Game Details

• Title: Aliens Vs Predator
• Format:Xbox 360, PC & PS3
• Players: 1 (Local) 8 (Live/PSN)
• Genre: First Person Shooter
• Price: £39.99 (RRP)
• Previewer: Matt Smail

This week saw the launch of the Aliens vs Predator demo on both the Xbox 360 and PS3 along with a PC release which turned up a little earlier.

Having had chance to get to grips with the Xbox version before and also being a diehard AvP fan, I've dedicated a fair bit of interest to this title over the past few months and I have certainly been waiting for the remake of this classic PC shooter eagerly. AvP has always seemed to me to be an ideal candidate for a console release, being a brand which is so heavily associated with the kind of visceral, action packed sci-fi horror which made the films such hits back in their day.

The demo currently available features only a single map for players to experience. Despite this, all three species are available although it is certainly not immediately apparent. In order to change species, players must effectively cycle through the others by clicking the A button (on Xbox) although there is no clear indication that one has found the place to do so until you start clicking, it's not a good start and is unfortunately compounded by the fact that everyone, it seems, wants to be the Predator.

I've played the demo match perhaps forty times, along with a couple of gameshows and elsewhere. In total I must have played as the Predator less than ten times, which is a real shame as it would have been nice to give a balanced view. I have no doubt that once some of the more focussed team deathmatch and other options become available in the retail copy, that teaming up as your preferred species etc will become altogether more accessible.

The game itself looks excellent. I'm incredibly excited about the prospect of meandering through the dark, atmospherically lit corridors dripping with Alien slime and littered with cables, boxes and all the other iconic imagery of the Weyland-Yutani branded universe. Single Player looks set to be potentially terrifying and although this is pure speculation, if they get the story right could make for an extremely compelling experience.

Adding weight to this theory is the behaviour of the Marine. Clearly, from the outset he is slow and far less manouverable than the Alien or the Predator, but easily as lethal in medium to long range frontal combat. Corridor shooting can be incredibly intense as Aliens spiral the ceiling and walls to make a close range kill, whilst even the Predator would do better to approach from the side or rear, but can take the Marine out if he reloads. This could be the reason for one of the Marines minor oddities, with the bog standard Machine Gun displaying an unwillingness to burst fire. The traditional tap-tap technique which helps maintain a good balance between rate of fire and accuracy is not possible in AvP, as the gun simply pauses between taps, providing a potentially lethal half second gap in fire where a Predator could easily get off a shoulder cannon shot, or an Alien could pounce. In close combat, the Marine is not as vulnerable as one would expect, taking a couple of melee hits before falling unless hit with a stealth attack which generally results in instant death. It's pretty likely the Alien or Predator will kill you, but not certainly... bash them with the bloody gun, man!

Aliens on the other hand are a completely different prospect. Fast and agile, with strong melee offence and only acid to spit at range the Alien is a hit and run specialist. More or less, exactly as one would expect as a fan of the movies or previous games. One key problem in the transition to console is the slightly bewildering and hard to control nature of the Aliens ability to climb on walls and ceilings. This is achieved by holding down the Right Trigger and approaching the surface you wish to transition onto. Sounds alright, but in practice it often doesn't work, with fleeing Aliens humping the wall even as a Marine or Predator cuts them to ribbons. Transitioning back is not easy either, as once you are on the ceiling for example, even if you are perfectly positioned over a standing enemy, you only may or may not get the chance to perform a stealth kill. Dropping off the ceiling usually causes the camera to go a bit nuts as you change orientation and by the time you've landed, you're probably as good as dead. The Alien does have some plus points, being easily the creature most capable of charging in for a quick kill in a melee of confused enemies, or for finishing off already damaged foes. The strongest attack (the Tail Whip) usually catapults the Alien forward in a way which disorients the player and sadly, rarely results in tremendous damage, whilst the light attack is not damaging enough to shred even a Marine to death before a barrage of led takes you out. The best tactic then, aside from stealth is easily to rush weakened foes with the Tail Whip and hope you get out alive, or alternatively go in swinging with claws against these same types of stranded enemy.

As I said previously about the Predator, it is the species I have least experience with. Despite this I can see the attraction for most new players. The Predator is no doubt perceived as the toughest creature and probably lives up to that expectation, being most able to receive damage before succumbing and whilst slow, being quite the melee juggernaut. When facing either Aliens or Marines, remaining calm whilst the large Wristblade sweeps land is the key, hoping that the Pred will soak up the sporadic damage that the other creatures may be causing it. The shoulder cannon is also an awesome but slow weapon, generally causing immediate death, but being tough to aim effectively and having a poor recharge time. Of course, a stable for the Predator is lumbering about (slightly quicker than the Marine) and this is another useful skill to have, whilst never invisible, it does help to be camouflaged.

All in all the key with the remake of AvP from a multiplayer point of view was always going to be balance. Aside from some small technical glitches, everything appears to be in order. I personally can't wait for the full game so that I can experience the single player mode in full swing. The game carries some of its old flaws, such as perhaps slightly weak feeling weapons and so on but all in all, uses the license well.

Expect a full review of AvP in the very near future.

Matt