This is a fantastic concept, I never played NS1 but I'm very glad that they developed it into NS2.

I'm not a massive FPS fan, or a skilled FPS player, but the fact that there are definite strategic elements to this game, means that even if I can't win a certain fight, I can gain a strategic victory in some way, either by scouting for others, supporting others, building items, or simply slowing the enemy down.
and when a game has a good commander it becomes that much easier and more fun to support your team.

Marines are fun, but I thoroughly enjoy playing as the aliens, they are very distinctive and each have their own style of play.
The base alien unit, the "Skulk" is by no means the weakest, played properly a single skulk can zip from one side of the map to another, can ambush marines easily, and can quickly close the distance to meelay range against the better armed marines.

This game has made multiplay FPS's fun again.

Things that aren't great:

Random teams, is not random, this could be improved so easily.
If no-ones talking then the game becomes much less fun.
The lobby is OK but it could be better, would be nice to have a system for chatting with players outside a specific server.

A couple more game variations on gameplay would be nice, and maybe some larger "open air" maps would provide some variation.

Overall this game is a solid 8, and I am being conservative with my rating.… Expand

With its blend of action and strategy coupled with non-linear teams and diverse roles this game is one of the best experiences in online FPS coop to be found.

Very fun RTS/FPS hybrid with what seemed like a very friendly community of players. With a game such as this the player base could easily have been hostile to new players, but that was not the case at all so don't be afraid to give it a try. Inside you'll find an "explorer" mode to walk around the maps at your leisure, helpful popup tips, and plenty of training videos to get you up to speed. As for the gameplay itself; if you are unfamiliar with this genre its basically a first person shooter with a lone player on each side taking on the commander role which involves building up and expanding your base, researching upgrades, and coordinating the players from an overhead camera view (basically your typical real-time strategy gameplay) and I've got to say it works really really well. I've played similar games that have given the commander way too much power with the ability to spam the map with turrets, but not here. Both the commander and the other players seem very much equal in determining the outcome of a match and that's refreshing. For the factions there are two and they offer contrasting styles of gameplay: The Marines and the Aliens. The Marines are definitely the more "jump in and have fun" faction for beginners as their learning curve is small and the gameplay familiarity is very high. Its like playing Doom except the aliens are controlled by human players and even if you don't know what you are doing it can be a lot of fun. The aliens on the flip-side have a brutal learning curve. They are very fragile and you'll mostly be relying on melee attacks. Having to go up against machine gun, grenade launcher, and flame thrower wielding Marines can have you staring at your re-spawn timer quite often until you get the hang of things, which you will find infuriating. But, if you stick with them they can be a very rewarding side to play and in my opinion the more enjoyable as their units encourage a more diverse style of gameplay much like the Scout, Medic, Engineer, Sniper, and Heavy makeup of Team Fortress 2. You'll be sneaking in vents at hyper speed, climbing up on walls and ceilings, lurking in the dark as the power goes out, and pouncing on those poor unsuspecting Marines followed by their agonizing screams as you take a bite out of their backside. The maps are well designed, the gameplay feels balanced, teamwork is highly encouraged, and well... watching the aliens transform the maps and the Marines trying to eradicate them is just plain awesome. So yeah. Check out some gameplay videos and if it looks like fun give it a try.… Expand

This game is very creative and a great game to play with friends. Modded servers are AMAZING, you could pretty much play a different modded server once per hour for a whole day, and it would never get boring. However, if you are not playing with friends, matchmaking is terrible. Basically what happens is you either select a server or use quick match (which obviously selects a server) and once the server loads you go to a room where you pick to be a marine or alien. However, once you are in the room, either you pick a side and there is no one playing the game or the sides are locked. Matchmaking never choses a balanced server and it takes forever to find one. The gameplay is very fun, and it is great to play with friends. However, I advise to look elsewhere if you are looking for quick multiplayer games… Expand

If they hadn't made a free weekend and sale I wouldn't have bought this very cool game it turns out, and no one should complain about having a bad commander, like if your that upset about it train to become one yourself then you can just blame the team and/or yourself but just try to have fun which is suppose to be the main purpose of playing. The maps are well designed and i'm even playing this game on the lowest settings so I don't lag which is going well. I'll be cutting this short, overall their are alot of great things about this game that you must try out especially if your into rts and fps.… Expand

For English speaking visitors, this review is in russian. Eto nechto novoe, smes strategii i onlajn shutera. ochen zaxvatyvayushhaya dinamika igry. grafika vpolne prilichna dlya onlajn shutera. nedostatok odnoobraznye karty i slozhnost vedeniya boya pri vysokom pinge. est vozmozhnost pobyvat letayushhim monstrom ili gigantskim dinozavrom,a takzhe sest za rul boevogo robota s parnymi vosmistvolkami i ognemyotom. v igre prisutstvuyut 2 protivoborstvuyushhie storony: prishelcy, ochen poxozhi na zergov iz starkrafta i morskaya pexota, ochen poxozhi na terranov iz starkrafta. u kazhdoj storony est komanduyushhij kotoromu dayotsya vozmozhnost postroeniya zdanij i razrabotki uluchshenij s vidom sverxu, tak zhe on obladaet vozmozhnostyu davat ukazaniya igrokam. v igre mnogo taktiki, osnovnoe trebovanie unichtozhit vrazheskuyu bazu, takim obrazom mozhno zanimat pervye pozicii v tablice nikogo ne ubivaya, a unichtozhaya zdaniya. bolshoe kolichestvo uluchshenij personazha. pri etom raduet chto razrabotka personazha zavisit ot kolichestva resursov, toest bolshe poloviny igry sily ravny i odnovremenno v igre ne mozhet prisutstvovat bolshoe kolichestvo razrabotannyx personazhej. krome togo umerev v vide razrabotannogo personazha igrok vozrozhdaetsya opyat v nachalnoj forme poteryav pri etom zatrachenye na razrabotku resursy, toest poluchiv vozmozhnost voevat moshhnym boevym robotom ili zhe peredvigayushhimsya s ogromnoj skorostyu monstrom teryaetsya vozmozhnost peret naprolom i prixoditsya byt akkuratnym daby ne poteryat razrabotku. protivoborstvuyushhej storone eto dayot vozmozhnost sobratsya s silami. u prishelcev takzhe est vozmozhnost peredvigatsya po lbym poverxnostyam, bud to potolok, stena, pol ili zhe ventilyacionnaya shaxta dlya bolee skorostnogo i ne zametnogo peredvizheniya po igrovomu prostranstvu, pexota zhe nesposobna peredvigatsya po shaxtam. osobo xochetsya vydelit igrokov podderzhki, oni sposobny lechit druzhestvennyx yunitov, lechitchinit povrezhdyonnye postrojki, stroit barrikady, naprimer v uzkix proxodax i pri etom obladayut xoroshej vozmozhnostyu vesti boevye dejstviya. igra ochen ponravitsya tem kto ponimaet chto glavnoe v igre ne grafika, a xorosho i sbalansirovanno realizovannyj gemplej. igra stoit togo chtob na neyo obratit vnimanie. esli razrabotchiki zajmutsya uluchsheniem dvizhka, fiziki i raznoobraziem igrovyx prostranstv u igry est potencial dlya togo chtoby stat odnim iz luchshix mmo shuterov v mire.… Expand

I previously gave this game a 9, but I've changed my mind and I think it deserves no more than 7.

