History VideoGame / AliensColonialMarines

* AnyoneCanDie[=/=]RedShirt: Although the E3 2011 demo appeared to indicate that many generic Marines would meet their end at the hands of the xenomorphs, the actual game does not have many major characters die. During the events of the game, a large portion of the Sephora crew are killed (off-screen) during the [[spoiler:Weyland-Yutani attack on their ship via the Sulaco]], and of the named cast members, only [[spoiler:Keyes, Bella and Cruz]] die.
** [[spoiler: Played straight in ''Stasis Interrupted'', where every single character other than Hicks and Dr. Levy end up dying, often messily, over the course of the game.]]

* ArtificialHuman: It seems the entire line of "Bishop" artificial humans is, well, called "Bishop" and attached to Marine ships. [[spoiler:Michael Weyland is an advanced model, however.]]
* ArtificialLimbs: Cruz has an artificial leg that's hard to notice.

** Collecting a flamethrower in multiplayer can cause your PC to say, [[Franchise/FantasticFour "Flame On!"]]

* IGaveMyWord: Coupled with IllKillYou, [[spoiler:Hicks pledges to do this against Michael Weyland]] during the ''Stasis Interrupted'' DLC, which was released after the main game but chronologically takes place before it. At the end of the main game's campaign, [[spoiler:Hicks executes Weyland for real just before the group can interrogate the latter]].

* SeriesContinuityError: Despite pre-release claims that the game would tie heavily into ''Film/{{Aliens}}'', the game is [[https://avp.fandom.com/wiki/Aliens:_Colonial_Marines_goofs riddled with continuity errors]]. Notable examples include the recreation of the finale of ''Film/Alien3'' usingthe game's balaclava-clad Wey-Yu [=PMC=] model instead of the masked apesuit-wearing commandos that appeared in the film, despite using the very same model elsewhere. Or the fact that the Sulaco's hangar is less than half the size it should be - in a case where their research worked against them, they based it on the original set blueprints, [[FailedASpotCheck but forgot to actually watch the film]] and notice that Cameron makes it look significantly bigger with careful blocking and a matte painting. Likewise, the cryotube room has only half as many as in the film - they used the set blueprint and didn't notice Cameron used a mirror on-set to make the room twice as long.

The game was released across several platforms on February 12, 2013, and received significant criticism in regards to [[ObviousBeta numerous bugs and issues]]. Due to the largely-negative response, the UsefulNotes/WiiU version was cancelled. A lawsuit was filed against Gearbox and publisher Creator/{{Sega}} for false advertising regarding the differences between the game's advertised features and actual content, with both companies placing the blame on each other. Sega agreed to settle for $1.25 million, while Gearbox refused to settle and successfully petitioned to be dropped from the suit in 2015.

* ObviousBeta: This was one of the reasons why this game was panned by critics and gamers alike. Aside from this causing a [[http://i.imgur.com/ZwUzYbj.gif copious]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=8J8SzBhjqaQ amounts]] of {{Narm}}, it also results in being able to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Y5WwV9YoW_U literally sprint your way through every stage that doesn't require a target to kill.]]

* DeathWorld: LV-426 is [[ForegoneConclusion in even worse shape]] since the events of ''Film/{{Aliens}}''. Thanks to the destruction of the atmospheric processor, the immediate area around the colony is littered with debris, the xenomorphs have mutated and Weyland-Yutani have set up shop and are breeding even more Xenomorphs

* PrivateMilitaryContractors: Weyland-Yutani hired [=PMCs=] to stop the crew of the Sephora from investigating the Sulaco.

* WeaponOfChoice: Throughout the game, the player can discover signature weapons associated with (and used by) the characters in ''Film/{{Aliens}}'', including Hicks' shotgun, Gorman's pistol, Hudson's pulse rifle and Frost's flamethrower, among others.

** The Xenomorph queen is defeated during the cutscene at the end of the final mission, "Home" ([[spoiler:driven out of the cargo bay by Cruz in the dropship]]).

* DangerousWindows: Shooting certain windows on the Sulaco during the escape sequence triggers ExplosiveDecompression (and a game over screen).
* DeadpanSnarker: Three-and-a-half months of torture seems to have had this effect on [[spoiler:Dwayne Hicks]] - upon being released from captivity, the first thing he says when he realizes he's back on LV-426 is, "Oh, great. Back here again." Later on, when he [[spoiler:executes the android Michael Weyland]], Bishop is shocked.

