This is the final story DLC for Aliens: Colonial Marines, requiring the base game to play. Released in 2013, this expansion offers a new, interlocking campaign where you play as three characters uncovering the fate of Hicks between the films Aliens and Alien³. Gameplay involves first-person shooter combat aboard the infested research vessel Legato and the Sulaco, focusing on survival against Xenomorphs and Weyland-Yutani forces to reveal corporate secrets.
The narrative centers on the research transport vessel, the USS Legato, which was dispatched by Weyland-Yutani to investigate LV-426 after the Sulaco departed. The Legato carried colonists intended to serve as hosts for Xenomorph propagation. Upon arriving too late to intervene, the Weyland-Yutani team began harvesting eggs and establishing research protocols aboard their ship.
The core conflict ignites when the Legato intercepts the Sulaco in orbit. Colonist Lisbeth Hutchins awakens unexpectedly from hypersleep to a ship overrun by a Xenomorph outbreak, witnessing the horrific consequences of the corporation's experiments. Players experience this outbreak through Lisbeth, as well as other survivors, as they fight to escape the infested vessel and uncover the fate of Corporal Hicks, who was left in stasis aboard the Sulaco. The storyline ultimately explains the circumstances leading to Hicks's situation in the subsequent film.
This DLC introduces new playable characters whose interwoven stories reveal the extent of Weyland-Yutani's involvement. Players navigate environments aboard the Legato and the Sulaco, encountering both Xenomorph threats and Weyland-Yutani Private Military Contractors (PMCs) attempting to secure corporate assets. The atmosphere emphasizes survival horror as characters attempt to utilize escape pods and reach the Sulaco before the Legato is destroyed.
As a shooter DLC, this content utilizes the established first-person shooter mechanics of the parent game. The gameplay focuses on combat against Xenomorphs and human adversaries across new mission areas within the research ship and the Colonial Marine cruiser. The content is structured as a linear, story-driven campaign.
The primary addition is the new story campaign, which provides significant canonical context for the franchise timeline. While it utilizes the existing weapon sets and combat systems, the scenario design is tailored to the claustrophobic and desperate nature of the Legato's infestation.
This DLC is essential for players interested in the full narrative arc, as it directly addresses the fate of key characters left unresolved at the end of the base game and provides the backstory for events depicted in Alien³. It offers a substantial, multi-character mission set that expands upon the lore established in the core title, rather than simply adding new multiplayer maps or cosmetic items.
Contains frequent moderate to strong violence and frequent strong language.