The main problem is *performance*. I don't have particular issues, I have a pretty decent rig, but you simply can't expect people to have high end machines to play your game, which doesn't even look that good or complicated.

At first I was more forgiving, the game had just been released.
But now months have passed, and performance has even got worse for some in the previous patches (240 and 241).

Then there's balance; I understand that the asymmetry of the game makes it hard to do proper balancing, but when UWE fixed major hitreg bugs AND heavily nerfed Skulk's mobility *in the same patch*... well, that was stupid.
Skulks are the backbone of Alien teams; any significant change to both skulks and base marines might have a huge impact on balance.

You should never ever fix major bugs and nerf these units at the same damn time.
The result is that skulks are very easy to hit and they move like a brick, hence marines win most games nowadays: well done.

Also, I hate how they overhyped certain features which turned out to be stupid and useless (yes, i'm talking about Babblers). They made a trailer about it. I have no idea how Babblers made it out through internal playtesting, they are abysmally bad and a waste of resources.

They enjoy suiciding in places like Crevice, they can't keep up with the gorge (which is the slowest life form too), they have a 2 minutes life span which isn't reported anywhere in the game, they are extremely easy to dodge as a marine: in short, a fail-feature.

Well, that's it.
I guess my rant is over.… Expand

NS2 is one of the most fun FPS/Strategy games out there. This is a game that will keep you going for hours, and something to fall back on when new games suck. Great game play and back story its worth more then the $25 asking price on steam.

Unless all the fanboys, I see that game with different eyes. The most upsetting part of this game is the still existing unbalance between the Marines and the Aliens. Most of the time the Aliens win the Mid/Late game, because they have their Über-Unit (Onos) that stomps everything in the ground. So that game is fun for a shot time on the Aliens-Side, but after they get their Über-Unit it's s getting quite boring and lacks in long time motivation.… Expand

Extremely fun game with some performance issues and a steep learning curve (hence the -1). Otherwise I really cannot find that much at fault with it.

I don't like giving this game a low score because the structure of the gameplay and the structure is very fun. I played the first NS and enjoyed it. This new installment has much the old feel. There are issues with weapon damage calculations instantly killing aliens in one hit or doing practically no damage. I can not say for sure that these two issues are one in the same however the alien side will typically feel underpowered and you are guaranteed to see players aimbotting on marine side. Fortunately, like LFD2, the special race abilities make it easier to recognize and combat cheating players. I would still recommend the game because it is similar to Left For Dead 2, where once you get a server locked with legit and honest players it can be really fun and competitive. I am surprised the game is available for only twelve dollars that's really cheap for a game like this.… Expand

Bought it yesterday and all I can say is fantastic! It's the best FPS I've played since TF2. The gameplay is unique and really enjoyable. It has such good controls that I am able to play the Skulk (Standard Alien) pretty decent now. It doesn't encourage teamplay every player is forced by the mechanics to be a teamplayer. The community seems pretty nice there are some scumbags not talking english in team chat getting upset if nobody understands them) but all in all this game is nearly perfect.… Expand

I was apprehensive about buying this initially when my friend described it to me. However, his power of persuasion was good and he talked me round. I must say I was very pleasantly surprised and the game offers something for both RTS and FPS fans, personally I like munching on fresh marine flesh as a skulk! It really is a fantastic game and well worth the money. It continues to be supported by the developers with new features and items constantly being updated or added.… Expand

Never played NS1 but NS2 is really a great game. It's great fun to play with your team and the in-game voice-chat makes it perfectly doable to actually work as a team and to coordinate towards victory. Its totally worth to buy it! Enjoy!

One of my favourite games. A great blend of RTS and FPS, which gets a good variety of players involved. The only issue that I have with the game, is that you must have a solid team, and very good communication. This can be difficult to find at times, but once you do, hours of fun can be had. The alien class makes sure that this is not just two teams with machine guns. It keeps things interesting, and there being lots to learn, will keep the interest high in this game for a long time… Expand

A truly excellent game. Right up there with StarCraft as one of the best multiplayer RTS games. Make no mistake about it, all but one player on each side uses a FPS point of view, but this is still a strategy game. You win by teamwork, skill and strategy not by FPS skill alone. As an RTS player playing on a decent team, there is a really enjoyable sense of teamwork, aside from the fun FPS elements and the fact the game looks great. As a commander (someone commanding their team, who uses the RTS view of things) you'll spend much of your time issuing orders to your team via voice chat. With a team that has any understanding of strategy (and most do), this almost completely eliminates micromanagement for you, and means you can spend your time developing map control, thinking strategy, and issuing orders like "PlayerOne, harass BaseName. Try to pull as many of them over there to defend it as you can. Everyone else, group up, wait in LocationOne. When you see them move to BaseName to defend it, hit Base2.". Trying to do that in a traditional RTS would be a lot of micromanagement, but in NS2, its simple. There's a lot to be said about NS2 as an RTS game, and this barely scratches the surface. The main thing, though, is that if you are a fan of team-based shooters, OR a fan of strategy games, I would urge you to definitely give this a try. The combination of RTS+FPS might seem odd, but it works well. Really well. Amazingly well, in fact.… Expand

I have been an NS fan for 10 years now and NS2 which has been built on their own engine is beyond all expectations. Updates are weekly and the game play is unrivaled, with just over 100 hours in game, I would have given it 10 if my progress was stored and accessible somewhere. Fun, exciting, scary and so addictive.

Incredible game. This is extremely fun and a great way to hang out with people. If you're a fan of the Aliens series or if you like sci-fi horror or team games, check this out.

There are some quirks with balance and such. For example, one side might be able to get a cheesey snipe on important buildings in some areas. Its a multiplayer only game, so success and fun games rely on the competence of players and how well they work together. Speaking of which, the community is super friendly despite the troll era every other game and website is undergoing.

I've played this for over a hundred hours. Never gets old, despite pretty repetitive maps. I do wish, though, that there were some cooler things like sealing off vents. Maybe if they had a spaceship scenario ala Warcraft 3's 'Parasite' where engines, life support, and power can be shut down. That would be a really cool role-play environment.

The RTS element works pretty well, but it takes time to learn and if you do it wrong or in a way people don't like you get a lot of backlash. The success of the marine commander depends so much on his marines that it almost makes the aliens, who don't, imbalanced. But that adds to the onslaught/zerg nature of the aliens.

