That Damn Motion Tracker
If you've seen the movie Aliens, you know it well: that motion-tracking device that pings incessantly whenever something creepy-crawly is moving nearby. (And if you haven't: what the hell, dude?) It's used to great effect in the film, bringing suspense in early moments without ever revealing the danger and reminding the Marines that they're surrounded by a swarm of unseen creatures.
...and sometimes you don't need a motion tracker at all.
It's the same in Colonial Marines. When an alien (aka Xenomorph) is moving close by the sensor beeps once, but you have to pull it out to get an idea of where they actually are. Like the flashlight in Doom 3, you can't use both a gun and the motion tracker at the same time, leaving you momentarily defenseless while you're using it. A lot can happen in that moment as you're switching weapons, and often that temptation to learn more about my surroundings led to my demise.
Ever Get The Feeling You're Being Watched?
As with just about any team-based multiplayer mode with squishy humans, it's important for the Marines to stick together if they're going to have a prayer of survival. What makes Colonial Marines particularly frightening for the human side is knowing how easy it is for the alien squad to organize tactical strikes and pick off stragglers.
Like in Left 4 Dead, the aliens can see where both their team and the Marines are at all times, making coordination a snap. However, the Xenomorphs have the added element of being able to climb walls and ceilings, letting them come from all directions at once. I found that the different alien classes split into different roles naturally, going in at different speeds and angles for maximum damage.
That's Xenomorph for "Peekaboo!"
When I was playing on the Marine side, that meant being pounced on at semi-regular intervals -- and there's nothing like the sensation of knowing you're being watched by a predator to fill a person with dread and impending doom.
Silence is Golden (and Terrifying)
It's lonely in space, and the sound design of Colonial Marines really drives that home. There is very rarely any music, and outside of the general ambient noises of the planet LV-426, Marines' shouts, and the growls of the aliens, it's eerily quiet. Ping!
It's quiet because they ate the orchestra.
Left 4 Dead fills those quiet moments with waves of normal zombie fodder; Colonial Marines just let me listen to my own heartbeat during lulls. During those times it was painfully obvious just how small my squad was, and just how screwed I'd be if I were caught alone in the open. Where in Left 4 Dead 2 you'd be getting quips from Coach and company and musical cues signaling various events, Colonial Marines gives only the screams of your allies to let you know when an attack has begun. Over voice chat, was less laughing and more shouting and yelps of terror.
I'm sure that, given time, my terror will subside as I learn to anticipate the Xenomorph team's tactics and better know how to counter them. Fear, after all, rarely sticks around once you understand your enemy. But for the first few hours at the very least, I expect to get plenty of good spine-tingling tension and embarrassing scares from Aliens: Colonial Marines.
It's true: there's safety in numbers, and when we team up in games, we barely flinch in the face of monsters that made us scream and pee a little when we're alone. Or maybe we're just tryin' to look tough for our friends. Have you ever been really freaked out by a multiplayer game?