Obsidian Impregnated but Killed Before Alien Could Burst from Chest

Alien is one of those IP's that has had a grip on me since I first saw the original film back in the mid 90's. The combination of the H.R. Giger's chilling alien design coupled with the sense of claustrophobia and dread that the movie inspired was unforgettable. While I haven't watched any of the films in several years, the franchise has been sitting in the back of my mind as an IP that I felt was waiting for technology to catch up before another game was made. 2008 seemed like the magic year with the announcement of Gearbox's "Aliens: Colonial Marines" and Rebellion's "Alien vs. Predator" but the project that had me the most intrigued was being quietly worked on by Obsidian entertainment. A game that will no longer see the light of day. A game that was tentatively titled “Alien Crucible” but simply referred to as Obsidian’s “Alien RPG”.

Don’t get me wrong, the projects being worked on by Gearbox and Rebellion both look impressive and entertaining but there is something about Obsidian Entertainment that I have always found interesting. They are considered the team that develops “B” grade sequels to established hits like KOTOR and Neverwinter Nights. The team is currently working on Alpha Protocol and the follow-up to Bethesda’s Fallout 3, titled “Fallout: New Vegas” which should release sometime in 2010. The strange thing is that, all of these titles are critically received as inferior games but with their own merit in terms of design and playability. As far as the Alien games in production, this game sounded like the only game that was taking a chance with its concept. Both of the other titles mentioned before, stick closely to first person action games where you either take control of the Alien or the marines. The idea of taking the franchise into the RPG realm seems like a strange but welcome fit for the franchise. As of June 2009, the game has been officially cancelled after months of speculation. The question remains however, what could this game have had in store for us?

Newly Revealed Concept Art

With nothing left of this game but some concept art, the only thing left for us to do is speculate about what this game could have been. We know it was an RPG but there is still plenty of room for speculation. Was this going to be a turn based RPG comprised of human characters that are scouring the galaxy trying to eliminate the Alien threat? Could you in-fact be playing as various members of an Alien hive? The art that was released today depicts two very different Alien designs, something that I think the series has lacked. I remember as a child, collecting the Alien action figures which included a number of different Alien designs that were never introduced in the films or video games. Obsidian looked like they were ready to tackle the Alien IP and introduce some new content. No information revealed thus far has hinted at a story or setting but the nature of RPG’s suggests that of the three titles being released, this game could have had the most to offer in regards to scenery and storytelling. I can imagine the game taking place aboard marine spacecrafts, the alien home world, earth, and countless other settings that the franchise could go. The reasons for the games cancellation are yet to be revealed but one could imagine that the game was too much of a risk for the team to take financially, perhaps the game wasn’t coming along as planned, or maybe the team was dispersed to work on other Obsidian projects. Whatever the reason, I hope that the other two Alien projects are able to satisfy my desire for a new interactive Alien experience.

-Nick