Aliens Vs Predator

and everywhere and suffice to say I started to fear the worst - no worse than that: I started to fear a gaming equivalent of the AVP films *shudders*. However there is one rather large problem with so called professional reviews for me and that is I just don't trust `em, I've wasted a sizable chunk of change on supposed "10/10 gems" because of the hear say of some spotty ign reviewer and well over half of them have been total guff. So I thought `sack it, I'm just gonna bite the on this one and grab a copy.' I enjoyed the PC incarnations and I liked the movie franchises (separately that is, as I noted before the whole `vs.' angle has, so far, been dropped on it's head since childhood) so why not. So here's a list of whys and why nots which will hopefully guide a few people with more trust in reviews than yours truly.

THE GOOD STUFF:
* - This is probably news to no one but it does bear repeating: there are three very different takes on the fps genre in here which lends very nicely to the level of variety in the gameplay.
* - The graphics are not even a quarter as bad as the reviews have been saying and with everything that has gone into it I think they're rather spiffy. Lighting effects are atmospheric, models are authentic and move as expected and everything runs very nicely indeed, fair enough it's not absolutely top end but it's absolutely nowhere near bottom rung either.
* - The sound is great, all the film whizzes and bangs are on show and add massively to the already abundant atmosphere. Job well done.
* - The storys are nicely interwoven and you get a real sense of narrative scale across the three.
* - The death moves, particularly some of the predators spine rippers, are eye bogglingly disturbing...in a cool sort of way.
* - (ALIEN, PREDATOR OR MARINE?) Each section of game has some great little touches and they are as follows: With the marine it's the authentic weapons and tech, tight fps mechanics and the jumpy atmosphere. With the Alien it's the rogue intelligent alien `Number 6' story line that grips you and the tactical use of darkness that really sets the gameplay apart, not to mention the roof crawling antics - every surface is your sneaky walkway to death: sweet. Now before we get to the predator I've heard a few people moan that the alien is too hard to control, to those people I say `practice makes perfect' and about half an hour practice is all you'll need - if you've been playing games long enough this should be a breeze and people online scuttling around and performing deaths from every angle are more than testament to this theory. Finally the predator has precision jumping from roof/tree to roof/tree, awesome tech and that honourable hunter who will tear your face off and play Frisbee with it feel to it, not to mention invisibility sneakiness and melee weapons to literally die for! Like I said before: great variation and it all works well.
* - online is a blast, there are tons of people playing it and whether you're just death matching it or your up for a bit of hunter/hunted action in marines vs. a single predator in the jungles you're sure to dig it. With a nice ranking system and lots of unlockable skins you can't loose! Well you can but you'll still have a blast!
* - Different hidden collectables on each level for each species make for a nice little distraction from the action.
* - controls are tight and button layouts work well and considering there's so much each race can do different from the others there is a great sense of commonality across the three which works to your advantage when mixing it up online!
* I've not fully completed the single player campaign yet which means it's decent length and challenge cause I haven't been off this bad boy since I bought it - thank the gods the wife's away this weekend!
* - voice acting from Lance Henrikson is sweet as can be!

THE NOT SO GOOD STUFF:
* - The marine story isn't as jumpy and scary as the one in AVP2 on PC but that may be down to me growing up a little and not being as easily shaken. However it seems to be more down to sound and although it mostly works well there have been a few moments which where obviously meant to freak you out but there just wasn't the necessary umph! If you catch my drift.
* - Not all three gameplay types might be everyone's cup of tea - however this is where online comes in, just complete the game, find out who suits you best and go whup some rear ends with them the world over! Yay!
* - The grab moves and sneak grab moves are cool in single player but a little overly powerful online - be sure to pay attention to your radar when you're a marine or your gonna be seeing more metal predator blades and alien tails sticking through your chest than Lance Heriksen!
* - It's addictive and will eat your time like delicious biscuits if you let it, good job it's winter and too cold to be bothered doing anything but getting a TV tan.
* - people who didn't grow up with aliens and predator may not get as many kicks or as much out of if in the way of fan service and nods to the series as people who did.

CONCLUSION:
I for one oppose the harsh reviews this game has been given, it's a great homage to the films and filled to bursting with variety, atmosphere and gruesome antics that will make any ardent Alien or Predator fan grin like a mad chimp, plus the gameplay is tight and above all interesting. In a world of humdrum `realistic' war shooters that everyone seems to want to hold every other FPS up to AVP comes as a hugely refreshing change. I like it a lot, and aside from a few minor inconsistencies that drag it down I highly recommended it. This is one I'll definitely be busting skulls online with for a long, long time to come. Great stuff - come and join me!

so the reviews have been mixed. which is quite annoying , as all the big reviewers either gave it a high score or medicore.

either way , after playing a decent 2 hours on the multiplayer, i have to say this game is very very fun. Fans of the franchise will love it , if your not a fan i suggest a rent. Its different from most fps put their which is good, as some are getting quite boring.

