"I Just Wanna Know One Thing..."

Author Alec Worley has written a great article on the brilliance of the marines' briefing scene in James Cameron's Aliens, and why it works so well.

Check it out here.

Signing Off!

In a desperate attempt to focus my blogging activities into a single place (i.e. HeroPress), Game Over, Man! Game Over! is going into hypersleep.

However, rather than nuking it from orbit, this blog will remain here, although all the posts have now been exported over to HeroPress (my main blog), and future Alien-themed articles will simply be posted there.

Thus, for the time being, I invite anyone who has been following my occasional posts here to switch their attention to HeroPress, where they will encounter a broader range of geeky posts, but still with the elements of Alien goodness in there.

On the miniscule chance that I somehow get an Alien RPG game going - or even bust out my Aliens boardgame - then Game Over, Man! Game Over! might flicker back into life.

However, for the moment, it is, indeed, Game Over, Man! Game Over!

"Ripley, You've Blown The Transaxle! You're Just Grinding Metal!"

Looking to beef up your games of Aliens: Another Glorious Day in the Corps?

Then you need this detailed model of the iconic M577 APC from the movie, to act as an eye-catching piece of terrain.

Available only direct from the Gale Force 9 webstore, for $50, this is a multi part resin kit, so assembly is required and it doesn't come pre-painted.

Produced to order, and in limited numbers, delivery of the APC may take up to 120 days from the time of ordering.

Completed 160mm x 65mm x 60m model shown with figures for scale

In Space No One Can Hear You Moving Around A Board Avoiding The Alien

Due for release in August, Alien: Fate of the Nostromo is a new co-op game from Ravensburger that allows players to take the roles of the Nostromo crew as you try to rewrite their fates, trapped on the cargo ship with the seemingly unstoppable alien lifeform.

Designed for one to five players, the game includes six miniatures (see below), a board depicting the Nostromo, and assorted illustrated cards.

In Alien: Fate of the Nostromo, players take the role of Nostromo crew members Ripley, Lambert, Parker, Brett, or Dallas.

Over the course of the game, they collect scrap, craft items, and fulfill different objectives. The crew will lose and gain morale as they encounter the Alien and other situations.

If crew morale reaches zero, players lose the game.

Each turn has two phases. In the Crew Action phase, players creep through the Nostromo’s halls, gathering scrap, crafting items, trading scrap and items with other players, and using items and their special abilities. Brett, for example, can craft items with one fewer scrap than other players.

If the Alien is within three spaces of the player with the incinerator, that player can use the incinerator to send the Alien back to its nest.

In the Encounter phase, players draw and resolve an Encounter card. The Alien could be lurking behind any corner…

Once the players fulfil their initial objectives, they face one of five final missions, each with a unique set of requirements.

Players must fulfil the final mission’s requirements simultaneously to win the game.

Players can also introduce Science Officer Ash for a more challenging game. Ash moves through the ship, removing scrap and forcing the crew to lose morale.

Could Korean Sc-Fi Space Sweepers Fit In The Alien 'Verse?

Set in the year 2092 and follows the crew of a space junk collector ship called The Victory. When they discover a humanoid robot named Dorothy that's known to be a weapon of mass destruction, they get involved in a risky business deal.

2092 was the year Ellen Ripley was born and a year before the Prometheus disaster, so Space Sweepers - based on this trailer alone - could fit in your Alien 'verse headcanon.

Guess we'll see when the Korean sci-fi drops on Netflix on February 5.

Mini Epics from Weta Workshop

In 2019, we celebrated the 40th anniversary of Alien by unleashing the Xenomorph into our Mini Epics mix. We lost a few Executive Officers in the process. Luckily, our heroine has arrived to get the situation back under control.

The Nostromo’s initial resident is now joined by Ripley and the Facehugger.

Alien: Modern HBO Max Trailer

Stay Frosty For The Full Aliens Boardgame Experience

It's time to lock and load, Gale Force Nine announced this weekend that the the complete "Aliens boardgame experience" will all be released this year, starting with the core game in October.

Two expansions (Aliens: Ultimate Badasses and Aliens: Get Away From Her, You B***h!) will follow later in the year, adding to the experience with new characters, missions, and game mechanics.

