Aliens vs. Predator

Overview

Aliens vs. Predator is the third game in the popular Aliens vs. Predator franchise, developed by Rebellion and published by Sega. Players assume the role of either the unsettling Xenomorphs ("Aliens"), the deadly Predators, or the Colonial Marines.

The game features interwoven single player campaigns for all three species, allowing players to experience the campaign from different points of view. Aliens vs. Predator also includes a three-way multiplayer mode.

Plot

Alien vs. Predator 3's story starts on a planet designated BG-386 where a mining colony has discovered an ancient pyramid most likely created by the Predator race who have been alerted of the human's discovery of their pyramid. A group of hunters are dispatched to make sure the pyramid and what lay dormant inside it stay sealed and locked away at all costs. But it may be too late as the Alien species locked inside it for untold years has begun to awaken.

Marine Campaign

The Marine campaign begins with two squads of Marines in two drop ships above the planet who have been ordered for a combat drop. One ship, dubbed the USS Marlow is destroyed by a Predator drop ship after it comes out of cloaking. Major Van Zandt then directs the surviving ship to land, but the player Marine, named Rookie, is knocked out during the drop. After he wakes up, he meets up with another marine named Corporal Tequila. Tequila instructs the Rookie to get systems back online to locate the remaining marines, including Major Van Zandt. Unfortunately, the Major is found cocooned which forced Rookie to shoot him.

Rookie moves further into the hive where he confronts the Alien Queen whom he burns alive and destroys in an explosion through the help of Tequila. Rookie then begins to move through the swamp and is contacted by Tequila who sends a dropship to rescue Rookie. Unfortunately, the dropship crashes after being shot down by an unknown force leaving the Rookie alone. The Rookie is then contacted by the colony's administrator named Katya. Katya gives the Rookie instructions to find other survivors throughout the colony. The Rookie also kills a Predator and rescues Tequila who is now infected with a chestburster. Tequila asks Rookie to shoot her, but Katya tells them that they could operate on Tequila to remove the chestburster. However, Weyland the president of the Weyland-Yutani Corporation, finds out about the procedure and cuts the power to prevent it. They are then forced to put Tequila into a stasis pod in order to keep the Alien from hatching.

With the dropship and the USS Marlow destroyed, Katya tells Rookie, after revealing that Katya is an android, that Weyland has his own personal dropship as well as a personal datapad with sensitive information on it. They then leave to confront Weyland who was actually an android all along, in order to get the datapad and get themselves off the planet. The three characters are then seen in cryo sleep on-board the dropship and traveling to Weyland's personal ship where Weyland is delighted to learn that the chestburster in Tequila is secure and that the personal datapad remained intact and gave him the sensitive information he wanted, the location of the Xenomorph home world.

Singleplayer

In this game you will face many different enemies and challenges based on what character you choose (Alien, Predator, or Human). To make it simple there is a list below that shows every single type of creature there is

Aliens

• Facehugger: The small creature that makes it all possible. The facehugger's sole purpose is to impregnate other species with eggs, which produce chestbursters that grow into mature aliens. Facehuggers are encountered on a few occasions, often in dark areas and around large eggs and mature aliens. They're small, agile targets that are difficult to hit. If the player's health is low, facehuggers can kill the player outright.
• Warrior: The most common Xenomorph encountered by the player in the Predator and Marine campaigns. Although it possesses no special abilities, it's speed and agility make it a deadly enemy, especially when in groups.
• Jungle Alien: Very similar to the Warrior, but brown in color. In addition to having the melee capabilities of the Warrior, the Xenomorphs encountered in the jungle are able to split deadly acidic fluid across great distances.
• Praetorian: One of the toughest Xenomorphs the player will encounter, these large females will eventually grow and become new Queens. The Praetorian can easily be identified by the large crest on it's skull, which is similar to that of a mature Queen. They are encountered as mini-bosses in the Predator and Marine campaigns.
• Predalien: The result of a facehugger impregnating a Predator. Unlike the Warrior, the Predalien lacks the ability to climb walls but makes up for this by possessing incredible strength, endurance and a remarkable jumping distance. The Predalien is easily identified by it's large stature and the dreadlocks that hang from it's skull. This abomination is easily the strongest Xenomorph encountered by the player.

