In early July, Aliens: Colonial Marines producer Brian Burleson revealed in a web chat that there would be no playable female characters in Gearbox's upcoming title, which started a bit of a controversy. One fan even went so far as to start a petition for fans so that Gearbox would include female characters, and it seems to have been something of a success.
Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford recently told Kotaku that female characters will be a part of the multiplayer mode for Colonial Marines, but here's the thing. Pitchford alleges that this was always the plan, even going so far as to "correct" Burleson's quote, saying what he meant was that there were no playable characters in the E3 demo, which only featured team deathmatch. Interesting...
If this is true, why would Gearbox wait so long to reveal the news? I have difficulty believing that the petition had little to do with it, especially after it was even signed by some of the "Aliens" movie cast, including Cynthia Scott, Ricco Ross, William Hope, and even Vasquez herself, Jenette Goldstein.
Allegedly, Pitchford claims it was always the plan to include playable female characters, but weren't yet ready for a reveal. Something about females having a different skeleton and moving differently than male characters.
Whatever the reason, it's a welcome change to the upcoming game, as there's no game more deserving of featuring female roles than Aliens: Colonial Marines. After all, the entire movie franchise the game is based on is held together by a sole female character - Ellen Ripley, one of sci-fi's most iconic and critically acclaimed roles. When Sigourney Weaver returned to the role for the sequel "Aliens," the result was a record breaking $100 million draw at the box office that broke down gender barriers in film. Weaver's portrayal of Ripley even went so far as to get her an Oscar nomination, an incredibly rare feat in the sci-fi and/or action genre.
Women will feature in the game's competitive multiplayer mode, and will be completely customizable alongside their male counterparts.
Aliens: Colonial Marines launches on February 12, 2013 for PS3, 360 and PC with Wii U version announcement "at a later time."