Xenomorph caste 5:Drone

Also known as the Lurker the Drone was first encountered buy the crew of the Nostromo. The star beast is somewhat smarter then the warrior xenomorphs....as it was alive a shorter time period on the ship then the Warriors on LV426 yet still managed to evade capture and death at the hands of the crew. The Drone also seemed to be some what taller hence its other nickname "the Big Chap". With bigger dorsal horns and blade its a sight to be seen.
One other feature that the Nostromo Drone had that the Drones who later appeared in the series lost was the transparent skull. The dome was see through and underneath was a human skull making it even more frighting and savage something I think was lost with the later versions.
However it seem this design is returning with Alien Isolation and with it all the terror of being hunted buy a Lone Xenomorph. Its only fitting too as this was the creature that started it all.

Featured in

Alien

Alien Resurrection 

AVP

Aliens: Colonial Marines(Xbox 360, PS3)

Alien Isolation (Xbox One,PS4)

Interview with Sci-fi fan Dwayne Moloney.

I'm chatting to comic artiest, one of the voice's of  Secret of the Sailor Madness podcast and all round Sci-fi fan Dwayne Moloney about what elements of the Aliens franchise he enjoys and what could make it a good sci-fi.series again. 


Martin: Which character of the Aliens franchise was your favorite and why? Dwayne :Well, one of the many brilliant things about Ripley in the first film is she aint even the main character, she just kinda ends up that due to process of elimination, which is amazing! And while the first has her just barely survive, the second film has her come to terms with her trauma, to face it head on. Her character arc has her need to learn a new way to exist, to become a warrior, and to relearn how to be a mother. Its really quite brilliantly put together!

Martin: Which of the Aliens franchise was your favorite and why? Dwayne: Hmm, probably Aliens for the afore-mentioned reasons, but both it and Alien are near-perfect movies. Aliens only comes out on top for me as its probably one of the best film sequels out there.

Martin: Where would you like to see the Alien franchise go considering the mess that was Prometheus? Dwayne: I think there needs ta be a new main characters, unrelated to the previous films. It'd have to move to something on a larger scale, perhaps a colony during an infestation rather than after. The colonists could fight off the infestation… mebbie the colony could have been set up by WY to be infected, and the colonists fighting back or something! I feel the genre would have to change a bit too, that gives each story a uniqueness. Alien was kinda like a slasher movie, Aliens was vietnam influenced, thats why I like the idea of the colonists; an internal struggle against overpowering odds.

You can check out more from Dwayne here.
http://iamoftenwrong.tumblr.com/
and here
http://secretofthesailormadness.blogspot.ie/

Game over man Review: Alien vs Predator the last of his clan

This is the last of the Gameboy Alien games Ill be reviewing. AVP the last of his clan is a side scrolling beat'em up that puts you in the sandals of a lone hunter who must destroy an out of control hive which is clan allowed to be seeded on a populated planet. To my vast knowledge this is the first ever AvP game so that alone peeked my intrest and I had to buy it.

The graphics have not aged well and the music leaves alot to be desired but in fairness this is the first ever AVP game so cut it a little slack. Hell you got the Predator theme in 8 bit on the intro....what more could you want. The controls are basic as fuck and theres a sweet little menu for selecting the weapons....dont get too excited, you'll hear how sucky they are next.

The Yautja's weapons include Wristblades, Cuttingdisk, Shouldercanon and Bombs. Most are useless other then the cutting disk. Cloak seems only to be there to kill the facehuggers who jump on you. The foes include Facehuggers, Chestbursters and Warriors...along with the Queen boss. The Aliens are the toughest but the do constantly respawn and keep in mind there no medkits in this game at all.

While not a great game you could get a bit of fun outta it for oh the first 20 minutes but after that your going to be bored very fast. AVP the last of his clan for the Game boy is a game for hardcore fans only.

Game over man Review: Aliens Thanatos Encounter

So I recently  got a Gameboy advance and already played and reviewed Alien3 and decided to order Aliens Thanatos encounter, a game for the Gameboy Color.

The story is bare bones bunch of marines returning from a training mission decide to investigate the Thanatos a Weyland Yuntani research vessel.  It soon becomes apparent the ship has become a xeno hive and theres still civies onboard who need be rescued. Your given the option for 5 marines each with varying stamina and speed. The weapons include pistols, Shotguns, Pulse rifle and grenade launcher all of which can be duel wielded while the Smartgun and flamethrower require both hands to operate.Down side to this is you cant hold your motion tracker so locating enemies and objectives is impossible.You can use the powerloader also to fight larger foes.Enemies include Chestbursters, Facehuggers, Drones, Warriors and the Queen.

Graphic wise the game layout is an over the top shooter much like Alien3. While not amazning its is fun to see your little marine ( Thank you battle L.A!)  run around blasting xenos. Sound effects are shit and the music is anything to write home about but then agien guys this is Gameboy color.

My major issue with this game is the levels feel all the same and the combat and aiming system for the marines is god awful. You have to hope the Aliens run into your field of fire. Having said that there is a cool little feature which if your marines dies you'v 200 seconds to rescue your lost marine and regain your lost life.
This is not a fantastic game but if your an alien fan you'll want to check it out if you'v an old gameboy color or Gameboy advance.

Dark Horse sets date for Prometheus comic series.

So early in the year I told you guys that Dark Horse is rebooting its Aliens and Predator comics to fit in with Prometheus continuity and expand the universe franchise. While skeptical at first I've gotten a look at some of the art work and strips and am liking what I'm seeing.

The first book in the series titled Prometheus:Fire and Stone will hit shelves on Sept 10 2014.

Here's a link to a free preview http://io9.com/discover-how-prometheus-continues-in-this-free-comic-pr-1553849788

Operation Aliens

For the longest time I thought this was a myth but all the signs were there.The Kenner action figures , the jigsaw puzzles the lunch box's....all about Aliens all aimed at kids. Why would such things exist....sure Kenner had a was know to make toy from movie licences from movies not for kids....but Aliens.

We it turns out there was an attempt at an animated series called Operation Aliens. 

Now details on the show are pretty slim but from what was gathered it would have been in the vain of G.I Joe meets Creepy Crawlers . Every week Ripley, Hicks and the rest of the marines would take on a new and even more deadly version of the xenos. While chances are It would have been cheesey as all hell I would have loved to wake up Saturday morning's and see an Aliens Cartoon. The pilot had been made but so far has escaped fans however some screen shots from the show did make it online.

And yes you can see in the 3rd box at the bottom Hicks giving an Alien a fucking roundhouse kick. Fuck yeahe. 

My hope is that a time will come when someone does track down this lost relic of forgotten Aliens history.

If its good or cringe worthy well I guess that remains to be seen.

Dark Horse comic Review: Judge Dredd vs. Aliens

What do you get when you pit the ultimate Lawman against the ultimate killing machine....one hell of an awesome comic. Written buy the Dredd creator John Wagner and Andy Diggle and some wicked artwork buy Henry Flint.

The setting of Mega city one makes for the perfect stalking ground for the xenomorph and when Dredd gets wind of an infestation, he and a bunch of badass exterminators decide its time to go bug stomping.
The story starts off a slow burner like Alien with just one "Alien" and shows how much damage one bug can do then things go bat shit when it transpire theirs an entire hive right under the justice department leading to an all out war with the Judges and the Aliens.

This comic is fast paced and show's how even a kickass like Dredd has trouble taking on the Xeno. Flints art work is nice and gritty doing justice to both the world of Dredd and the Aliens. If your a comicbook fan of either 2000A.D or Aliens.....this is most definitely for you. So go out buy it and do what Dredd does best for his books. Justice.