All in all, its a really good game and its certainly worth it.… Expand

This is a great game depending on what server you land on. While it is open to modification it is also open to exploits. When you get into an exploit free game the title is simply fantastic. When you are faced with an exploiter or worse a whole server of exploiters the game becomes pointless. The mechanics are great, the atmosphere is intense and while I prefer to play a marine the aliens can be fun as well. If I could split my score I would give the game play, atmosphere, graphics, and melding of first person shooter with strategy a 10 and give the overly open code a 3. However I am forced to give a single score and reluctantly give it a 7.… Expand

I'm a fan of this game. It reminds me a lot of other team based first person shooters (such are Team Fortress) where you can pick from different roles and get an entirely different game play experiences. This is especially nice if you're having an off day in one aspect of the game, just jump to something else. It's also a little bit arcadey in that there's not precise aiming. I keep trying to pull up the cross hairs to score head-shots, forgetting that it's just not that kind of game. With so much going on, you really need to spend time honing skills before moving on. Trying to be a jack of all trades too early and you'll stink at everything indefinitely. Instead, practicing with the basic marine and skulk first is a good way to get a firm understanding of what's going on in a way that's always going to be helpful to your teammates because: You are heavily reliant on teammates. A good commander or a good team can overcome deficiencies in other areas. Inversely, strong deficiencies can tank a whole team. Doesn't matter if you're the best FPS in the world. Without upgrades and backup, your skills will be moot against the enemy. It's this that makes it truly a team game. When you win, it feels like everything aligned and you were part of some hand-picked dream team. When you lose, it's fun too, but for different reasons.I'd highly recommend it if you've enjoyed similar team games. One odd side point: the RTS part of this game tends to draw out the Star Craft nerds while the FPS tends to draw out COD jocks. It's a strangely diverse gaming environment (especially when people start getting upset). Reminds me of high school.… Expand

If you like teamwork-heavy strategic gameplay, shooters, and strategy games, you should like NS2. If you also used to like playing AvP, you should love NS2. The game loses a point for occasional performance issues, but gains it back in essentially free updates and new features for life.

a small development team and years of hard work producing THE greatest competitive fps game I have ever played. Battles are legendary, every round is unique, strategy and skill twine together to form a brilliant climax of a gaming experience. Slightly hard for new-comers, but impossible to stop playing once attuned to the game-play. the only game that has ever made my heart race from action. note: reaction times mean life or death and you need to think outside the box.… Expand

Fantastic in every way. Incredibly fun game play as both humans and aliens. It combines the game play of star craft and a FPS. Essentially one person plays as the typical starcraft player, while that person's units are everyone else in the game. Incredibly fun.

Natural Selection was a fantastic modification for Half-Life, albeit imbalanced in some aspects. I remember when first word of NS2 started to circulate. Then small teasers appeared. NS2 looks great, but it's a shame it has strayed from NS in almost every way. The balance is horrible. The new system with Marines having personal resources is, to be blunt, stupid. This takes away any sort of leverage the commander had to get people to follow orders instead of going CoD-style. The weapons for the Marines is a joke, the only viable weapon is the starting weapon. The shotgun and grenade launcher has been gimped. Skulk is laughable. Fade is ruined. Onos is simply too much. Long story short, NS2 has appearance, the rest is horrible. Word of advice from an NS beta vet, download NS and forget about NS2. NS2 is horrible.… Expand

Natural Selection 2 deserves your attention!

NS2 is a fantastic blend of FPS/RTS and this mixture makes for unique gameplay you wont see anywhere else. The developers 'Unknown Worlds' are progressively supporting their title and have introduced a great many fixes and changes to ensure it makes an impression. I am particularly impressed with their level design, which offers a diversity that both parties (Marines/Aliens) can adapt to and use to turn the tide of a match.

I have seen previous negative reviews with regards to the battles in NS2 and for the most part, they're biased. I have seen both Marines and Alien parties coordinate with one another to create strategies that ultimately win the match. Such as aliens running in packs of 3, focusing power nodes (very important power supply) to harass Marines or Marines splitting in to groups of two to harass two main Alien 'bases' to split the opposition up.

NS2 is a breath of fresh air and with the way the developers are backing this game, I would suggest that anyone remotely interested give it a try, it will only get better and that's not mentioning how mod friendly it is.… Expand

I both love and hate this game. Idea is fun, but implementation is abysmal. Let me list some of the points: Horrible framerates even on lowest settings. On a decent system capable of 1080p @ 60 FPS in last year games I only have single-digit framerates in heated battle scenes in sub-HD display resolution and lowest possible settings. Single digits, in a fast-paced game! Network lags. For me, it is next to impossible to hit faster-moving targets. From time to time I suddently find myself in a different corner of the room. Questionable game mechanics and balance, seemingly changing after every patch. Countless minor issues with user interface and controls. alien vision frequently limits visibility instead of improving it, this doesn't make sense. NO MATCHMAKING. Literally, you can find a seasoned veteran being ordered around by someone who sounds like 12-year old child and has a green rookie nickname. This is fun for a few times, but not sustainable in a long term. No support for russian language despite popularity of this game in Russian-speaking countries. I would accept many of these problems if I didn't buy this game for 20 bucks assuming it's a finished game, not an alpha. 9 for what it tries to be, 1 for implementation quality and misleading self-advertisement.… Expand

Put 0 because the game there is no Russian language. Accordingly, I won't be buying this game as well as tens of thousands of Russian people.
----------------------------------------------------
Ставлю 0 потому что в игре отсутст;вует русский язык. Соответственно я не буду покупать эту игру как и десятки тысяч Российских людей.… Expand

Brilliant sequel of good old NS which was... legendary, it took best part of it and added some new awesomeness. It is stongly tied on a teamwork, good commander can do the match, and weak one fails it at the start. So don't try to jump to the console if you don't know what to do.

Very fun game made with lot of effort from the developers. The only problem I have with it is that I find it too difficult. It's probably just me being terrible at every game. Hohoho.

Absolutely amazing what Unknown Worlds has done. This game is great and a lot of fun too. Pair up with some friends and it gets even better. I'm always a fan of watching the competitive matches in this as well. It seems as though less and less games have a competitive atmosphere nowadays.

I never played NS1 so this comes from the perspective of a noob to the game. The game is daunting at first, as either side, but I attempted to join the marine side to get a feel for the game, which was nigh impossible, everyone wanted to be a marine. I did well learning the aliens, and enjoyed my time. After a few games the real game came out to me. Maybe it's my PC but the hit detection is way off. I would hammer away on the smallest aliens and they would survive, where as while I played I would take very few rounds before dying. And once the marines got into exos, almost any game I played (even where the alien equivalent was there) the game ended in a win for the marines.