Here's a tease, from GF9, of what these all include:

Aliens: Another Glorious Day In The Corps
• Play iconic characters
• Recreate awesome scenes from the movie
• Quick and easy rules
• Dynamic co-op gameplay
• And all the Aliens you can kill!

Aliens: Ultimate Badasses
• Increase your Fireteam with six new Characters
• Gain Experience cards to give your Characters new abilities.

Aliens: Get Away From Her, You B***h!
• Play as the Alien Hive
• New campaign missions and locations from the movie
• Recreate the epic duel between Ripley and the Alien Queen

Alien: Low Budget Remake (fan film)

DC Showcase: Adam Strange

The recently released Blu-Ray of Justice League Dark: Apokolips War includes an animated extra feature that could be of interest to Aliens fans.

The animated short film DC Showcase: Adam Strange revolves around an incident at a mining colony with more than a passing resemblance to a Weyland-Yutani "shake and bake" enterprise, from the construction of the buildings, and the outfits worn, to the vehicles employed on site.

The plot, too, is very much an Aliens homage, with miners accidentally opening up a previously-unknown nest of insectoid xenomorphs and releasing them on them on the colony.

However, unbeknown to the colonists, instead of Ellen Ripley they have the sometime superhero Adam Strange (voiced by Charlie Weber) in their midst.

Having been whisked away from his adopted homeworld of Rann by the fickle Zeta-Beam, Strange has been stranded on this distant colony.

The loss of his family - and realisation that he may never see them again - has pushed him over the edge and Strange has become the town drunk.

The colonists have no idea who this derelict really is, until he is stirred from his drunken depression by the existential threat of the awakened monsters.

While the flashbacks explaining how Adam got where he is at the start of the story are very "comic book superhero", the majority of the DC Showcase short is pure Aliens.

And who doesn't love a "mysterious drifter saves the day" story?

The Harsh Realities Of Frontier Life

I made this!

Super7 Expands Its Aliens Range Of ReAction Figures

A half-dozen new 3.75″ Aliens ReAction Figures will be available from Super7's online store next Wednesday (May 6): Ripley, Newt, Bishop, Hicks, Hudson, and Vasquez.

Amazing Artwork By Ïve Bastrash

Artwork by Ïve Bastrash.

Aliens: Theatrical Cut vs Special Edition

Happy Alien Day!

Now THIS is how you make a movie trailer!

Mystery Of Xenomorph XX121 Life Cycle

I like Ripley's theory that some (all?) drone xenomorphs are capable, in extremis, of creating their own eggs in this fashion... to continue the species.

"Is This Going To Be A Stand-up Fight, Sir, Or Another Bug Hunt?"

For a mere €219.95 (approx. £193 or $239) you'll be able to snag a pair of limited edition Reebok U.S.C.M. Bug Stompers this weekend, released at 11pm on Saturday, ahead of Alien Day on Sunday.

Inspired by the shoes worn by Ripley and the combat gear of the colonial marines in Aliens, these bad boys will be available through the official Reebok site.

Stomp aliens in style. These futuristic shoes are inspired by the ones worn in a legendary 1986 science fiction movie. The iconic strap made them easy to slip on and off quickly for quick scene changes. Camouflage graphics and a "Bug Stomper" label give them an authentic vibe. The upper is made of a supple, full-grain leather.

40 YEARS OF ALIEN

CINEMATIC GAMEPLAY

From the Official Newsletter for the Upcoming Alien Tabletop RPG

A Cinematic scenario emulates the dramatic arc of an Alien film.

Designed to be played in one or a a few sessions, this game mode emphasizes high stakes and fast and brutal play.

Conflict between player characters is likely, and you are not all expected to survive.

Cinematic scenarios come with pre-generated characters, specifically tailored for the story.
A Cinematic scenario is divided into three Acts.

For each Act, each player character is given a Personal Agenda, that is kept secret from the other players.

A Personal Agenda can go against the interests of other characters or the group as a whole, but that's not always the case – the point is that you can never be sure about the motivations of the other characters.

Personal Agendas for Act 1 and Act 2 are generally carefully phrased, to avoid overt confrontations between player characters to early in the story.

Act 3 Agendas tend to push characters to a climactic endgame, sometimes pitting player characters in direct confrontation against each other – just like Ripley against Ash in Alien and Burke in Aliens.

