You might think that a tough squad of mean marines—a fireteam, say—might be just a bunch of rugged guys with guns. But this is not actually the case in Aliens: Fireteam Elite, the co-op shooter coming in August, which will give players five different classes to choose from, three of which were detailed today.
To be fair, the Demolisher is in fact a very rugged guy with an extremely large gun: In addition to the standard pulse rifle, they also carry a heavy weapon, such as the L56A3 Smartgun, which pack an incredible punch but have fairly tight ammo limitations. They can also deploy a "blastwave" that will knock back enemies, and can fire spreads of "micro rockets" that can be upgraded through character progression with incendiary or concussive effects.
Next is the Doc, properly known as a "field medical service technician," who can heal wounded troops and boost combat effectiveness by handing out stims that increase accuracy, stability, stamina regeneration, and movement speed. It sounds like the sort of thing that would be illegal (or at least grossly unethical) in the real world but in reality that sort of thing has been going on for decades, and may be the most realistic part of the game. Docs comes to the fight packing a pulse rifle and a .50 caliber handgun.
The third addition to the list is the Recon class, a specialized troop with the ability to reveal enemy positions and call in support drones that replenish ammunition supplies and boost accuracy for all members of the fireteam. The Recon class also serves as the squad sniper, and carries a "close quarters weapon" for backup; their drones can be upgraded through progression to track and debuff specific targets, or to defend an area as a "guard dog."
Two other classes have already been announced, but not fully detailed: The Gunner is the basic (but very effective) badass, with a pulse rifle, close quarters weapons, grenades, boosted rate of fire, and stacking damage bonuses, and the Technician, who can lay down sentry turrets (upgradeable through character progression) and "charged coils" that shock and slow enemies.
Rather like the movies, Aliens: Fireteam Elite takes a more direct, head-on approach to xenomorphs than its immediate predecessor, in this case Alien: Isolation. We said in our March preview that it "feels like a step backwards" after that singularly brilliant experience, but sometimes all you want to do is grab a gun and have some fun, and hopefully that's what Aliens: Fireteam Elite will deliver. It's set to come out on August 24, and you can find out more at aliensfireteamelite.com.