I want to enjoy this game but my PC can barely handle it, where as it can play games like Rage, Killing Floor, with smooth animations. I want to love this game, but I find it to be a down the middle average game. Great idea and okay gameplay make a title that I'm glad I purchased with a steep discount on sale.… Expand

This is to help balance out the falsely positive reviews. Probably won't help much, but truth is this suffers what all FPS/RTS hybrids suffer: Mediocre gameplay all round. Not good at anything, forgettable at the least and annoying quite often. Bad interface, gameplay balance, hitreg, basically everything that should have been done right for an RTS or FPS hasn't been done proper in this hybrid game.… Expand

Absolutely fantastic game,I purchased it the day ti came out and have put in at least a couple hours everyday. I cannot get enough,the game speaks for itself, buy it... you will not regret it

A solid 8, a very good game which i purchased during the steam sale for a good price, i enjoy playing and is a very good combination of FP game play and strategy on the marine sides, i could argue that some of the sides are a bit imbalanced, however on the whole a very good game

I could have never imagine that the predecessor of the Natural Selection 1 Halflife-Mod, which i played many many hours, could be even more competitive! But it's true. The new elements especially the Expansion of your base is very well improved and well thought through. I love this game.
For new players the game will be disconcerting and complicated at first. But the learning curve is rising fast.
Don't forget to use a microphone. To get the full fighting and competitive experience it is absolutely necessary to communicate with your team!… Expand

I loved the original and I love this even more. Standard NS mode is great for RTS/Strategy lovers and FPS fans alike. CO mode provides casual gamers with some simple, standard play with quicker rounds and have an experience based more on individual performance.

Marvelous game, every bit as entertaining as Natural Selection was years ago. The most important thing to understand about this game is that everything was made by a handful of dedicated people with an ENORMOUS modding community behind their back every step of the way. New content will be continuously released (including combat mode from ns1) on a monthly/weekly basis including: maps, models and skins, game types, etc.
As with any mixed-genre game, getting a grasp of ns2 can be a challenge. Marines/aliens with sub-par FPS skills will be worse off than the counter-strike gods, and commanders that breathe Red Alert will be tactical masters in just a few games. There is variety of playing styles to suit you, whether its being a scout for your team to warn of incoming threats/enemy positions, supporting by building or protecting valuable ground, or endlessly assaulting the enemy base, you can sink hours at a time into this game without even knowing you've killed half of your free day.
Sadly, as with most online games (mostly the PC versions), teamwork is a HEAVY requirement. For some people this may make the game, for others it will break it, but regardless playing with friends and communicating with your team is HIGHLY ENCOURAGED. Remember, you could easily kill a few marines and look cool, or you could strategically kill the power and prevent many more from spawning.
Now for the reason it can't be a 10, and maybe never will be... Latency scripting. No matter how 'professional' or 'godlike' or 'stronk' you may be, having a ping above 100 will ALMOST ALWAYS ruin your gameplay. You might hear things like "wall hacker" and "godmode" and such, when in reality you're shooting 2 feet behind the skulk lagging like a b*tch, or biting where the marine was nearly a second ago. Sure, your damage drawer might shot -420 on a skulk, but that guy dodged every shot on his screen, and he happened to roll a 6 this time around while you got a 5. For this, all I can say is to bear with UWE until they can polish their coding. Until then, for everyone's sake, don't join a server if your ping is gnarly.
Anywho, if you played the first NS, you owe it to yourself (and possibly your childhood) to buy this game. Great remix of classic NS1, with a few additional key elements to balance it out once and for all, as well as some added quirks, tech tree elements, and skills.

P.S. currently $10 on steam until 1/7/13… Expand

I have no idea why people like this game. Rarely is there a good fight, they really needed a system to keep noobs playing with noobs. Its very painful to continually lose because your commander has no idea what he is doing. I can only imagine that this game is good in clan v clan situations, since there is no matchmaking. Very painful process, not very fun after you get past the gimmicks.

What a fantastic game - a very original hybrid of many different genres of games, love every moment of it.
Apparently the developer made this game with only 7 people working on it, which is freaking astounding, now when you consider they made their own game engine from scratch, and the game is so polished and wonderful - I am in complete awe.

Get this - You will not be dissapointed
(Just please take some time to understand the mechanics and stategies in this game, otherwise you won't fare well - its a team game, you have a leader that you must follow to have a chance at winning)… Expand

What a wonderful game. It's combines FPS and RTS together very well and creates a unique experience rarely if ever found in other games. It's a lot of fun and playing with people who know what they're doing makes this all the more enjoyable. Playing on both sides is great fun; aliens can chomp at the legs of marines and evolve into creatures that range from flying units to giant rhino-looking aliens. Playing on the marines side is a ton of fun as well; more team work involved, I believe. The guns are used in a very old-school way (no aim down site), which I can definitely appreciate. But this is just from the FPS side, the RTS side is also great fun, but also where most of my criticism stems from. As an avid gamer who plays anything from RTS to FPS to side scrollers, I can sadly say that the commander mechanics in this game are not that great. In my RTS's, I like to be able to make control groups, double tap the key for that control group to center on it, and to queue commands on my units; but unfortunately, none of these things are present in Natural Selection 2, which alienates a lot of would-be commanders. The ability to learn commander is also very difficult. Going into a random server with players on it and jumping in on the commander's seat for the first time will more than likely result in a loss for your team and them getting mad at you, so jumping in on a pub server is not ideal for learning how to play commander. There is an explorer mode, but that starts you out with more buildings and resources than what you would in an actual game, and seeing as you have no marines to do anything for you and have no enemy,, you can't really learn all that much. What I feel would greatly help aspiring commanders would be an offline mode with really basic bots, but that does not currently exist. However, asides from my gripes with the RTS side of the game, this is a really wonderful and unique title and you'd be missing out were you to not pick this up at some point.… Expand

I applaud the effort put into making this game, and the risk the developers took starting a new company and going with some new ideas. I didn't play NS1 Half Life mod, so I was turned on to this game by a friend. As soon as he said "FPS/RTS combo" I was sold. It really is a neat concept, but it is very poorly executed. On the surface, it seems like this should be a game of possibilities: the two sides being different, the team play, the RTS/FPS combo effect, the individual purchases and group upgrades. The end result, unfortunately, is a game of limitations. You will spend most of the game using either an ineffective assault rifle or spamming the space bar, trying not to lose proper perspective while biting. There is little variety in what you are allowed to do and the few things you can do you will not really spend much time using. Marines die quickly, so purchased weapons will be lost, aliens get greater variety but it isn't much to speak of. The levels are all the same, a function of the aliens being only melee, which gets stale quickly. The RTS as commander is a bit hard to get used to but solid once you figure it out. However, commanders don't get too many options for things to do. The game is very rigid in the build/research paths and there isn't a lot you can really do to customize the force available. With aliens you get a bit more than marines, but you can't really follow a research tree to anything unique or amazing. All in all, the limitations on what is available, and with the high prices of evolving/buying coupled with the short lifespan inherent in corridor combat games makes it a pretty unremarkable experience.… Expand

Natural Selection 2 is one of the best online multiplayer on PC but it still has some minor problems PRO
Awesome Combat good game for teamwork
Big maps Large difference between Alien combat and Frontiersman combat.
CON only 4 maps bad FPS (the most i got was 25FPS )

Make some maps for this game please! There are only a few good maps (tram, mineshaft, summit, refinery), and of those, only summit is a truly good one. This game is marketted as having a user-friendly, powerful map making engine, but in all the years of development it has only been able to squeeze out a handful of small, dry lumps. This really hurts the replay value of the game. Yes, obviously there is more to the game than just maps (I could mention snail's pace devepment,or silly gameplay mechanics that were removed from NS1 for good reason, but have inexplicably made their way back into NS2 because Flayra thinks they are "cute"), but they are well covered in other reviews.… Expand

I created an Metacritic account for this game alone, for such careless Reviewers causing the game to orginally get a score of under 80%, which inturn put off at least 6 people i know not to buy the game despite my temptations. Savege 1 and 2 were both great games ahead for its time and exactly the same formular RTS/FPS
Now that Natural Selection 2 has been released the Type of game hopfully will mature to all walks of life.