[[spoiler:Hicks]]: I just killed your God.
* DeathWorld: LV-426 is [[ForegoneConclusion in even worse shape]] since the events of ''Film/{{Aliens}}''. Thanks to the destruction of the atmospheric processor, the immediate area around the colony is littered with debris, the xenomorphs have mutated and Weyland-Yutani have set up shop and are [[spoiler:breeding even more xenomorphs]]
* DecoyProtagonist: [[spoiler:Lisbeth Sanders in the ''Stasis Interrupted'' DLC]].

* NuclearNasty: The nuclear fallout from the remains of the destroyed atmosphere processor near Hadley's Hope mutated the already-deadly xenomorph species into different and more hazardous variants, including the Boiler, an albino xenomorph with large sacs of pus over its body, which can only react to sound and kills itself in a suicidal charge at whatever it hears.

* PosthumousCharacter: [[spoiler:Stone is executed]] at the beginning of the ''Stasis Interrupted'' DLC, and is later seen and spoken to (as well as being playable) in [[spoiler:Hicks' flashback]].

* ThePowerOfLove: O'Neal is willing to risk hell or high water to [[spoiler:find a way to remove the chestburster from Bella]] (seeing as they previously had a relationship). [[spoiler:He fails]].

* StupidEvil: Granted, Weyland-Yutani, in their near-suicidal determination to obtain a bioweapon they transparently cannot and could never control, have always evoked this trope to a certain degree, but here they take it UpToEleven, by declaring war on their own military to secure it.

* DifficultyLevels: Some of them, including (from lowest to highest) "Recruit", "Soldier" and "Ultimate Badass". After complaints from players regarding the apparent "low" difficulty, even on the highest setting, a patch was released greatly improving difficulty scaling, particularly on "Ultimate Badass".

* DifficultyLevels: Some of them, in order of difficulty:
** Recruit
** Soldier
** HarderThanHard: Ultimate Badass.

* DwindlingParty: Averted. Unlike ''Film/{{Aliens}}'' (where Marines are slowly picked off throughout the latter half of the film), almost all of the major characters survive to escape the planet (besides [[spoiler:Bella and Cruz, who sacrifices himself to stop the queen xenomorph]]).

* FiveManBand:
--> TheLeader: Cruz.
--> TheLancer: Winter.
--> TheBigGuy: O'Neal.
--> TheSmartGuy: Bishop.
--> TheChick: Bella, Reid.
--> SixthRanger: [[spoiler:Hicks.]]

* TrashTheSet: The USS Sulaco becomes progressively more and more destroyed throughout the first three missions due to a number of circumstances (massive battles with groups of xenomorphs [[spoiler: and Weyland-Yutani PMC's]], hull breaches, broken windows, a destroyed dropship, etc).

** Whilst exploring the Weyland-Yutani lab, you find a room full of chestbursters being held in suspended animation in big glass tubes. In a small room you can find an empty container with a straw hat and cane in it, a nice shout out to ''Spaceballs''.

* ActionBomb: The "Boiler" type xenomorph. It has a weaker carapace and is covered in acid-filled pustules, designed ([[WatsonianVsDoylist well, mutated into]]) as a living suicide bomb.

* ActionBomb: The "Boiler" type xenomorph. It has a weaker carapace and is covered in acid-filled pustules, designed as a living suicide bomb.

The game has received several [[GameMod game mods]] built by fans, the most notable of which is [[https://www.moddb.com/mods/templargfxs-acm-overhaul TemplarGFX's ACM Overhaul]]. The mod, built by James Dickinson, is notable not only for improving aspects of the graphics and gameplay, but addressing an [[https://www.engadget.com/2018/07/13/aliens-colonial-marines-typo-ai/ xenomorph AI error that was undiscovered for more than five years]], caused, by all things, a one-letter typo.

The game has received several [[GameMod game mods]] built by fans, the most notable of which is [[https://www.moddb.com/mods/templargfxs-acm-overhaul TemplarGFX's ACM Overhaul]]. The mod, built by James Dickinson, is notable not only for improving aspects of the graphics and gameplay, but addressing an [[https://www.engadget.com/2018/07/13/aliens-colonial-marines-typo-ai/ xenomorph AI error that was undiscovered for more than five years]].

* LampshadeHanging: O'Neil hangs one on an otherwise-apparent PlotHole early on in the game -- Weyland-Yutani, which is acting in complete secret, is conducting illegal experiments with xenomorphs onboard the ''Sulaco'' and in the Origin Facility, and their corporate logo is emblazoned over ''everything'', from computers and video cameras to containers and entire buildings. O'Neil later points out that it seemed like W-Y ''wanted'' to be caught, given how bold they were with their corporate nature.

&&* ASpaceMarineIsYou

&&* HonorBeforeReason