I know I’m not alone. I know that every fellow male reading these words whose birth certificate pre-dates 1990 must be in agreement: Aliens and Predators are the pinnacle of awesome. Be it terrorising siblings by switching off the mains electricity in the middle of the night and screaming xenomorphic squeals, or creating your own director’s commentary for your not so enthused other half as Arnie and co run aimlessly around a jungle from an invisible alien; we love it. So it’s good to know that the game franchise is in better hands than the movie adaptations. AvP presents us once more with the war between Xenomorphs and Predators, with humans again bumbling around in the middle.
With Rebellion at the helm, this latest iteration is the largest for the console market to date. The game is broken down into a story mode for each of the species, Survival – a kind of Gears of War ‘Horde’ mode – and the many options of multiplayer.
The single-player creates a loose story arc which unfolds through similar locations for each of the three different perspectives it is told from. Each species’ story branches towards separate goals, yet the campaigns mirror each other very closely, almost too closely at times. The alternative story lines make it interesting to witness how an event unfolds from each point of view, yet can feel a little rehashed by treading through the same levels time and time again; locations are reused only with objectives differing. That’s not to say it’s all bad by any means, as some brilliant set pieces throughout each campaign highlight how entertainingly different each creature can be. A Marine may trudge through the swamplands, but the Predator will leap under cloak from tree to tree whilst an Alien will scamper at pace through the swamps.
In the Marine campaign you play the rookie, who becomes separated from his squad during an alien assault. It’s littered with some fantastic moments; discovering the fate of fallen comrades, or fighting wave after wave of aliens clambering towards you whilst your bleeping radar turns insane with movement. It’s most successful in creating tension and that sobering feeling that, yes, everything out there is hunting you. The Fisher Price torch attached to the gun does little to highlight creatures approaching you from all sides whilst flares provide temporary respite to the chaos around you with red smoke hue.
Melee combat can feel a little strange, with the ability to balance encounters by blocking and countering incoming melee attacks. It does look rather odd having a Xenomorph take a boxing stance opposite you as you slog it out in a melee guessing game. However it does give the Marine a fighting chance when up close. Weapon variations help breath a sigh of relief to the action, filling the player with the illusion of invulnerability. Acquiring weapons such as the smart gun certainly helped this notion; it’s movie true features made for brilliant fun as the weapon detected and destroyed almost all hostile movements.
Audio logs are also scattered throughout the levels and provide a rather random log of squad mates’ perspectives. More of a niggle for completion zealots rather than a useful input to the storyline.
The Xenomorph, after escaping the shackles of Weyland-Yutani constraint, will scramble over any and all surfaces – using the darkness as its greatest ally. The lack of projectile weapons create different challenges, with kills achieved by getting up close and personal. Using hissing sounds and a brilliant ability to destroy lighting with your razor sharp tail allows the player to lure their opponents into the darkest of rooms before finishing him off. And it is these opportunities to perform ‘Glory Kills’ by sneaking up to an unsuspecting victim which lead to one of the most entertaining parts of the game. Make no mistake, this game is seriously dark. Be it pulling a human head from its body, spinal column still attached, or placing a tail through a torso to emerge from the jaws of an enemy, it really never gets old, or any less shocking.
A keen eye on movement patterns will allow you to successfully navigate your way around and dispose of foes. That is if the rather repetitive audio from wandering Marines doesn’t drive you insane. “Don’t let your guard down yet!” Maybe that was part of the plan all along: to wind the patiently waiting player up so much that they just salivate with the thought of the impending killing spree.
You’d think the Predator would be the easiest to use of all three races. Surprisingly, this isn’t the case. Yes his invisible cloaking will provide much needed cover from opponents, but his longer ranged plasma cannon becomes a slave to the energy it requires; forcing the Predator to try and replenish energy at power outlets. He can however leap from surface to surface, coupled with a telescopic and thermal vision this allows for much more preparation before an assault. More of his trademark weapons are collected as you progress through levels and his story leaps from tasks like discovering the fate of fellow young bloods, to chasing that damn elusive Predator-Xeno hybrid.
But as much as the campaigns have to offer, each of them feel a little like training levels for use in what is AvP’s golden egg: multiplayer.
As with most decent shooters these days, there are plenty of game types to shake a tail at. Standard deathmatch to domination (aka Halo’s territories) , team deathmatch to species themed deathmatch, all provide uniquely frantic play types. It does take some time to adjust to the way players move, creatures lurk, and where will most likely be your grave. Predators will need to spend each new life collecting weapons from around the map, yet a skilled player will soon be able to acquire a these and dominate from a higher point on the map. Aliens become equally deadly and vulnerable due to their ability to move extremely quickly around the maps, yet soon get caught out by a rogue Predator disk blade or fellow long-headed brethren piercing its torso from behind. Marines stand a surprisingly good chance with their radar able to detect all types of enemy movement. Coupled with a shotgun, and the plentiful spread of health packs on the maps, they can quite easily take pole position. But as with all things online, it boils down to player experience.
