright brilliant Aliens game. Although some previous titles have come close with the arena-based Aliens vs. Predator shooters, there's not been a title that hasn't somehow weakened the Alien's threat in some way - making them all but cannon-fodder in the face of whatever they're up against. Instead, Creative Assembly's effort harkened back to the original appeal of the creature from the first flick - that white-hot fear of knowing it was skittering about in the vents above or around, with nothing to do but sprint in the opposite direction and hope for the best if it arrived. It's something of an evolution of the Slender Man/Amnesia-style first-person horror gameplay that's had a resurgence across the last couple of years, but by applying it to one of the greatest monster designs in history - alongside the realisation that the Alien moves independently and can appear at any time - it drives home that will to hide and survive like nothing else.
