Following on from Creative Assembly's 2014 survival horror take on the Aliens franchise, Alien: Isolation, Cold Iron is attempting to replicate that game's success by adding a more action-oriented co-op shooter twist to the franchise in Aliens: Fireteam Elite.
Unfortunately, after the colossal failure that was 2013's Aliens: Colonial Marines, gamers tend to think negatively of shooter video game adaptation of the Aliens franchise. The award-winning success of Aliens: Isolation only served to prove this. However, after seeing the review scores for Fireteam Elite, it appears that Cold Iron has a solid game in their hands.
Although not everyone seems to be loving Fireteam Elite, there seems to be enough in the game to make it one of the best co-op shooters, with a few tweaks.
Here is what critics have to say about Fireteam Elite:
Eurogamer
"Aliens: Fireteam Elite is exactly what it says on the tin. Stuffed with guns, gadgets, and plentiful alien goo, it's a frenetic cooperative firefight against some of sci-fi's most iconic monsters in an all-new tale that takes us beyond the original trilogy. No, it's not the most sophisticated shooter, and no, its truncated runtime is unlikely to occupy you for more than a couple of nights, but it's an unashamedly good romp that'll hopefully satisfy your Ripley power fantasies, too."- Vikki Blake
IGN
"At least Fireteam's most glaring problems seem fixable with some patches (and a couple of friends). Yes, it plays into the trashy rather than the artful side of its franchise, but it embraces it, doing a better job of capturing that action-movie intensity than most past efforts." - Robert Zak
Windows Central
"If you're looking for a rock-solid shooter packed with player customization, engaging gameplay, stunning locations, and outrageous amounts of alien gore, Aliens: Fireteam Elite is totally worth your time and money. Grab a few friends, your trust plasma rifle, and send these bugs back to hell with a massive smile on your face." - Miles Dompier
GamesRadar
"Aliens: Fireteam Elite is just okay as a solo shooter, but the inclusion of friends makes the gameplay sing. As far as the curse of Alien games goes, Aliens: Fireteam Elite seems to have safely avoided it - this is a fun, frantic third-person shooter set to a score that feels like James Horner himself wrote it. Xenomorphs will rain down from the ceiling, scammer over walls, and jump out of ventilation shafts almost ceaselessly, which makes for a really fun, fast playthrough. Whether or not Aliens: Fireteam Elite will keep players enticed for a second go-round has yet to be determined..." - Alyssa Mercante
Is Aliens: Fireteam Elite worth buying or playing?
Aliens: Fireteam Elite came out on the PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series S/X on August 24, which means that gamers have also had a chance to play the co-op shooter for a brief time.
The consensus among audiences seems to be that Fireteam Elite is a good game with a few rough edges, including the lack of cross-play support, which is a shame given that Fireteam Elite is a game that heavily relies on its multiplayer aspect. Purposely gimping the latest Aliens game with the lack of cross-play support is definitely not a good idea.
If it's any consolation, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 owners can play with each other. As is the case for Xbox One and Xbox Series S/X owners. The only problem is that people on rival console platforms, as well as the PC, can't play together, which is a weird omission.
With that said, Fireteam Elite isn't just a co-op shooter. It also has a single-player campaign, which is told through four story-driven sections in which you get to play as customizable Colonial Marines that are hell-bent on ridding the world of the Xenomorph threat.
Unfortunately, judging from the reviews, it appears that the single-player aspect of Fireteam Elite was something that the development team could have spent some more time on.
