So I finally played Aliens: Colonial Marines. The Steam sale had it down to a few dollars and I wouldn't have bought it otherwise. The negative epic reviews seem almost historically bad when you consider that apparently someone is suing Sega over the badness of that game: http://www.pcgamer.com/gearbox-dropped-fro...arines-lawsuit/
Basically, having played it for a few dollars, I was happy about my purchase. It wasn't as great as the greatest of all the Alien franchise games (the early Alien Vs. Predator game which had single player for Marine, Predator, and Xenomorph, where you played as Frosty Harrison, if I recall the name correctly) but it wasn't worse than the other games in the series which often were pretty hit and miss anyway.
I might have been disappointed if I'd paid over $50 for it at launch but for a few dollars I can't complain. Basically, it's a little rough around the edges, but not nearly as broken as the reviews make it sound.
I guess people have forgotten that Aliens games always seem to take liberties with the setting so that things work better for multiplayer. (I don't play multiplayer so personally I would prefer a single player only game.) Lots of guns were added that weren't seen in the movies and acid does damage instead of one-shotting you whereas in the movies the Marines only had standard issue pulse rifles, smartguns, and pistols, with Hicks having an old fashioned shotgun that it looks like he had brought along, and acid splashes took Marines out of action.
It is what it is but the whirlwind of negative press and the lawsuit seems like a comical over-reaction.