Somehow I managed to miss this a few weeks ago – must have been the Labor Day weekend that threw me off. Apparently Gearbox has decided that it will feature playable female characters in its Aliens: Colonial Marines video game. It’s surprising to me that the had not originally planned to do so. Aliens featured two female Colonial Marines, Smart-Gun operator Vasquez and Dropship Pilot Ferro, not to even mention protagonist Ellen Ripley. Women have always been a part of the Alien saga from its inception. Good thing that the developers came to their senses:
You’ll be able to play and customize lady marines in Aliens: Colonial Marines, developer Gearbox assured fans during a panel at PAX Prime today. You can hop in the clunky metal shoes of Jennifer Redding during co-op play and even customize an array of female avatars for competitive multiplayer.
Gearbox didn’t want to announce anything today, but they felt they had to, CEO Randy Pitchford told me in a recent meeting. The decision to reveal the remaining three cooperative characters (including Redding, who you can see in the above concept art) came as a reaction to a growing online petition that accused the first-person shooter of excluding both playable female characters and female character customization in competitive play.
HUDSON: Hey, Vasquez, have you ever been mistaken for a man?
VASQUEZ: No. Have you?