Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 Screenshot
Image: Cold Iron Studios, Daybreak Game Company

The original Aliens: Fireteam Elite was a perfect example of a 'really good seven-out-of-ten' game. A satisfying co-op shooter that really nailed the look and sound of the iconic Aliens universe. Light on story, high on satisfyingly crunchy fights, and held together with a fun customizable class system that gave it respectable replay value. Today, the sequel lands, developed by Cold Iron Studios, the team behind the first game. Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 is out now, and published, curiously, by legacy MMO studio Daybreak Game Company.

As with the original Fireteam Elite, you're getting a semi-cinematic squad shooter here. You're a team of up to four colonial marines; they're a bunch of acid-blooded alien monsters, shoot stuff and save the day while trying not to get too badly dissolved. What set the original game apart a little was its class system, with five basic roles to pick from (Marauder, Duelist, Machinist, Hunter & Medic), plus an interesting sixth one - the Specialist. Designed for endgame players, the Specialist is not really a full class, but more of a fully customizable hybrid, letting you pick weapons, gear, and class perks from any of the five others.

That final class seems to be geared specifically towards tackling the game's new expanded, more hardcore Horde mode. A big selling point of the sequel, the developers have promised that there's none of the exploitable corners and easy chokepoints of the first game to abuse here. If they've done what they've set out to achieve, then it should feature faster, more aggressive, smarter enemies, requiring players to really dial in their builds and cover each other's backs. That, and hope that at least one player is either playing Medic, or has borrowed some healing perks from them on their Specialist.

As with the original Fireteam Elite 2, there's thankfully more to shoot here than the classic xenomorph drones. At least ten basic alien types, plus queens, of course, but the Aliens universe has been slowly expanding for a very long time now. Expect gunfights against mass-produced synthetic soldiers, plus some new heavy industrial and military robots, which I believe are entirely new to the series and setting in general, outside of comics and spinoffs in other media. Overall, it looks like a solid sequel to an underrated game, and here's hoping that this one ends up getting as much post-launch support as the original. Or more, ideally.

Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 is out now for £45/$50, with no launch discount and a premium '40th Anniversary' edition that only adds a handful of extra cosmetic gubbins to the package, so skip on that unless you REALLY need to dress up in Ripley's outfit. Eager as I am to try this one, it might be best not to rush out to buy it, as there were no pre-release reviews, and so far no reactions from Steam users either. It could be great and a straight improvement over the already-good original... Or it could be a technical mess, and until the dust has settled, we won't know which. Until then, check out the slick launch trailer below.