Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 eschews typical Xenomorph canon to let us get absolutely stupid with our friends.
I don’t know how many more times I’ll play Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2. I banged through it with a friend for a mission or two, another group for another mission or two, and then plowed through the whole rest of it on my own. It’s not a big game, it’s just enough of the right size, with enough of the over-the-top action of what Aliens is, but it’s also oddly kind of finite once we get through it. That’s not to say the story ends or we’re treated to a giant celebration, but rather that the innovative side isn’t the main focus of the experience. We just go through rooms blasting Xenomorphs and then blast some more, and then die and try again later. It’s a consistent loop in these kinds of multiplayer co-op games that, if we have a good group of friends, can be pretty fun.
It’s just here in Fireteam Elite 2 there’s an over-reliance on that same loop, on doing the same types of missions a few times or the same types of things within those missions, or seeing way-too-similar corridors and stairwells and labs that can kind of take the freshness out of it.
With this game, developer Cold Iron’s goal was to improve on the mechanical issues and expand on the gameplay of the original, and by that avenue the final product wholly succeeds. That first game was fun, especially with a good group, and Elite 2 is just as fun, if not slightly more, with that same group. Up to four of us can jump into a run, customize our characters, take on different missions we’ve unlocked, and then improve our gear (after we unlock the freaking shop). If we don’t have four humans then we have bots to take their spots. The bots will never be as fun as a real person, but they can at least provide a little cover fire when we need it, although their aim does tend to suck as much as the Empire’s stormtroopers.
The movement is great, the ability to heal regularly and find ammo when needed is welcome, and the classes are varied but powerful enough that if we’re a Machinist we don’t feel like we’re weaker than a Marauder, or don’t feel like we are missing opportunities to do cool things. Each character has a pretty bad-ass set of skills that result in fun outcomes, including their specials that can blow apart Xenomorphs. The weapons are loud and feel like they belong in the Aliens film(s) and the characters have some fun design elements, including some of the best hairstyles that I’ve come across in the future. Speaking of the Xenomorphs themselves, the developers have really made them unique enough that each new one we come to is worth stopping and checking out (if they weren’t trying to kill us). Because this is a video game, Cold Iron have opted to turn the normally invincible creatures into bullet sponges, letting us burn and obliterate them (and the other enemies we come across) as much as we want. Giving a bit of a middle finger to canon here is kind of fun, because, man, why not? Let’s have some fun with this, let’s get overpowered at times, let’s just go in guns blazing and light up the beasts.
All of this screams ALIENS in good, fun, big movie ways.
It’s just that the set pieces, the cool rooms, the great co-op play is let down a little bit by sticking too close to some traditional ideas of the genre. There are great locations and moments in the game, but they usually mean taking the same-looking corridor to get there, and the same sub-mission of taking down a swarm of enemies bursting into a room while waiting for a door to activate. There are a lot of those room swarms! That leads to some unbalanced moments as we’ll face off against a swarm of the easier creatures and then suddenly a red brute or something even bigger and worse will come in, especially early in the game when we’re not prepared, and our entire mission will collapse in a few moments.
There’s also the issue of bugs — and I don’t mean the alien kind. The game soft-locked on us a few times, in similar areas, especially on the Steam Deck, ending our missions. In one early area we have to rescue someone who’s holed up in a lab, and as soon as we open the door that individual starts a monologue… that we can’t get out of if we’re on the Steam Deck. It fades to black, and we wait. Our teammates can still run around and complete tasks, but we’re frozen. Other issues fall on the game’s computer teammates. They’re not smart, even if they do follow us around when we don’t get the full four players, but having them can mean that they won’t end up in the right spot when we have to be in a room to activate a marker or objective. The menu UI itself is also far too complex for what it needs to be, especially when trying to connect with friends to play. These are issues that can be worked out with updates, but if we’re trying to make a regular habit of playing the game then they can annoy the heck out of us.
All that said, Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 is still enjoyable. Again, it really depends on the people we play with and if we have the right folks, the right amount of communication, then even the repeating corridors can be fun. Playing alone is passable, but the best way to take out the galaxy’s monsters is via the power of friendship. Or big guns.
This review is based on a Steam code sent to the Editor by the Publisher. Images/video courtesy publisher.
RATING: 3/5
