Aliens VS. Predator Review
By - Craig H.
For years fans of these franchises have clamored for a solid video game adaptation that makes them feel like their favorite character. Rebellion Games takes the reins again for another attempt at bringing the masses a great AVP game.
The campaign is broken into three separate smaller campaigns. Through these campaigns you will play as an Alien, a Predator, and a Marine. The campaigns are separate but do have common elements and are part of the same story.
The marine campaign is a traditional FPS. As a marine you can carry two weapons at a time. These weapons include a handgun and a larger weapon (assault rifle, shotgun, flamethrower, etc.) with some of the larger weapons having an alternate fire. Graphically the marine missions look the best, partly because they take place in dark corridors that are only illuminated by your flashlight. This campaign experience can’t hold up to some of the other FPS’s on the market and is quickly forgotten after completion.
The Predator campaign was my favorite campaign of the three. The Predator’s attacks consist of the standard close combat, the Predator’s trademark long range attack, and quick kill attacks. The quick kill attacks are prompted when either behind an unaware enemy or if you have an enemy stunned. The attacks consist of a quick blade through the chest or the more elaborate decapitation with spine still attached (while the enemy stares you in the eye as you do it). These quick kills play an interesting role in the campaign when you run into frequent retinal scanning doors (let’s just say you don’t bring the entire body to the scanner). The long range attack can be shot quickly for a stun effect or charged to explode the enemy into chunks. Unfortunately you do not have unlimited long range attacks and must charge them at one-time-use power stations sprinkled throughout the level. The Predator does have a few distinct advantages over his enemies including the ability to quickly jump to and from objects as well as the ability to switch to an infrared view. The campaign is a stealth outing that requires you to stick to the treetops and ledges and pick your attacks wisely as to not alert surrounding enemies. This does take some of the badass death bringer you hope to feel as a Predator but is fun regardless.
The Alien campaign was the most difficult to control and frustrating of the bunch. In a constant struggle to have a close combat game this campaign falls short. For me, the control scheme just does not work. In order to move onto vertical wall/objects and then back to the floor you need to hold down a button otherwise you will just keep moving on that object in a different direction (it’s hard to explain). The attacks are close combat that just get tedious after the first few missions and a task to just finish. Much like the Predator, the Aliens do have the ability to perform quick kills as well. Out of the three, this campaign is forgettable.
The navigation is a bit clunky when trying to jump between the three different campaigns and will be best to complete one campaign before attempting the next. The presentation is just mediocre with the aforementioned marine campaign faring the best. The Alien and Predator missions are in much larger areas and the game engine shows its constraints in the detail department and leaves the game feeling under polished and muddled.
Luckily, the multiplayer holds the package together from being completely forgettable and has many modes to offer. There are six modes and six maps that are tailored to the AVP universe. There is also an inclusion of a “survivor” mode that plays much like the horde/firefight modes of other games. This mode places up to four players total in a confined area where they must fight off swarms of Aliens for as long as possible. Tension is high considering that these Aliens can come from all angles and a frantic pace will ensue.
Overall, the Predator and Marine campaign are ok but not groundbreaking and the Alien campaign is just plain bad. The multiplayer offering bring the package together and provide a reason to keep playing after finishing the three campaigns (or at least 2 of them). Unfortunately the graphical limitations, lackluster campaigns and control problems are way too much to bring the package back from mediocrity.
Quick Synopsis:
Pros: Both the Marine and Predator campaigns are fun and provide a decent single player experience. Multiplayer has a lot to offer and the survivor mode is frantic fun for friends. Nicely rendered quick kill animations.
Cons: Alien campaign has a bad control scheme and becomes a task to finish. Clunky menu navigation. Under polished and muddled graphic outside and in larger spaces.
RATING: 6/10
