Aliens: Colonial Marines Extermination Edition

The Xenomorph is cinema's perfect organism. So when Gearbox promised us the definitive Aliens game, collectors lined up. The Aliens Colonial Marines Extermination Edition on Xbox 360 delivered a DLC-heavy package aimed squarely at fans who wanted to step into the boots of the franchise's most iconic marines from day one.

Four playable movie characters headline the set. Sgt. Apone, Cpl. Hicks, Pvt. Hudson, and Pvt. Drake. Playing as Hudson alone is worth it, if only to mutter "game over, man" while getting swarmed in co-op. Ripley's flamethrower joins the arsenal, because no Aliens experience is complete without hosing down a corridor with fire while backing away slowly. The sawed-off double barrel shotgun adds some close-quarters punch, while the additional marine customization items let you personalize your grunt.

The gear upgrade boost grants early access to epic weapon upgrades, giving you a tangible head start on the progression curve. It's the kind of bonus that mattered most at launch but now serves as a curiosity for anyone revisiting the game.

Look, we all know how Colonial Marines landed. The reception was rough. But here's the thing about collector's editions of controversial games: time turns them into fascinating artifacts. The gap between the marketing promise and the delivered product makes these packages almost more interesting in retrospect. The Extermination Edition captures a moment of pure, uncut optimism from the 360 era, when we genuinely believed we were about to get the Aliens game we'd always wanted. That hope, frozen in plastic and cardboard, has its own kind of value.