Thoughts:
Interesting. I've always thought that Alien 3 and Resurrection were fairly crappy films because they basically just took what was a cool premise...and either recycled it or made it over-the-top goofy. Neither was really satisfying to watch. I actually enjoyed the old Dark Horse comics better.
It appears that this film basically retcons Aliens 3 and Resurrection, too, if Hicks is alive and scarred. Ripley in an alien outfit is also interesting. Both of these could be direct references to Dark Horse's stuff (both are images from the comics). Ripley, for example, could use the disguise to hide in a hive on earth. Hicks could be trying to rescue her.
I'll be curious as to how they hand-waive away A3 and Rez, though. Was it all just a dream? Were they "simulations"? Or do we just say "Um...yeah....they sucked, so they don't count anymore. The end."
I don't really care either way, actually.
As for Blomkamp, I've actually only seen one of his films -- Elysium. It was diverting for a plane ride, but not a great film. I think the issue was that he was going a bit heavy-handed with "SOCIAL COMMENTARY" mixed with "Isn't this cool?" sci-fi images, but the particular blend of these elements felt...off. I agree that the film kind of lacked a heart to it. I didn't really care about anyone in it, so it just became disposable action scifi that took itself very seriously to me. Chappie looks more interesting.
It'd be nice if we could get a worth successor to Alien and Aliens. Especially if it ignores Alien3 and Rez.