Quickly sum it up:- Star Craft like RTS + Counter Strike/Team Fortress 2 Class FPS system + Quirky Combat from Alien Vs Pred that synagies really well is a game that will mature and survive, not to mention fully open source modding, to allow endless creations and fully Game Conversion Servers for Years to come!

A True Game, Made by Gamers, for Gamers!… Expand

Natural Selection 2's game design is amazing. a seamless blend of RTS and FPS pits marines versus aliens in a fight to destroy the opposite teams command center/hive. While the game does suffer from the occasional crash or lag spike, it isn't very often and you'll hardly care because you will be having so much fun. One thing to note is that the Alien team does generally require a bit more skill to play effectively then the marines but after playing the Aliens for a day or two you will have mastered the tools you need to be an effective killing machine.… Expand

So it seems this is one of those games where any negative score just gets spammed with Not helpful, and all the 10's get Helpful. Please, stop fooling yourselves it's not helping anyone to lie and say this game is a 10/10. The truth is, the game is fun but as it is it's terribly unbalanced. Skulks are unbalanced early game, far too many Zerg rushes can occur and their speed and mobility makes it next to impossible for a marine to kill them. Late game, aliens are too weak - they lack the strong units that the marines have. The original Natural Selection was free, and it was balanced pretty well - but this is ridiculous. Game balance is the number one complaint I have with the game. The mechanics are fine, but until the glaringly unbalanced issues are resolved I won't be playing this.… Expand

Ok, to all the people saying "it's only fun as marine" watch the tutorial videos and you'll see how to play as an alien because playing s an alien makes it a completely different game from being a marine. A marine plays like A N Other FPS but the aliens require tactics and learning your chosen form. Personally now I've learned it I prefer playing as alien and it really makes the game when you get on a server where people understand how to play as aliens and you end up with a great game.… Expand

Im a fairly new player to NS and my experience so far has been pretty good. I was a little intimidated initially as there is a learning curve. Aliens have a fairly different playing style, but whether you pick them or not - you still need to know what each type does. Still, its thanks to this we have a nice change of pace from other multiplayer FPSs, that and the role of the commander. Which brings me to the negatives. The commander is a key part of your success, even with otherwise balanced teams (skill wise - both sides), if your commander doesnt know what he/she is doing and/or doesnt communicate, you will lose. A more helpful (interactive) tutorial would really benefit in this area. In the end, while this game can offer much fun, its biggest strength is also its biggest weakness - teams that do not work together will be hammered, leading to an unpleasant experience. Personally, out of a dozen or so games so far, its been a complete mixed bag - sometimes playing with no voice comm and people lone-wolfing which leads inevitably to a loss and potentially nasty messages, and other times playing with an experienced commander that has resulted in a mostly (7/8) green (rookie) team to victory, which was great fun!… Expand

I hate giving a game like this such a low score because you can tell a lot of passion and effort went into making it. I played the old natural selection mod for 1 day but it was still unfinished at the time and I didn't really understand it so my review is not from the perspective of everything in NS2 should be like NS1. Starting with performance, this game is about as bad as they come with optimization. If you're buying this game make sure you have an i5-7 processor or AMD equivalent because from what I've read this game takes all the processing power you can throw at it. My video card is decent enough and plays many games at max settings 1080Hd res but if I go anywhere near mid-max settings on this game the video starts to stutter. According to the forums the problem is caused by my weak processor (8400 wolfdale) and not by my video card so I run the game at very low settings to make it playable. In my non-expert opinion the small dev team should have just licensed some game engine and used that instead of trying to invent their own. Now to the gameplay, this game is treated like a casual fps multiplayer where players can drop in and out of a game and switch teams but this style of matchmaking does not work with the gameplay which is far from casual. I would say 80% of your victory/loss relies on the commander which is a lot of pressure to put on one position that can be taken by simply walking up to the hive and pressing E. I held off on writing this review until I played in some more "advanced" servers but I noticed they behaved in a similar fashion to the "rookie" servers. Lack of commanders and bad commanders doing nothing (no upgrades, no communication). Without upgrades or communication from the comm the game is over yet you have to sit through the whole round unless everybody drops out to the lobby. Why not require a comm to be picked before the round starts and maybe add an ability to vote for comms if multiple people want to command. The current system is just absurd. If your team gets behind because there is no commander or there is a total idiot with no communication skills commanding the round is over. I have yet to see a team recover from such a setback. I have no problem with unforgiving team games (I play a lot of dota2) but at least structure the matchmaking properly with rating systems or voting systems or something. When you break it all down I don't even think voting or ratings would help the game because it is structurally flawed by putting too much responsibility on one position. In the 20 NS2 games I've played, about 1 or 2 were evenly matched. Im not giving up on the game because I think it could offer some unique teamplay aspects but to stay sane I might have to start learning to be a commander when nobody else steps up to the task.… Expand

Fantastic job of expanding and improving, while still maintaining the feel of the original. Few developers have the guts to take on the challenge of building a team vs team gave with a non-mirrored playstyle. While the balance is delicate, and a competent team is required to get the most from games, it's a ton of fun, and well worth the wait. With a price tag at half of what big developers charge for comparable content, it's a deal.… Expand

15 years ago I played StarCraft, 12 years ago I played Aliens vs Predator. Now these two games combine to create a spectacular mix of strategy, tactics, teamwork, and FPS. The game sucked me in like no other this year. I recommend it to every fan of the abovementioned titles. Despite some flaws (engine optimalization not at its best, no commander = no fun), Natural Selection 2 merits universal acclaim!… Expand

This Autumn is reach for great indie games. Not **** ones with pixel art, cubes and anime style, but for real titles not dumbed down by some publishers. First one was a Chivlary: Medeival Warfare. The second one is Natura Selection 2. They both came out of nowhere for me, and as for NS2, thrill of this game is on par with monsters like DOTA2 . Really, a game from indie studio on self-made engine easily beats most modern online games. There are few issues, lack of normal training mode but fear not. Once you learn how this game work, you'll spend days in it. P.S. While game engine is not some sort of DX11 monster like Frostbite 2 or CryEngine 3 I can tell for sure, infestation animation is the best visual effect I saw this year on PC.… Expand

The most fun I've had in a long time! I have got all my friends hooked on it. Definitely worth the money! Do not hesitate to buy this! You won't regret it!

