Aliens Vs Predator (Xbox 360)

The first proper 3D Aliens vs Predator game was released on the ill fated Atari Jaguar back in 1993 by Rebellion Software, and while it was playable it was still little more than Doom clone with different characters. Rebellion stuck with it, releasing a critically acclaimed Mac and PC version in 1999, and now they’re back again with the latest instalment in the franchise.

Aliens vs Predator has a similar structure to the ‘99 release, with three campaigns available to the player – one as a Colonial Marine, one as an Alien and one as the Predator. All three campaigns take place on the same timeline and in the same locations, so you’ll get to experience situations from different perspectives – in the Marine campaign, for example, you regain consciousness in a warehouse after missing ‘a hell of a fight’ with Aliens, but in the Alien campaign you actually fight in it. You also have a straightforward ‘survivor’ mode of the type that’s becoming a common add-on in your modern FPS.

Each of the campaigns requires a different approach to master, because of the different abilities available to the characters. The marines are quite slow and the most vulnerable of the trio but can salvage weapons and ammo from the battlefield, and also have a light melee attack that can briefly knock back enemies. They also get a torch, flares and a motion tracker to even out the odds slightly. The Aliens can’t use any weapons and so are limited to light or strong melee attacks and a range of stealth kills, but they can climb on any surface, make huge leaps, hide in shadows, sprint at amazing speed, and see enemy characters with a feint outline even when they’re cloaked or behind walls. The Predator has the most diverse skill set with four collectible weapons (a plasma caster, throwing disc, spear, and proximity mines), a series of gruesome trophy kills, two melee attacks, focus jumps, a cloaking device, the ability to send distracting communications to Marines, and two extra vision modes designed to highlight Marines or Aliens.

The story is similar for each creature, but they all have a different focus: The Marines are visiting the planet investigating problems with a colony, and discover a Weyland-Yutani research facility that seems to have something to hide. The Alien was born in that same facility under controlled conditions and used as a test subject before managing to break out just as the Marines are approaching, and the Predators are there because they believe the planet has a location of great cultural importance to their species, and they don’t want any other races to get hold of their technology.

Don’t get too bogged down in the story though – it’s just there to legitimise the environment. AvP is all about traditional first person action, and there’s plenty of that on offer. Playing as the marine feels pretty much the same as any other FPS, with the added appeal of the motion tracker (with accurate sound effects) from the films – Doom 3 is probably a good comparison, but this time you can have your torch an gun ready at the same time. You’re limited to five standard weapons in the game, of which you can carry two along with your pistol, plus the occasional smartgun that take up both weapon slots to wield.

The Alien campaign is where things get interesting. You can’t really do a great deal of character development on a xenomorph killing machine, so the focus is all about action Because you have to be relatively close to attack, you need to call on your stealth and agility to get through. Aliens can jump onto any surface, so it’s a simple matter to bounce around the room like a deranged rubber ball until you’re close enough to lock onto an enemy and unleash a melee attack, or a stealth kill if they haven’t seen you coming. The ability to sprint at ridiculous speeds can get you out of tough spots too, but at first you’ll find yourself completely disoriented and not entirely sure which way is up so it’s better to sit in the shadows and plan ahead.

Playing as the Predator brings an initial feeling of invincibility as you leap and slash your way though the levels, wielding a plasma cannon that can lock on over huge distances and toggling your cloaking device so you can get within 10m of human enemies without detection. You don’t get all of the toys at first, instead picking them up one by one as you make discoveries through the facility, but your melee and stealth kills more than make up for it. As with the 1999 release, it feels as if the Predator is overpowered compared to the other two characters, especially when you find the throwing spear later on. This weapon can take out a combat cyborg with a single hit, whereas a Marine would have to shoot its head off and then empty half a clip into it whilst it ran around firing randomly like a deadly chicken. There are some levels that are clearly designed to make you ‘run the gauntlet’ but by finding a quiet spot, cloaking and making long distance spear throws you can clear out the whole area with no problem, which tends to remove a lot of the tension. Be warned though that the Predator’s trophy kills are well and truly nasty, and not something you’ll want to see close up if you’re of a sensitive disposition..

What we have, then, is a fairly straightforward FPS with enough of a twist to be interesting. It’s always nice to have different approaches to the same campaign, even if the downside is that each campaign is pretty short as a result. The real issues are that it’s tough on anything other than the normal difficulty, with certain sections that ramp up the difficulty levels disproportionately, and that it’s not really anything we haven’t seen before. Having said that, it looks decent, sounds good, and is as solid as any of the previous games from this franchise. It’s probably only good for a few hours of entertainment so it might be worth waiting for a cheap copy, but it’ll make fans of the series very happy indeed.

8/10