Aliens Vs Predator

Rebellion Software made the original AVP games back in the day on PC, and they were popular. REALLY popular. And so, when we heard Rebellion were reviving this game, we all licked our lips in anticipation. And the final result is.......mixed.

The sad thing about this game is that there are flashes of gaming genius in here, really top quality ideas that have been spoilt by, it would seem, pure laziness. Every single element of the game can be split into brilliant and poor, with no in between.

The story is identical to the AVP film. Humans find Predator pyramid with Aliens inside, release Aliens, Predators get cross and.......fight. And the story is the first good vs bad element. The three indivual stories for each species are really rather good, but you never feel as though they are three sides of THE SAME story. Rarely will you say "Ohhhhhh, that's why that happened when i was a Marine", and there's no fighting a boss battle, say, from each side. It's a missed opportunity.

Graphically, the game generally does well, with some good explosion effects, cracking level design and brilliantly graphic deaths. Predator trophy kills are wonderfully gruesome, as are Alien harvesting, but these also frustrate, as the control system is so picky that pulling these off is often difficult.

Enemy AI is similarly two-faced. First the good-the Alien AI is BRILLIANT. This is how Aliens should behave. They constantly run in the shadows, seek to attack you from unseen angles, and run at you when you least expect it. Rebellion have got this bang on, and fighting them is truly terrifying. And then there's the Marine AI. Utter rubbish. During firefights, they will take 'cover' in full view of your Predator target reticule, allowing you to pick them off. As you would expect then, the most fun is to be had as a Marine. Wandering the corridors of the colony with nothing but a torch and a pistol will scare you to death, and although the later levels aren't quite so scary, they're all pretty good.

Sound is the biggest area of good vs bad though. With this kind of game you expect the sounds from the films; the screams of the Aliens, the airy churn of the Marines' pulse rifles, the weapons sounds of Predator. They all sound truly ace. And the music is gung ho and atmospheric in perfect quantity, really fun to play along to-watch out for the nighclub scene-amazing. But then you have to put up with the voice acting, with three different voice actors saying "Don't relax just yet marines" over and over. Play Chronicles of Riddick or Uncharted 2 for how good voice acting should sound, and you'll see.

Multiplayer is quite a laugh, and although online battles tend to favour the Predator, the different races do make for some intriguing battles.

Overall, this game is fun enough to keep your interest, but scary levels and great music won't hide the shoddy aspects of the game. They won't spoil your experience too much and this is worth a good play, but it's a good game that could, and should have been great. Rebellion, make the next one, and ramp it up!

I was really eager to get my hands on this game - lets face it the very thought of being able to play the part of three of the most iconic movie characters of all time is an incedible opportunity.

I went straight in as the predator and I was amazed first by the story line and then by the level of graphics in this game. The predator has some incredible technology. Fans of the movie will enjoy using his heat signature tracking or his cloaking and laser targeting. There are also some nice touches like being able to mimic the marines voices to lead them into a trap. I think this is probably the best predator experience I have played so far. The way the predator moves - leaps - and targets enemies is authentic to the movies and the death moves are fantastic to watch.

Playing as the Alien is a slightly different affair. Raised in a test tube before managing to escape you receive messages from the hive and the queen on what to do. One of the best things about this games design is the way the tutorials are seamlessly weaved into the game play for each of the characters and each has their own story line. As the Alien your tutorial is their process of trying to domesticate you. I thought The Aliens movements were totally authentic and the death moves have to be seen to be believed. I thought the controls for the alien were polished but a little disorientating you can run on the ground or on the ceilng but sometimes this ability seemed to turn on and off at will. Still the speed at which you can run through the corridors is incredible.

To truly witness the suspenseful nature of this game though requires you to play through as the marine. Tough and able to stand his ground the marine missions is where I witnessed the full levels of this game. All that toughness though only barely manages to even the odds. There are some scary scenes which had me jumping. The majority of the stages are just so dark and eerie I found my racing the second I heard the tracker beep that there was an alien presence nearby. It is here that I found the storyline most engaging.

In terms of criticism I found the whole game way too short. There is just not enough of the game to play. I went online but in my view I found it only marginally better. There are some niggling faults too with online play. The game modes are good but I found it took me too long to get started and once the match is over it takes you back to the main screen without offering a chance to do a rematch. There also arent enough stages to play on. The cost of buying more stages as download content I thought was a little cheeky when there just could have been more of the game to start with.