The game itself is very cool: good mechanics and playability. The problem are the bugs: I can't play an evening without having 10 to 15 crashes. Every night! Fells like more of a beta game than a real release.

We have the "pure virtual function call" error, the rendering error where blue squares appear instead of itens, and others. All that in windows 7 32 bits, which by the way did not even work on the first days after the release, for the frustration of those who bought it on pre-order. Even the error handler fails to send the devs the message containing the crash data in some bugs, so most likely they won't be fixed soon.

My piece of advice: wait 1 or 2 years before buying this game. Perhaps it will be less unstable by then. Or be very very patient with the crashes when playing.… Expand

The game itself is like everyone says , fun times but omfg the load screen to join a game is stupid dumb annoying. I literally sit from 5-15mins waiting for it to load then initialize then precache, etc etc etc its **** retarded.

I played Natural Selection mod for Half-Life and it absolutely thrilled me. As I heard about Natural Selection 2 is in developement I was following every single step from the dev-team regarding NS2 and when it came out I did not get disappointed. To me it is the game of the year and one of the best games ever created.

This game is awesome. It just goes to show what can happen when a small developer can rally a loyal fanbase. The Good - Graphics: Just awesome. I can't believe a small developer pulled this off, with their own house-made engine to boot.
Gameplay: Two great asymmetrical factions with dynamic upgrades and counters.
Sound: Best sound design I've hear in a while. From the music to growling aliens to the yelps of dying marines, this game has the best atmospheric sound compared to any other new release.
Community: I feel like a lot of newer multiplayer games have a toxic community right from the start. Not so in NS. Yeah, you have some tryhards, but I have yet to have obscenities thrown my way or screamed at. Also, this game is extremely open to mods. There's already quite a few good ones made by some very talented community members.


The Bad:
Gameplay: This game has a fairly high learning curve, and I see a lot players who are not familiar with the first game struggling. You are also punished very hard for having a bad commander, but I'm not sure what could be down about that.
Stability: I've had this game crash and freeze on me quite a few times, but it seems to be getting better with each patch.… Expand

If you don't own NS2, I highly recommend you pick it up. The game is absolutely GORGEous! The game play is addicting and with FPS and RTS elements you simply can't go wrong spending hours in this game.

The game balance is a little off and that's the only reason I've deducted a single point from this title. When they come back and address this, I'll rewrite this review.

Anyway, the fact that they've opened it to the Steam community with the workshop has brought a LOT of custom content including the old school game type, Combat, as well as maps from the previous game (NS1) and re-skins for just about everything. This fact alone helps push this community and the game to another level.

A tip for people playing as marines... disable atmospherics. This will allow you to see clearly when other players are using their flashlights. If it doesn't bother you, it really adds a realistic lighting effect to the entire game and looks absolutely beautiful, I just wish they would tone it down a bit so it doesn't hinder visibility. All in all, if you like FPS and RTS games, this is a must own and a no-brainer.… Expand

This game is just Epic. The work these 3-4 people did is Godlike ... I am a programmer and i am impressed ... More maps will be out soon all for Free! You will get patches and Upgrades for free the next 2-3 years like NS1... The support from the modders is big like in Skyrim

I wish Aliens vs Predator 2 multiplayer was alive. I bet it would have been awsome but then I heard about Natural Selection 2. I loved the game but I have to complain about one thing. Marines, they are too powerful against aliens. Save in-game money for that big power suit and aliens chance to win is close to 0. There are too little maps but your main base will never be in the same place. It gives enough variety until new maps are added.

In NS2 forums they say that even if you bite marine it either did a lot of damage or barely at all. Pro players can land 3 to 4 hits on marine and he is dead. Even after 9 bites I still get killed and marine runs away healthy. I have no idea how to do perfect bite and kill marine. If there was some sort of limit for those superman suits or make them cost more, the game was better and I would enjoy playing as an alien. Right now marines are the ones who always win. I have seen only 5 games where marines have lost and I have played the game about 100 hours.… Expand

The game has a lot of promise but the system in which decides the winning losing team is too quick and before you know it, you're either owning the other team or getting your face smashed in. You don't simply lose the game, oh no, it takes a while which is very frustrating. Even if you win, its a slaughter and not a very rewarding experience.

If your Commander is bad, you will lose. You know this quickly as they don't talk. Teams need to communicate which is fair enough. Just something to point out how critical commanders are. If you have friends, get them to play. Communicate a LOT and get one of them to learn the commanders role. Get some tactics and maybe, just maybe the game will be fun.

Not recommended for casual gamers.

Buy Planetside 2 or Teamfortress 2 instead.… Expand

My favorite game right now. If you do go out and buy it the game is pretty balanced, but aliens are not like most FPS so it may feel like they are horribly unbalanced. Marines play pretty straightforward FPS style. While aliens starting form is very squishy melee attacker. This means in a shootout you will always lose. But if you learn to jump around when fighting, and hide in good locations (since you can cling to walls/ceilings) you can usually start the fight up close, which is where the aliens do well. The game is basically a tug of war / map control game where you try to take control of resources on the map and hold them while taking/disrupting the enemy. Resources allow your team to generate more powerful weapons and equipment for marines, or more advanced lifeforms and upgrades for aliens. The ultimate goal is to push the other team off of the map.… Expand

The concept for this game is fantastic! I have always been a big fan of the RTS and FPS, and having that freedom to switch between what is essentially two different games as commander or grunt is incredible. Have it be known that this game is by no means easy. A sense of team-building being absolutely necessary really starts to dawn on you as you begin to figure out the game. The only way a team succeeds is communication. The commander must direct his or her grunts, whilst the grunts must equally provide crucial information to the commander. I highly recommend this game!… Expand

Never heard of natural selection, until the day before it was released. I thought i looked pretty damn cool so I bought it, only like 200 swedish kr. And I played it, at first I didn't understand so much, and because of my **** pc it ran pretty bad. But after about 10 hours, i fell in love. This game is one of my favorites, it's addictive as hell and I can't stop playing it. And the lag is not as bad as it used to, i have a stable 50-40 fps now all the time, except i massive battles ofc. But otherwise it runs pretty smooth. It's only 22 euro on steam so you should go out and buy it! Even if your pc is **** you can play as a commander!… Expand

So, you may be wondering to yourself "How good is this game?" The answer: Spectacular. This game blends RTS and FPS flawlessly, better than any other game I've seen to date. The game is of course full-on multiplayer, as many games are leaning toward now. The game favors the fast-twitch style gunplay of CS: Source, GO, etc. while the Real-time strategy aspect caters to all kinds of playstyles, be it turtling, rushing, or aggressive expansion. The commander makes or breaks the team, which is where this review comes to a mid-point on the goodness. If you get a commander that is New, Uncooperative, or just plain bad, you are at a very serious disadvantage, which makes the learning curve of beginning Comms steeeeeeeeeeep. The players are usually very helpful in pointing new folks in the right direction, leading me to believe that the community of this game is one of the best I've seen or been a part of. This game is revolutionary and deserves more recognition than it's gotten thus far. Its beauty, brains, and brawn all outweigh the small aspects that bring it down from a perfect 10. Get this game, if you're a FPS OR RTS fan, you won't be disappointed, which isn't something you can say often.… Expand

Great game but gamespot ruined metacritic score :(. Not as good as NS1 but still great enough. This isn't helpful review but neither isn't first from gamespot. The real score is like 89/90 but I will still give 10 ;) In my opinion this game needs constant tweaking like NS1.. Game isn't fully ready and it does miss some features, game engine need some optimizing and balance tweaks in many years..

