If you were one of the countless fans disappointed by Sega and Gearbox's Aliens: Colonial Marines, not only are you not alone, but you're also in excellent company. Apparently, not only was the game simply no fun to play, but also it wasn't much fun to make either.
If you still went out and bought Colonial Marines in spite of all the bad reviews, chances are good you're a xenomorphic buff, and you well know who Michael Been is. For the rest of you, let's bring you up to speed. Michael Been was a favorite of director James Cameron's back in the mid to late 80's, for which he earned probably his two most well known roles, that of the future saving father of John Connor, Kyle Reese in "Terminator," and the bug hunting Hicks in "Aliens," a role which he reprised in Colonial Marines.
Speaking with Game Informer, Biehn said he didn't much enjoy his time working on the game, so much so that he wasn't exactly looking forward to working on Far Cry 3's 80's love letter DLC, Blood Dragon, as a result. According to the GI article, after something of an awkward first meeting, Biehn's wife and business co-star, Jennifer Blanc, "had to drag Biehn to meet Evans," Blood Dragon's creative director.
Said Biehn, "The only other gaming experience that I had was I did a voice [Corporal Hicks] in the Aliens game that they made [Aliens: Colonial Marines]. That wasn't fun at all. I just didn't really have any fun."
"It seemed kind of passionless. I think in movies, television, and the gaming world, you get some people that are really, really passionate, and some people that are just going through the paces. They think that because they have a brand name they're going to get a hit game or hit movie out of it. That certainly was the situation on [Aliens: Colonial Marines]."
Luckily though, Biehn and Evans ended up hitting it off, resulting in the excellent, tongue-in-cheek stand alone DLC, Blood Dragon.
"Dean is such an interesting and creative presence," Biehn said. "He has such energy and such passion. One of the things that I really, really enjoy working still in this business is finding people that have that kind of passion."
