Too Flawed to Function.
Alien Vs. Predator was one of the first games on my old PC that really made me quake. I remember not quite being convinced by the wonkiness of 7th Guests' 'goolies in a bottle', or even the 'decapitation' in Phantasmagoria (my dad had a thing for horror games.)
But, when I first booted up AVSP and walked down that first flickering corridor, I lost it completely.
Fast, nimble, all over the place. And it was only one alien.
The rest of the game never quite lived up to that opening shock, however I since held out hope that later incarnations, with better technology, and the ability to 'PROPERLY' scare the player (see The Grudge on Wii for a terrible game, but a great scare), would address this, and make a game that's not only terrifying, but awesome to play.
We're not there yet.
I suppose the first thing to say is that the multiplayer is the best thing about the game. The classes are all well balanced, and there's a lovely to-and-fro to the combat, where (with good team work) aliens can quickly outnumber and flank opponents, while sharp eyed Marines can eliminate threats from a distance. Predators are the Sam Fishers of the game, choosing to sit back, let the carnage unfold, then pick off the remaining survivors. And it works generally quite well. Of course, as with most games on Steam or Live, it depends on both the quality of your connection and, more importantly, your team. Much like my MW2, L4D or TF2 experiences, I would now refuse to play this with people I did not know, simply for the fact that there's not enough TEAM WORK in a team based shooter with randoms.
There are problems here, too. The maps are too few in number (although at time of writing, there are more available - I've just not downloaded them yet!) and it's very easy to slip into a pattern. This is a game that is sorely crying out for regular TF2 style perks and updates and modes. It would keep people playing, and keep the variety of the game fresh. But this is Rebellion, not Valbe. Don't hold your breath.
Which brings us neatly onto the single player campaign - or campaignS. The most significant issue with these is their length. While I've still to finish them on the 360, on PC they were over within a day. We're talking hours per class. Yes, they're fun, but each campaign has its own set of problems. Let's go through them.
Most players will no doubt start as the Marines, shouting hoo-rah and firing wildly into the night sky. And to be fair, there's a certain joyful claustrophobia to the events, as your contact with other humans is minimal (mostly over voice-com) making it really seem like one against many. And yes, that initial pants wetting is still there, the flares just not strong enough to make them overpowered, and the aliens just strong enough to make them a threat without being unfair. But then the campaign realises that its only trick is to scare. And it keeps repeating the same orchastral music, up to... Nothing, mostly. The game relies so heavily on the 'tension to non-scare' concept that the player eventually decides to ignore it, and it loses its majesty. Ultimately, a noble, but one tricked-pony.
Alien class is probably the one that most people will ignore. There's a simple reason for this. It's absolutely horrendous to play. Fiddly, too fast, and the trigger that controls your wall / ceiling movement is a nightmare to actually function. Part of what makes the multiplayer experience of the alien so fun is the sporadic nature of their movement, the other real players unable to know what happens next. AI in the single player predicts all too often, with deadly accuracy. It's unfair, and it's hard. Mercifully, it's the shortest campaign.
And finally, the Predator. While the concept of playing as a Predator always elicits 'whoooo' type fanboy noises, this is one seriously underpowered dude. Most notably, the 'kill - trophy' animation takes far too long in the game, by which time an army of xenomorphs are lining up, waiting for the motions to stop, so they can jump in for the kill. There is still fun to be had by sniping and using the various cameras, but once again, it's too fiddly, and led by the hand to allow for any real experimentation in death.
So what of the game? Best thing to say is, if MW2 is becoming far too dull for your clan, get them ALL over to this one, and take on the world. Otherwise, this has pre-owned written all over it.
