7. It Isn't Scary
Though Aliens was more action-centric than its terrifying predecessor, it still had a high level of intensity, with film critic Roger Ebert famously saying of it, "the movie made me feel bad. It filled me with feelings of unease and disquiet and anxiety. I walked outside and I didn't want to talk to anyone. I was drained." The key problem with Colonial Marines is that it fails to capture these feelings of unease; rarely do we ever feel like we're in danger, and even during the brief section which has your weapons stripped away, it's mostly a breeze to power through. There's nothing here that matches the overwhelming assaults in Aliens, where the Xenomorphs slink out of the walls and start dragging the Marines off one by one. There is a troubling level of safety in this game, and therefore, it's difficult to be creeped out by a game that, above all else, should have you nervously, slowly edging through hallways, waiting for Xenomorphs to sneak up on you. Of all the things this game should achieve, that should be both the easiest - given the ready-built aesthetic and antagonist - and most important.