As discussed previously in our First Impressions, the game’s more interesting multiplayer modes stand up as the most enjoyable. Predator hunt is begging to show more promise as players become more adept with the characters, and infestation still proves my personal favourite. The chaos and horror of being chased through every corridor is unsurpassed and plays great homage to the game modes which has made AvP so successful. Last but not least, survival provides up to four players to jump into a wave based assault of Xenomorphs. The ridiculously poorly lit room provides nothing more than equal parts dread and fun against the ever increasing strength of your opposition. However, upon death the player can take much delight in observing his team mates via security cameras. Informing them of just how many creatures are behind them, then cackling away as they vainly avoid death in a Benny Hill style Alien vs Marine run around.
It’s a huge franchise which has been through a lot worse, particularly on the silver screen. AvP is a solid title which becomes increasingly rewarding the more time you invest into it. Multiplayer really is its lifeline, and although it may have been riddled with a few attendance problems during the opening weekend, an increase in user base can only help to cement its place in the online charts. If you’ve ever played the old PC AvP and look down on the console version as a shadow of that former title, I ask you to think again. Rebellion really do a fantastic job of ensuring qualities that made the original great are present. It really is just some good clean fun which can create some unforgettable experiences online, especially with friends. I mean, hey, if a buddy of mine is tearing off a humans head, it’s only funny that I run up behind him and stab my tail through his eye. I mean, that’s what friends are for… isn’t it?
Im a long haired, metal loving, rock n roll, plastic instrument talented gamer! I've worked in games retail for 7 years and have been caught up in all the politics associated with it. My neighbour loves my plastic drum kit and when i start singing.... "
14 Comments
Hmmm, am I the only reader who has this game?
I’ve given it a try. Can’t say I was that impressed to be honest, bit underwhelming considering the lineage.
What do you think of it Robin?
is part of the problem “considering the lineage” tho? there were alot of high expectations with this and i get the feeling that if a group of people got online who know each other it would be a great game. what do you guys think?
I think you’re right. Im drawn back to the multiplayer all the time. Keep thinking how great this would be with a group of people i know. The times when i have played with friends has certainly helped the experience along. I don’t think its a bad game at all, there’s just alot of fluff around it. I think that can easily subtract from a decent multiplayer game.
I want to like it, and bits of the multiplayer are quite fun. But the maps are dull, I find it quite difficult to truly utilise the unique skills of the the Alien and the Predator and if your game doesn’t start with the perfect mix of skills and types you can be royally screwed, far more than is normal I think. It doesn’t help that in no game am I that skilled @ melee(the number of times a bloody dog killed me in CoD beggars belief). It would be nice if they tossed the ranked match nonsense in the bin (a hateful console derived concept) and just gave us something like BF2142 does with real servers and a ranking system. That way you could join a game without waiting 15mins.
I was really annoyed I had pre-ordered this game when I heard the Giantbomb guys slating it and reading a few other negative reviews. However I think this is one of the fairer scores based on my experiences so far. I really enjoyed the Marine campaign, just started as the Alien and Multiplayer has been good fun so far. Sure its nothing spectacular but its fun and the graphics more than do the job.
Metacritic score it at around 65/100 based on critic reviews, and 7.6/10 based on user reviews so seems the users are enjoying it more than the critics, though there are some positive reviews doing the rounds.
I think you’ve both hit the nail on the head gents. Its no Halo, but it’s nowhere near as bad as bargain bin. You’re so right Robin about wanting to like it. I feel exactly the same way. It’s like getting a box of chocolates from your nan at Christmas. It’s not quite the Toblerone you really wanted, but hey it will still fill you up.
I found the marine campaign alot more enjoyable than the predator (which was way to easy to complete) and the Alien which just infuriated me (far more monotones than the other two). I haven’t given the online mode enough time to really give an opinion but I found the user interface a little annoying, along with having to re-search for games lobbies at the end of each game as apposed to refreshing the existing lobby. But it’s been said before even though it wasn’t exactly over advertised when I saw the titles previews my expectations went uncontrollably through the roof. Oh and a petty gripe the grab move seems to be redundant in the multiplayer maps as satisfying as it is to shove your tail through a marines back and see it come out the other side, i find it often ends in my own demise as i am inturn grabbed it’s like a daisychain of death!
Agreed with the daisychain of death! and what a great way to put it! You really have to pick your moments using that in multiplayer. Colonial Marines was in the news today….. im interested to see which direction they’ll be taking it in.
Yeah I was playing online yesterday with a friend and everytime I managed to pull off a grab move I was almost always dispatched right afterwards, if not during the execution of said move.
re: Aliens: Colonial Marines, that’s another game to look forward to, and its from gearbox who did a great job of the Half Life expansions most recently Borderlands and lots in between.
I like Aliens. I like Predators. But I’ll be honest, I’ve never been a fan of the whole Aliens and Predator fusion thing. Even the popular graphic novel I bought years ago was read once and never picked up again.
Having said that I like the idea of tearing someones spine out.
I thought you were going along the lines of Harry Hill for a second, “I like Aliens. I like Predators. But which is better? There’s only one way to find out! FIGHT!!!”