The game is pretty fun for a little while definitely well built, but I uninstalled after about 20 hours of game play due to the sole reason that balancing was apparently done for tournament play. As a casual gamer I expected to lose on the pub servers, but when over 3 days playing as a marine (which I enjoyed better than aliens) I managed to win only 1 game barely due to the fact that the teams were stacked is a pretty good indicator that this is nothing but an exercise in frustration.

For a multiplayer game such poor balancing for casual gaming is inexcusable and the community will probably die in the upcoming months. If you are looking for a game that will last you a while there really is nothing here.… Expand

This game has the same vibe and feel of the first one, a game which I spent days of my life playing years ago. There is some room for optimization in the engine (it is brand new). I feel like the engine just needs a bit of work to make everything appear smoother, but the game-play is there, and I'm just as excited as I used to be to launch Natural-Selection 2.

Very good game, very unique. Has it very own style. I really like it. I hope they bring a demo soon for the undecided buyers among the players. Have fun with that game.

This is a must have for players who are looking for a challenge in First Person Shooters. After all this years there is a game which fits in what I was searching for. A game with brain and fast reaction which brings you to your limit. Only the huge hardware hungry engine is what feels unplaced in this genre but the netcode feels so right. I guess they will fix the performance in the future.

I love this game, I love the RTS/FPS combination, and I think that both sides of this game are very well intertwined. Natural Selection 2 has a bit of a steep learning curve, but rookie servers allow new players to learn the ropes without blame. There are no introductions, just gameplay videos that don't help out too much. There is, however, an "Explore Mode" to test out some of the basic features of the game. The three lost points were due to the fact that this game still plays like it is in beta. It has crashed on me many times, and servers are frequently laggy. The game once crashed my computer too, and this is an Asus gaming desktop that runs SC2, ME3, LoL and many other games on ultra quality, double-chip. I would recommend this game, but I do hope that Unknown Worlds continues to patch and troubleshoot, because there is a long way to go before I can say that this game runs well.… Expand

Anyone looking for some more strategy and sophistication in their online game should look no further than NS2. It's a refreshing change of pace from Call of Duty. Sure, there are problems and balance issues to work out, but the game is addictive, polished, and just a ton of fun. This is a team game through and through, so hot head rambo need not apply.

amazing upgrade from the first! still thrilling and fun, wish gamespot weren't screw ups and messed the score up because it definitely is not 7.9 being the fact that the users score it 9.3 out of 10 shows the fan based. The one thing I love about the game is the community, the fact that there not just immature teenagers playing a cod or halo is a blessing to this game... Fun RTS playing as commander but also allows individuals the ability to choose what weapons they want as oppose to NS1 where the commander would have to drop weapons .... bottom line is great game!… Expand

Natural Selection is one of the most innovative games I have ever played in my life.

The sheer value of this game is astronomical. What a neat idea of incorporating RTS with FPS. If you like team based multiplayer games, this one is for you. The team of 7 people did a phenomenal job of truly making this a sequel of Natural Selection 1. Highly Recommend this to everyone!

This is what all gaming should be like. You feel like you're in a science fiction action movie--crawling through vents and leaping onto soldiers as an alien in a hunting pack, mowing down invaders in a marine in an armored suit, or making your last stand as the enemy closes in. The game runs at 60fps on even my MacBook Pro laptop (under Windows) and is gorgeous. The air is filled with smoke, metal objects realistically reflect the environment, and you become splatted with gore during melee attacks. Teamwork is tight and essential. Because it is all-multiplayer on sprawling maps, every game is unique and I can't wait to jump back in at the end. This is the strongest game of the year, even though it is an indie title.… Expand

I am a dedicated player, with an overall "experience" of nearly 20 years of gaming, not concentrated on one single genre. I had a lot of favorite games during this time and natural selection 2 is the best online team based and action oriented gaming experience seen so far in my opinon.
The start itself could be a bit hard for beginners, if you are new to this concept of first person shooter combined with real time strategy. so there are some learnings in the beginning: you shouldnt finally judge the game during the first played games. but if you invest some time to understand the differences of the alien creatures, the techtrees, general gameplay mechanics and maps, you will be rewarded with one of the best long-term motivating, innovative games ever created!

a well designed atmosphere, superb gameplay, exciting matches, good balancing, an active community and a developer with real passion for his title. nothing missing for me...… Expand

This game is an amazing blend of FPS & RTS. If you like team-based games, you're in for a real treat. The only reason I don't give it a 10 out of 10 is that sometimes I don't like how you know you have won or lost a game, but it takes another 20 to 30 minutes for the game to actually end. Still, I highly recommend!

From one of the best mods, to a standalone game. As it was getting released i found myself hoping the developers wouldn't sell out and just dish out another Counter Strike/COD like game. I'm very glad to report that the game turned out great and that i'm waiting for more games from '' Unknown Worlds Entertainment ''.

Great game. I play the NS1 and it was a great game and the squeal is better. It's very balance game. The developers team said that more maps are comming. I would like my friends play too.

Preordered NS2 when it was first announced, loved NS1, and am enjoying this game... mostly. Loading takes a pretty long time for first load but it's decent after that. Best part about this game is that teamwork is REQUIRED to win. No lonewolf noscope snipers in this game.

The biggest problem is the current balance of the game. I'm not talking from a clan/competitive perspective here, but rather just joining public servers. Aliens are a blast to play. That being said, marines really need some buffing for endgame: You cannot get out of your exosuits (therefore unable to recall back to base via Distress Signal, use phase gates or repair/build anything) and one on one an Onos will win against an exosuit, dual or not. Not to mention that Onos has more than double the health of an exosuit and tons more mobility. The Onos' devour ability has been replaced with a Stomp attack, which can easily take out more than two marines, while they lie helpless on the floor.