Taken as a whole though I think that this game still has lots to offer - the action the sounds the moves and the content of this game are very authentic and entertaining. There is no denying that this game both looks and plays well. Once there is a reduction in price this game should definitely be on you hit list. There are bound to be cynics who compare this to other first person shooters on the market but I could only take so many missions in war torn areas before I wanted a change of scenery. This game offers an opportunity to do just that. And what a great opportunity it is.

I was a little apprehensive at pre-ordering this game for a few reasons. I didn't want to bother with an online-only demo and, seeing as my last purchase of a movie-game tie-in was Terminator Salvation, I was worried that buying a title I hadn't at least rented first would prove to be just as big a mistake... thankfully it wasn't!

The controls took a little while to settle as they're a little different for each of the playable species in the game but once you have played for around 15mins with any of them, you soon start to get to grips with it.

Having never played the previous AVP PC games which Rebellion released, I didn't really know what to expect from the game but the idea of lurking in the shadows as an alien or stalking from the tree-tops as a predator sucked me in and the gameplay didn't fail to disappoint.

The Alien is probably my favourite as the game includes just about everything you can possibly want from a pure killing machine. The speed is absolutely stunning and the traversing of walls and ceilings soon becomes a breeze. A few have complained about the ease at which you can become disoriented and apparently there is an option that aids in how the camera switches when you're on different surfaces but I actually found it unnecessary as seeing it as the Alien would see it is more natural to me - if that's upside down, so be it. The alien also features the games best finishing moves and being able to stalk in darkness after taking out the lights to hide yourself is pure class. Just a shame it has the shortest campaign mode.

The Predator seems to be favoured by most other players and you can see why. Cloaking, two different vision modes to highlight your enemies and an array of methods of dispatching them makes playing as this iconic monster great fun. The game features the predator's plasma-caster, throwing spear, proximity mines and (my personal favourite) throwing discs so decapitating your foes soon becomes par for the course! Again, the finishing moves are suitably gory and grotesque if a little OTT at times but there is a great sense of satisfaction in patiently luring an unsuspecting marine into an ambush from the trees using the 'distract' feature.

Then there's the marine. Whereas I have cleared the campaign modes for both of the previous species already, doing so with a sense of fearlessness that comes from wielding the Predator's superior technology and the Alien's unmatched speed and close-combat skills, the marine missions give you a fantastic impression of what it's like to be the helpless underdog caught in the middle.

Wrong place at the wrong time? It soon starts to feel that way as you find yourself negotiating near pitch black corridors with nothing but a 9mm pistol, a dim flashlight and the relentless 'clicking' of your motion tracker as the only noise to break the deathly silence. It is truly terrifying at times with plenty of jumps and scares to keep you on the edge of your seat. If this is what "Aliens: Colonial Marines" is going to be like when it's released, they're definitely on to a winner with that one. The atmosphere from the Aliens films is captured perfectly and you're just waiting for a set of jaws to pounce out of every vent or shadow you pass - it's fantastically chilling.

Overall, a brilliant game - the best I have played in a long time. It's no CoD with respect to the graphics but the gameplay is good and the monsters are awesome. I'll definitely be playing this for quite a while. The only reason it gets 4/5 is cos there could have been a slightly stronger storyline (as opposed to rehashing the one from the first AVP movie albeit on a different planet) and there could have been more alien levels.

Superb game!

I think rebellion have had a good start kicking of the franchise on next gen consoles
all they need to do with this game is a little bit more improvement yes which can be done through dlc (downloadable content) and updates
I am giving it five stars because i recommend buying it and i believe it is worth it it should not be compared to other games because I dont see any other game giving you a chance to be 3 different species with a lot of different abilities.

Predator Gameplay 10/10 perfect no problems

Human Gameplay 9/10 no zooming in only can zoom in on sniper

Alien Gamplay 9/10 really fun but they need to make it easier crawling onto walls

overall Gameplay 9.5/10

Graphics 9/10 few minors dissapointment like flames and explosion effects

character details 10/10
predators body could slitly be improved, its hands and face is spot on but i feel the body and legs are letting it down a bit if you look closely.

alien is spot on and human is spot on

voice acting 8/10

voice acting is good,
some voices need to be more powerful and sound more though for example soldiers but Wayland voice is spot on.

sound effects 10/10
its how it should be, the only thing they can improve on this is making the humans scream more louder when getting killed, and also make some soldiers scream when shooting animals it will give it a better effect.

interior visuals 10/10
scary, dark and look good

exterior visuals 8.5/10
mountains in the distance needs to be improved it makes the game look bad so distance viewing should be improved.

water visuals 9/10
puddles look amazing just perfect, and other water effect are spot on but the only thing which is dissapointing it is there is no effect when going under running water and when looking up at running water it looks kind of bad.

lighting 10/10
flares, lights all look great they have got it spot on.

story 9/10
all three campaigns start of great i think very good surprisingly alien had one of the best for me amazing.

however the story does seem to lack in some places but truly enjoyable, basically if you like the franchise you will like it.