Humans

As a colonial marine known only as "Rookie," the player must rely on guns, flares, and a motion tracker to survive. Although there are few main characters in the story line, Rookie occasionally receives backup from fellow his fellow marines. The key to surviving this rather traditional first-person shooter is your skill with one of six main weapons (each of which has a secondary fire mode):

• 1. Pistol: Your backup weapon throughout the game, and the only weapon with unlimited ammo; effective for clipping enemies from a distance without wasting bullets, killing facehuggers, and finishing off crippled aliens; holds 18 rounds at a time and fires three-round bursts in secondary mode
• 2. Assault Rifle: One of the weaker weapons in the game, though its large clip (99 rounds) and grenade launcher attachment make it useful for taking out jungle and warrior aliens
• 3. Sniper Rifle: The most powerful weapon in the game in terms of damager-per-bullet; can take most enemies in one to two shots; scope allows user to see outline of enemies in darkness/dense jungles
• 4. Smart Gun: Very powerful weapon made famous by Vasquez (likely the basis for the character Tequila in this game) in the film Aliens; weaknesses include limited ammunition and size (takes up two of three weapon slots); primary mode automatically targets enemies, while secondary mode allows for free fire.
• 5. Shotgun: Very powerful at close range, secondary fire uses both barrels.
• 6. Flamethrower: Good against the xenos, if you set the xenos on fire and then shoot them with another weapon they will explode. Secondary fire lets you put down fuel that you can then light on fire.

Predators

One of the most powerful creatures in the game, predators have muscles built to take abuse and even armor to back it up. They have an array of weapons that vary from a battle staff (combi stick) to a plasma cannon, and even a shuriken-like throwing disk. They also use claws and and proximity mines.

Multiplayer

In multiplayer the player can choose among the three factions:

Aliens: The stealthiest of the three classes, xenomorphs have the ability to sprint nonstop and climb walls and ceilings. They can also perform instant death stealth kills with their tails by slashing and impaling. The aliens can "sense" (see) predators even while they are cloaked, and can detect enemies through walls.

Humans: Marines have access to a powerful assault rife as a standard weapon and can find more powerful guns around the map. The assault rifle can easily take down a predator or alien. The marines also have a motion sensor so they can detect moving enemies when they are near. Marines can only perform basic melee attacks but if they time their counter correctly then they knock the enemy back far enough to have a second chance with the rifle.

Predators: Predators can wield a variety of weapons such as the shoulder mounted plasma caster, mines, active camouflage, thermal vision and wrist blades. The predators do have to find these weapons around the map and using them depletes their suits' energy, which has to be restored at special stations. Like aliens, predators use their leaping ability to gain a strategic advantage.

There are a number of multiplayer modes in AVP:

Deathmatch: This is traditional 18 player free for all where a player can pick to be either an alien, a human or a predator.

Infestation: This starts with a squad of marines and a single alien. When the alien player kills a marine player the dead becomes an alien. When there is only one marine left he gets a heavy weapons drop to help him try and last the last minute or so.

Predator hunt: A short 3 minute game where a group of Marines hunt a single Predator and attempt to rack up the most kills.

In addition to the vs. multiplayer mode there is a horde-like mode in which up to four marines attempt to survive against waves of attacking aliens.

PC System Requirements

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:

• Operating System: Windows XP / Vista / 7
• Processor: Intel Pentium 4 3.4 Ghz / AMD Athlon 3000
• RAM: 1 GB (XP) / 2 GB (Vista / 7)
• Video Card: DirectX 9.0c 128 MB Graphics Card (NVIDIA 7900 or better / ATI Radeon X1800 or better)
• Sound Card: DirectX 9.0c Compliant
• Controller: Keyboard / Mouse / XBOX 360 Controller

RECOMMENDED REQUIREMENTS:

• Operating System: Windows XP / Vista / 7
• Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E6400
• RAM: 2 GB
• Video Card: DirectX 9.0c 512 MB Graphics Card (NVIDIA GeForce 8800 or better / ATI Radeon HD 2900 PRO or better)

Xbox 360 Installation

An installation to the Xbox 360 hard drive requires 6.1GB of space. There are no performance benefits as a result of installation.