Anything midgame and lower is a nice fun, tug of war for resource control of the map. However, once the aliens reach Onos, there is rarely anything that can stop them. I know this game has a potential to have a greater score than 7, but at the current state, due to the skewed wins for aliens on public servers, it will have a lot of pro-marine public players uninstalling in frustration.… Expand

This is that classic alien vs humans game you've been waiting for with an element for ever type of player with great graphics it can over power computers that are not up to date but its actually built to run on a lower range graphics card a gtx450 so anything high should. fly i know mine does. I love the true team base play of this game as it brings players together to play as a team quite quickly and if your new just try asking a couple of questions in game and follow the others around the commander will help you out if there a good one. over all this game is a must play for team based shooters.… Expand

There were a number of RTS/FPS mixed games 10+ years ago, but they seem to have died out. Kids these days probably don't remember them :)

It doesn't really add or take away anything from the original, but it doesn't need to. It's still a great game and much better than most big budget FPSs to come out recently.

The best word to describe this game is simply "Amazing." Natural Selection 2 has great graphics, awesome game play mechanics , and a good RTS/FPS mix. On top of that there are many mods you can download for it which really helps with re playability. Natural Selection 2 is also only 25$. There is no reason to not get this game!

Great team based competitive FPS/RTS hybrid that deserves your attention. Based on the original Half-Life mod with updated features and some interesting but refreshing gameplay changes. With all the generic modern FPS shooters competing for your gaming dollar this holiday season, Natural Selection 2 is a great value. I promise you will put more hours into this game than most other flavor of the month FPS that are rarely worth the full retail price you're forced to pay. Check it out!… Expand

Fantastic game with many options for what you can do next and a forgiving community when you gaining your bearings in the rookie servers. Only problem in my opinion is it seems pretty unbalanced with the favor in the marines direction. The jet-pack shotgun combo is way over powered since when it comes to ranged attacks the aliens are lacking and cant match speed and mobility of the jet-pack. Other then balance issues its a fun game with few levels but the pace and tactics make those all that are needed for now.… Expand

One of the Innovates games Out there!

Wall-running as a Skulk like an Alien in AvP, deep Strategic elements like in Starcraft, true Requirement of Team-play and a Fascinating Replay Value.

As a Pure Multiplayergame, this Indie Title from Unknown Worlds Entertainmant is a Masterpiece of its own Genre/s!

Extraordinary game. Brings me great joy to see UWE as an indie developer being able to ship a AAA-title. I believe there is something for everyone who is a fan of either genre in this game, go get it!

An amazing online multiplayer game which remains faithful to it's predecessor. Many of the features and game mechanics are missing when compared to the original - but they kept and refined the basics to craft a well-balanced team based multiplayer experience. Frustrations with the title often stem from the radically different styles of play that the Marines and Aliens require. Each side has different strengths and tactics, which gives them different advantages throughout the game. This (in my opinion) adds to the experience, creating unexpected scenarios - and keeping the game fresh.

The game presently runs for $25 on Steam, and is worth every penny. It's a work in progress - with many features, enhancements, and optimizations to come -- but in it's current state, still well worth playing.… Expand

450hrs in beta and continuing to add now its released, this game is addictive. My only problem is the high system requirements. This has a tough learning curve, I would strongly suggest going into "explore mode" and learning the alien classes. Buy a microphone, this game actually requires team work. The blend of RTS and FPS means commanding troops is often stressful but also rewarding.

If your bored of the CoD and Battlefield rehashes every year, give this a try. Its unique.… Expand

I created an account just for reviewing this game. The one ' yellow ' review was a mistake and cannot be corrected due to metacritic policy. I hope people see this and will not let them stop from buying the game.

Not enough improvements/additions from the first game to give this anything more than a 7. People new to Natural selection will probably disagree with this review. Natural selection is a very fun game if you're new because it encourages team work even with random people in public servers. But people that played Natural selection 1 heavily will get bored of Natural selection 2 because they are pretty much identical except much laggier.… Expand

First of all I played the first one and god I played it a lot and had good times, so I was expecting a lot from NS2, and well...Unknown Worlds did a great job. The teamplay what ever the side you choose makes the gameplay really good. The sound and the visuals are perfect, specially the light effects. Sadly there's some performance issues, but they're still really small problems and the game is easily playable for a normal computer. For a small team, they achieved something really big that some big companies can't even make that perfect. Great game, obvious buy for 25$.… Expand

I'm not going to talk about what this game it, that has been covered enough. How this game makes me feel?

This game evokes such extreme emotions while you play. Not many games are able to illicit this kind of response these days and for a multi player game to do it? Simply amazing. Fear, Hope, Exhilaration. As a marine while heading to an important location that your commander has asked you to capture. You cross over into alien territory, its already dim but then you hear the aliens take one last bite on the power node and the lights go out. You gulp as you flick on your flashlight, look at your team mate to make sure he has not run away in fear. You hear the pitter patter of skulk feet some where above you, looking around frantically you finally see it as it drops down onto you. You manage to blast it clean in the face with your shotgun. Pure Exhilaration! You hear chomping and you realize that your team mate is under attack and the first skulk was a distraction. Its too late, you are both dead.

The feeling of power as you hop into a dual minigun exo suit! Amazing! Time to go get revenge and push back the alien scum.

Evolve as an ono's and charge into a Marine base. Amazing. Teamwork, Emotion, Unlimited replay-ability, Community mods, New Engine (Spark), Updates for the foreseeable future? All for $25(NZD)

BUY THIS DAMN GAME!… Expand

We (the fans of NS1) have been waiting for a long time for this gem. This game has it's own in-house developed engine, it's not an eye-blow, but it's cool ! The infestation is spreading dynamically, power loses can be really spooky. I love this game, it's both good for causal and competitive gaming ! A legend. 10 out of 10.

I didn't like NS1, I found it too difficult. But when I randomly decided to buy NS2 I was pleasantly surprised. The game is absolutely amazing, and I have been hooked on it since I bought it. It's like a combination of Left 4 Dead 2, StarCraft, Aliens and Counter Strike which just works perfectly. Pros:

+ 2 completely different teams that are both fun to play as
+ Helpful and friendly community
+ Game that encourages teamwork and it actually works
+ It's challenging to learn to play every class (and especially commander), but very rewarding once you do
+ Every game plays out differently
+ Some really badass moments (running into alien hive and killing spawn eggs with flamer-thrower anyone?)

Cons:
- Some players might be put off the fact that you have to learn to play this game (you will constantly get killed at start)
- Dependance on teamwork (but 90% of games have it)
- Dependance on a good commander (you can learn to play commander offline and do it yourself)… Expand

The first few game sessions might be a bit confusing, but once you start understanding what is going on the game is gonna become really enjoyable. Here it is all about leadership (for the commander) and teamplay (for all the players). A commander on each team gives out orders to the squad (marines) or the the hive (aliens). High quality command is essential for victory. This game is original and best played with some friends with microphones on. The spirit of the game is similar to left 4 dead, the aliens and the atmosphere are rather creepy :)… Expand

This is my favourite FPS/Strategy game so far. If you're fan of NS1, then for love of the god buy it. I really like the changes they did compared to NS1. The graphics are nice and gameplay is smooth too. Teamwork is key to success in this game, I really recommend to try this game. It's worth every penny.

Funniest and most original game of the year. ****************************************************
********************** 10/10***********************