Hooray: The Last Time We'll Have To Talk About Aliens Colonial Marines

Today Gearbox Software is releasing the Stasis Interrupted downloadable content for Aliens: Colonial Marines. This single-player DLC will be the last new content released for the troubled shooter.

Stasis Interrupted, priced at $10, is a prequel to the events of Colonial Marines. It's set between the films Aliens and Alien 3. Lisbeth Hutchins and the other passengers of the ship Legato have been woken up from hypersleep unexpectedly. Their ship has been ordered to intercept the USS Sulaco, a ship currently exiting the orbit of colony LV-426.

The Sulaco is the ship that Ellen Ripley, Corporal Hicks and Newt used to escape the Xenomorph-infested planet of LV-426 in the film Aliens. By the time Lisbeth and her companions arrive, the Sulaco has been overrun by Xenomorphs. The group must fight their way through the hordes of aliens and find out what happened to the passengers of the ship. Players will experience this story from three different characters' perspectives.

Stasis Interrupted is the fourth and final DLC pack included in the Colonial Marines Season Pass. It's the only add-on in the bunch to extend the game's story, though. The other three DLC packs - Bug Hunt, Reconnaissance and Movie Map Pack - enhanced the multiplayer offering with a new co-op mode and additional competitive maps.

Aliens: Colonial Marines sounded like a great game on paper. It was a new Aliens game that expanded the story of the films and was in development at Gearbox Software, the studio that made Borderlands. However, Colonial Marines fell short of expectations and was savaged by reviewers. The competitive multiplayer was praised but the overall package was called lazy, derivative and buggy among other things.

If the game just sucked, that would've been the end of things. However, after launch Gearbox and publisher Sega were accused of lying to consumers by showing off videos much more polished than the actual product. Sources also accused Gearbox of using the funds for Colonial Marines to fund other projects. It's apparent that the game's development was a complete clusterfuck that Sega, Gearbox, and the other assisting studios would love to forget.

I'd love to forget the game, too. While it might seem fun to crap on a much-hyped game, I'd much rather play and discuss a game that actually delivers on its promises. The Aliens film inspired a slew of video games, including classics like Halo. It's depressing that Gearbox couldn't manage to squeeze one decent game out of it. The series deserved much better than it got.

Goodbye, Aliens: Colonial Marines. I'd say that "it's been fun" but I'd be lying. May your unsold copies be buried in New Mexico next to that E.T. game. Whenever I see a "Top 10 Disappointing Games" article in my RSS feed, I'll think of you.