The graphics are good , not exellent, they can be improved. However design is great really cool looking maps even tho they could of added more . dlc i guess.

the multiplayer modes are great , infestation seems most popular and predator hunt. as soon as you play few games you will begin to get use to the controls , they dont take long.
Those who played the demo and didnt like it , should definetly try this as it is diffferent. multiplayer however does need some more dlc , and they can do a bit more to it , as it seems a bit old school , but it is very fun , ive been unable to put the controler down , and it seems MW2 will be out of the machine for some time.

The campaigns however are split in three, and some have said they are short and some have said they count about right. i have not completed them yet .

the fun however is in the trophy kills , remember the gore in this game is quite detailed and just like the movies it keeps the horrofic sci-fi like mood.
the atmoshphere is some of the best ive seen in a game, great sound effects , the mood has been set right .

The multiplayer maps are short like i mentioned, but some of them have very cool elements, ie the pyrimid map can suddenly change and you will find yourself trapped in a room for some secs. All adds to the intense and excitment that the game has.

now the reviews on this game have ranged from

9/10 opsm uk
ign 8.5
empire magazine 4/5
and then we have 5s from gamespot and gi

there are many more which all seem to contradict each other, ie some say the controls arent good, some say they are good.

The specie balancing ... i have found no problem with this , they all seem to be well balanced , its just a case of how good you are.
Each has their own strong point , like the alien has fast speed and agility , while the pred has strength and technology.

all i can hope for , is more maps for the multiplayer and some more MP extras, you get different skins which u unlock , but maybe they can add a bit more to it .

there is a lot they can do with this game , and genre. They obviously could of made it better, but it is rebellions first AVP on a nex gen , so hopefully they can sort theings out next time around.

apart from that i am very happy with this game . the fun factor espeically .
BUT it may not appeal to all so do check this one out.

To begin with i have been a fan of the alien, and predator filsm for years, especially the aliens quadrilogy, in particular (you seen this coming) Aliens, the atmosphere, and universe created with it, and obviously this spawned the creation of the PC games Aliens Vs Predator, and a sequel.

Now the first next generation consolisation of the two franchises, now the films in my opinion didn't hold up at all, a great concept to bring the two species together, but in the wrong setting and time frame. And now as a result a new Predator and Alien film are in production, with Predators being released in August this year.

Ive always been a fan of the PC AVP games, but ive always wanted a console version of the PC game, and finally it's here. The game boasts 3 campaigns, obviously; Alien, Predator and Marine, and these campaigns are very short, and annoyingly so considering the time spent in production, but having said that the designers have given fantastic thought to the universe of these species, in particular the Marines, in which the campaign gives you the oportunity to live out the universe found in Aliens, like the colony on LV-426, the marines campaign is tense, action packed, and jumpy from time to time, with attention given to the M41A Pulse rifle, and Smart gun and oh yes the motion tracker, all the sounds are taken from the movies and hold up fantastically well, but however shockingly short, with the campaign being completed within a few hours, but the campaign is fantastic, and does explore the Aliens universe very well, and that is another problem, the Predators hardly make an impact let alone appearance in the marines missions which is a let down, but the predators do detract the player from the horror that is the Aliens species.

The Aliens campaign again is extremely short, but explores the horror universe very well, giving players the chance to see through the eyes of the iconic aliens first seen in Ridley Scotts horror master piece. Obviosuly the Alien can't carry weapon, but has a it's again iconic; mouth/ inner mouth, tail and claws, and the ability to wall climb, giving players the rare chance to attack marines and predators from all angles, which is a great mechanic but very clumsy to control, and players will find themselves scaling these walls, and spinning all over the place in an effort just to run forward, but the campaign is fun considering the muliple ways you can kill unsuspecting marines.

The Predator campaign gives the player the oportunity to tru out a small number of the Predator weapons, which adds spice to the gameplay, with the predator vision modes, heat/alien etc, and the iconic predator noise, but again the gameplay is linear in comparison to waht a predator can do, and once more the campaign is short, but the various ways you can kill marines and aliens adds a variety to the gameplay, but the tedious switch between visions and weapons can detract the player from the action at hand.

The multiplayer is enjoyable to a point where all the gameplay problems and mechanics meet against eachother in one match, and the lack of truely enjoyable game modes makes the multiplayer mania become very bland and boring very quickly, again being a shame, perhaps more customisable options would add more action to the game and more replay value.

In conclusion all three campaigns are no longer than any other First person shooter story, which is a shame considering the effort put into the sounds and universe that makes these horror films so enjoyable, and the lack of enjoyment found in the mulitplayer only acts as an annoying reminder that whoever you choose to be a host of technical issues, minor lag issues and a detachment from the enjoyment that seriously lacks in this package

A great campaign for the marines, mediocre campaigns for the aliens and predators, all of which suffer from depressingly short campaigns.