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Overview
What ABG knows about this game
The Company has colonised the planet LV-426. Contact with the "Shake and bake" colony is lost. The Company sends a team of Colonial Marines, with Ripley as "Advisor", to find out what has happened at Hadley's Hope. Aliens: This Time it's War is an unauthorised, non-profit and non-collectable card game set within the boundaries of the hugely influential 1986 sci-fi film, Aliens. Consisting of two balanced 60-card decks, the game pits two players against each other in a life or death struggle. One player takes the role of the Colonial Marines, and his opponent assumes control of the hordes of deadly xenomorphs. At their disposal, the Colonial Marines - very tough hombres - have a roster of high-tech, state-of-the-art weaponry. The Alien player's objective is to eliminate all the Marines, before they escape the planet and "Nuke the entire site from orbit." The game has an asymmetrical design, with both decks featuring different cards and abilities. Aliens: This Time it's War is played using a 5-column system, representing consecutive melees. Gameplay is quick and bloodthirsty with Marines butchered frequently, and aliens destroyed by the well-placed use of cards. Numerous tricky decisions must be made throughout. For instance, the Colonial Marine player could choose to deploy the Powerloader during the Reactor Chamber battle, but the resources that this would require make it a very risky, but rewarding, play. Similarly, the Alien player can deploy the Alien Queen at any time during the conflict - she's free to play aboard the Sulaco, but hugely expensive if used during the APC Withdrawal, for instance. Primarily a combat-driven card game, each player must manage his deck of cards effectively to win. In addition to simple, unique abilities, each card also has two values: power and cost. No icons are used. Aliens: This Time it's War can trace its parentage back to San Juan, Magic: The Gathering, Battle Line, BattleTech TCG, and Iliad. Victory Conditions: The Colonial Marine player wins if she manages to "Nuke the entire site from orbit". The Colonial Marine player wins if she reaches and survives the Sulaco Loading Bay battle. The Alien player wins if Ripley and all the Colonial Marines are either killed or cocooned.