Aliens: Fireteam Elite Critic Reviews

We’ve waited far too long for an Aliens game this good, but it’s finally here. With an exciting campaign, five exciting classes, a dazzling array of weapons, and a staggering array of monsters to use them on, Aliens: Fireteam Elite is a perfect organism.

Aside from being a faithful take on the Aliens experience, Aliens: Fireteam Elite is simply a good game. Is it a shot-for-shot adaptation of its source material? Certainly not, but I definitely felt like I was in at least some version of an Aliens world through and through. Its loot and combat only improve with time without asking players to mindlessly grind just to keep progressing. The obvious push towards co-op, as opposed to single-player, may be a bummer to some, but even those who venture into Xenomorph swarms on their own will have plenty to look forward to in Aliens: Fireteam Elite.

Aliens: Fireteam Elite is a bad Aliens game but a whole bunch of fun. You’ll probably not find anything revolutionary here, but if you want to bellow “Let’s Rock” at friends as a tsunami of Xenomorphs comes at you from all angles, you’ll enjoy every second. Providing you’re not playing alone, with the game’s woeful bots.

I didn’t expect more than a short, fun diversion, but Aliens: Fireteam Elite has the ambitions of a genuine hobby game, and honestly, I think it’s good enough to pull it off.

Ultimately, Aliens: Fireteam Elite is more hit than miss. Although it does little to advance the survival shooter genre forward, Cold Iron Studio has done a great job of combining the familiar source material with fun, action-packed combat. The few flaws are merely a minor distraction and don’t mean game over, man!

Despite what its reduced price might suggest, there's a lot here to keep you entertained for numerous hours, especially once you've managed your first run through all four acts and start tackling them again with higher difficulty settings in the pursuit of consistently better gear. There's so much satisfaction in customizing and managing a handful of classes with enough depth to transform them into the Colonial Marine you need at a given time, along with a plethora of great weapons to make the moment-to-moment action engaging from the first time you pull the trigger. What it lacks in dread it makes up for in pure white-knuckle action, making Aliens: Fireteam Elite a great place to engage with this iconic sci-fi franchise again.

Aliens: Fireteam Elite is a valid cooperative shooter, one where you can just drop in and shoot stuff with glee, or put your coordination and teamplay to the test if you’re looking for a challenge. There are friendly AIs, but they aren’t great and solo play only works at the lower difficulties. Finally, while the game is competent and fun, it also shows its low budget.

Wonderfully action-packed multiplayer shooter with plenty of Aliens vibe, it is however only really enjoyable with human players.

Whilst not without its faults, Aliens: Fireteam Elite is a satisfying co-op shooter that shows that there's still fun to be had with the Aliens franchise.

A fun and flexible swarm shooter that’s a little too reliant on being played alongside friends.

Aliens: Fireteam Elite is an absolute win if you’re a franchise fan and you stick to the multiplayer; if you’re a solo player and the universe does nothing for you, there’s not much here worth exploring.

Aliens: Fireteam Elite is a valiant third-person shooter in the titular universe, yet still falls somewhat short. As a bite-sized, mindless action game on the surface, blasting away hordes upon hordes of xenomorphs with the M41A Pulse Rifle is excellent. Trying different classes, abilities, and unlockable weapons help keep gameplay refreshing during your first run. However, Fireteam Elite wants to be replayable and what’s on offer simply isn’t that fun to return to. Formulaic level design and often buggy AI make finishing missions a chore rather than a triumph. Series fans will enjoy the package, but Aliens: Fireteam Elite may struggle to survive against other co-op shooters. “Another glorious day in the Corps…” but not much longer than that.

Aliens: Fireteam Elite does enough right to be plenty worthwhile for a trio of co-op shooter fans who’d rather battle hordes of xenomorphs than the usual zombies. Between the excellent weapons, classes, and enemy types and some wonderful nostalgic hat-tips toward what came before, it's a must-play if you hold any fondness for this series. The caveats, of course, are having to put up with repetitive scenarios and some excruciatingly drawn-out missions. Aliens: Fireteam Elite may not be a triumphant win, but it's far from a game over, man.

Entertaining to play, but light on content and too repetitive in spots, Aliens: Fireteam Elite isn't without its charms. But the purchase price is a little high for what you get.

If Aliens: Fireteam Elite will not turn your life as a player upside down by offering a refreshing formula, the cooperative shooter does all the same with an effective recipe. Nervous, complete and faithful to the cinematographic saga it adapts, the production of Cold Iron Studios will keep you occupied until the next big releases. In other words, if you have enjoyed World War Z or the gameplay of the Gears of War saga, we can only advise you to take up arms and make dozens of Xenomorphs bite the dust.

Aliens: Fireteam Elite feels like a generic loot shooter that doesn't manage to capture at all the look and feel of the Aliens franchise. Instead, we are left with a boring, repetitive and buggy game.

Fireteam Elite doesn’t stray from the horde-heavy, co-op gameplay that's typical of multiplayer shooters, but the newest Alien title is packed with great visuals, smart classes, and great action.

At the end of the day, Aliens: Fireteam Elite doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but it’s a game that clearly knows what it wants to be. It’s not the most sophisticated co-op shooter out there and won’t exactly blow your mind with its uniqueness, but if you want to spend an evening shooting up Xenomorphs alongside friends, it has you covered.

Aliens: Fireteam Elite has a lack of mission variety, technical issues, bad matchmaking, and a repetitive structure. All of that said, it's still a fun time. I’m off to play some more right now.

Aliens : Fireteam's gameplay needs to be perfected to really be enjoyed in the long term, but fans of the double-jawed beast can wait with some great story and atmosphere. Let's see where it goes from there.