CHARIOT OF THE GODS

One Cinematic scenario, Chariot of the Gods, is included in core rulebook. This pre-generated scenario provides all the tools necessary to run your first Alien roleplaying game, and it’s a fun and easy way to learn how to play and tell your own stories on the Frontier.

In Chariot of the Gods, the players take the roles of the crew of the USCSS Montero starfreighter.

It’s designed to introduce the game to the players while at the same time take them for a thrilling, terrifying ride into space where no one can hear them scream.

The scenario is designed for 3–5 players plus GM, and takes at least 4-5 hours to complete.

Chariot of the Gods is written by author Andrew E. C. Gaska, lead setting writer for the Alien RPG and franchise consultant on Alien for 20th Century Fox, with editing and added gameplay aspects by game director Tomas Härenstam.

More Cinematic scenarios will be published by Free League Publishing in the years to come. Some will be linked into longer narratives, where the outcome of one Cinematic scenario can impact the setup of the next – even if all player characters are replaced.

Stay tuned – and tell all of your friends to also sign up to this newsletter at Alien-RPG.com!

Avatar (2009)

No wonder Avatar was such a big hit at the cinema - in this shallow age of ours it is the ultimate expression of style over content.

If as much time and devotion to detail had been spent on the script as is put into the building of the world of Pandora, it could have been amazing.

As it is, Avatar - out on DVD in the UK tomorrow (Monday) - is a beautiful movie let down by a hackneyed script, full of unnecessarily drawn-out scenes for James Cameron gets to show off his swanky CGI.

There are lengthy portions of the film where there are no humans on screen, just CGI aliens and beasties in front of CGI scenery when you realise that this is a studio head's wet dream - the technology has finally arrived to eliminate pesky, temperamental actors from the whole film-making equation.

Sam Worthington is Jake Sully, a wheelchair-bound marine called back into service to replace his dead scientist twin brother on a trip to the alien world of Pandora. There he will be bonded with an 'avatar' - a vat grown clone of a native that was created with a combination of his brother's DNA and that of one of the locals, the giant, blue-skinned Na'vi.

It is supposed to be a scientific mission to learn the ways of the hostile Na'vi and hopefully negotiate a way for the humans to obtain the rare precious substance called Unobtanium (don't get me started on that particular red flag!), but he is approached by the stereotypically two-dimensional military commander Colonel Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang) to act as a spy in the Na'vi camp, obtaining useful "intel" for when the military move in to forcefully evict the Na'vi from their sacred lands.

Unsurprisingly, it all goes a bit Dances With Wolves and Jake falls for Na'vi princess Neytiri (Zoe Saldana), comes to realise that the humans are the bad guys and helps the Na'vi drive the invaders from their lands.

And for some reason this takes two-and-a-half hours.

That said, Avatar is never boring, it is a visual treat with alien flora and fauna - but isn't exactly food for the brain, despite its best efforts to drive home a pro-Green, anti-corporation message. Both sides in the fight are such stereotypes - with the noble savages of the Na'vi on one side and heartless military machine of the Earth forces on the other - that it's not that easy to take the conflict seriously.

It's simply 'ewoks versus The Empire' writ large and with a quality of CGI that would make George Lucas weep.

The planet of Pandora is the true star of this film, with its cornucopia of native life forms, totally integrated ecosystem and freakish geology - the flying mountains are breathtaking, an amazing realisation of '70s prog rock album cover artwork.

But let's address the elephant in the room: Unobtanium, the McGuffin that set this tragic chain of events in motion, a substance so valuable that no one ever explains what it does (or why it's so valuable) and is promptly forgotten about after 20 minutes and never mentioned again.

The moment corporate stooge Parker Selfridge (Giovanni Ribisi) delivers his expositional infodump to Dr Grace Augustine (Sigourney 'Ripley' Weaver), the head of the Avatar program and Diane Fossey to the Na'vi, about the whole raison d'etre for the human presence on Pandora - which you would have thought she was probably well aware of - you know James Cameron isn't trying very hard on the scriptwriting side of things.

Once you accept this and just enjoy the idea of watching the best-looking video game you've ever seen, Avatar is a lot of fun - but purely on a superficial level.

While his friend tried to explain the "brilliance" of Avatar

Once again Our Valued Customers has nailed a key issue of geekdom in a brilliantly well-observed single panel.