Multiplayer 10/10
perfect nothing needs to be changed.

Multiplayer maps 10/10
perfect who wouldn't like fighting in a pyramid which is moving nearly every few seconds.

survivor mode 10/10
reminds me off zombies on call of duty world at war but it is very fun and challenging.

overall 9/10

lot of people say multiplayer is no fair some species seem more powerful than others this is all wrong
it is fair and brilliantly done, all three species have different strengths and weaknesses you can win by being any of them.

improvements needed:

1) Better explosion and flame effects

2) They could be more weapons for humans for example grenades, knife like the one in the predator movie and the predators invisible choke wire the one he uses in avp movie it would be great setting these traps on high ground like tree branches and then distracting guards to them imagine it cause i can.

3) Add few more sound effects like humans screaming.

4) Improve predator body slightly

5) Add water effects when gong under running water

6) improve aliens movement there shouldn't be a separate button for the alien to move onto walls it makes it more complicated and you should be able to just climb between walls with ease.

7) predators jumping abilities and control should be improved focus jump is not balanced because some times you can jump far and sometimes you want be able too.
the normal jump (x button) needs to be improved he needs to be able to jump over small metal fences.

8) humans should zoom and shoot.

hope this review helps.

This game is a masterpiece. I grew up with the Alien and Predator films and was pleasantly surprised when they made Alien vs Predator. While AVP was good I believe the original films were outstanding works of film and stand the test of time today. Long story short if you haven't seen them then get to it!
As far as this game is concerned it really does throw you headlong into the world from those films. I think the game designers put more emphasis on the original films because there are little nods to it for instance early on in the marine campaign you are at a temporary command post and have to hold off an alien assault on a corridor supported by sentry guns much like in Aliens.
For me the marine campaign is what the game is all about atmospheric unsettling and downright panic-inducing at times. If you get into it you really dont have time to draw breath and I dont think you could say you had fun in a conventional sense playing as the marine but it does put you in a tense action-packed world where you have to be on your guard waiting for the next ambush. Shuffling around in the dark with a flashlight is a nice touch and it can leave you feeling isolated and open to attack. The motion tracker is a great addition and it leaves you wondering where the next attack will come from with frequent scans necessary to avoid getting dropped on from one of the vents.
The Predator missions are a lot of fun and when up against humans you can really delve into the stealth element and using a mixture of cloaking device and sneak attacks its quite possible to wipe out every marine in sight. The heat vision from the films is here and its a lot more defined than the one shown in the original film making it very useable against enemies. Another nice touch is the way marines will fire blind when you cloak and leap away much like the original Predator film. There is also an element of trophy kills with I guess about half a dozen different ways to eviscerate an opponent which is in keeping with the spirit of the Predator.
The Alien campaign has the only for want of a better word flaw in it. While the combat is excellent and the ability to climb any surface makes for a fast, free-flowing experience the overall vision of the Alien takes a little time getting used to. If you put a bit of thought into it then it makes sense however. After all the Alien doesnt actually see in fact it doesnt have eyes at all. Its not a big deal once you get used to it but for instance the automatic night vision blurs the screen slightly. In addition while humans are given a green or red aura which although faint does add to the sense of disorientation until your eyes and mind adjust. The abilities of the Alien make it feel untouchable at times. Almost invisible in darkness able to clearly track any enemy climb any surface and with a great potential for ambush the Alien feels like what might happen if sharks were adapted to living on land.
I play a lot of games particularly shooters and to me this game is one of the best on PS3. Call of Duty is great but it cant hope to match the atmosphere and sheer feeling of vulnerability of this game. Other shooters such as Far Cry 2 and Killzone 2 are good games set in interesting places but while action-packed they dont deliver the same element of fear that AVP does while the likes of Resident Evil 5 though edgy still cant match the tension of a first person game. The third person perspective just gives your mind an extra second to perceive danger whereas in first person as in AVP it just comes at you. I think this is the best shooter on PS3 and behind Prototype its the second best game available on the machine.