We explained it in detail, why Aliens didn't make E3. But it's so much more soothing hearing the news come in the Anglified voice of SEGA of America's head honcho Simon Jeffery.

How many more reasons do you need to get all excited over Gearbox's upcoming Aliens shooter? It's being done by Gearbox, for starters. Syd Mead's had a hand in designing the gear. And now we hear that Battlestar Galactica's writers are behind the story? The good news just keeps on rolling. Seems Bradley Thompson and David Weddle - the show's lead writers - had plenty of spare time on their hands during the TV writers strike, and kept themselves busy writing a "whole season" of TVs worth of material for the game. Excellent.

Gearbox Talks Aliens Creative Team: BSG Writers, Original Film Artists, Craig Mullins [Shacknews]

In grand "X-Files" manner, the film's storyline is being kept under wraps. This much can be revealed: It is a stand-alone story in the tradition of some of the show's most acclaimed and beloved episodes, and takes the complicated relationship between Fox Mulder (Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Anderson) in unexpected directions. Mulder continues his unshakable quest for the truth, and Scully, the passionate, ferociously intelligent physician, remains inextricably tied to Mulder's pursuits.

ONLY AT THE MOVIES JULY 24.

Small details they may be, but when they're details on Gearbox's upcoming Aliens squad-shooter, you'd damn well better lap them up. First up, the game won't be restricted to claustrophobic indoor environments. While they'll obviously play a big part, there'll also be outdoor sections as well, giving you a breather from the RELENTLESSLY OPPRESSIVE DARKNESS. It also won't feature your traditional progression through levels, either. Rather than simply advance from beginning to end, some levels will require you to "make a stand", asking you to set up turrets and barricade doors in an effort to hold an area from a swarm of incoming bugs.

By our reckoning, there's still around a week-and-a-half until Halloween. Which gives you all plenty of time to get with the LeChuck, Sid Meier & TCS Tiger pumpkins we're still waiting on. Don't know if there's enough time to beat this Alien Hominid job from Callmesteam, though, who writes:

My regret is that it covered too much pumpkin, making it difficult to get a nice, clear shot of the whole character...

Konami produced the Aliens game for arcades in 1990, nearly four years after the James Cameron directed movie of the same name. The game was loosely based on the film and players could choose between two different player characters, Lieutenant Ripley or Corporal Hicks although there was no difference between the two except for the graphics. It could be played with up to two people and was controlled with a joystick and two buttons. It was mainly a side scrolling shooter although a few levels had a switched perspective with the characters moving forward down long hallways. The controls were pretty simple with one button letting you fire while standing and the other button allowing you to fire while crouching.