Aliens vs. Predator Review

In 1979, the film 'Alien' was released to the public. It told the story of a seven man crew travelling home to Earth who received a foreign radio signal from an uninhabited planet. During investigation of the planet a crew member was taken host to one of the greatest movie monsters we know today, the Alien. Eight years later, 1987 saw the screening of 'Predator' and with it a new creature was introduced to terrify viewers. The film showed a small band of mercenaries in a time of war being picked off by the alien known only as the Predator. This alien is only focused on the hunt, finding new, tougher opponents to kill and add to its trophy collection. Ever since both films were released, many have speculated which is better and thus 'Aliens vs Predator' was born.

Aliens vs Predator is not entirely original. There have been many games and films throughout the years based on the same principal and this latest addition from Rebellion and Sega is no different. It is of course the humans who are stirring up trouble for themselves, as The Weyland-Yutani Corporation, famed for 'building better worlds' but having ulterior motives, have been breeding the Aliens in captive and killing Predator youngbloods. Headed up by Bishop Weyland, Weyland-Yutani's latest effort is to create the perfect killer and steal the Predators' technology for personal gain. Throughout the game players can choose to play as the Predator, the Alien or the Human and while each story will be different, they all lead to the same conclusion which is a little bit of a let down.

The gameplay differs in all three campaigns which really helps to distinguish between the three species. The Marine campaign is modelled around a classic first-person shooter, and as such, players can use an array of guns, but they also have to make use of the movement tracker in the bottom left of the H.U.D. This tool with give an early indication of where an attack will come from, allowing preparation for the upcoming battle. It gives a real sense of vulnerability, as sometimes the only viable tactic is running away. There are moments in the game where it feels like one of the Alien films in regards to exploring a facility, with nothing but four shotgun shells and three blips on the movement tracker. Moments like this would be perfect if it weren't for the pistol with infinite ammo and a 3-burst secondary fire to spoil the fear.

The Aliens campaign really promotes stealth. They can use no weapons other than melee strikes, so their main advantage is with their mobility. Not only are the Aliens faster than the other two races, they can climb up walls and even ceilings. The problem with this is that it becomes very disorientating. Practice makes perfect however and mastering the Aliens' movements makes the experience much more enjoyable. The Aliens campaign is short however, and some players may complete it in a mere two hours - if it were longer it probably would have started to get a bit monotonous though.