Aliens Vs Predator

Firstly, I'd just like to say this isn't going to be a game for everyone. This will most likely not appeal to the MW2 fan boys but it most certainly will appeal to the fans of both aliens and predator franchises.
The marine campaign, for me, is the superior campaign as it is dark and atmospheric with plenty of sparsely lit corridors and flickering lights, and ofcourse plenty of xenomorph smashing action. The motion tracker adds a great level of apprehension, especially when there's a predator on the prowl and you can't see it but dammit something's moving out there and it aint us! Then there's the famous pulse rifles and smart gun with all their fabulous sounds. A special comment must be made on these sound effects as they are superb and really bring you deeper into the universe. My only problem with the marine campaign is it's simply too short.
The alien and predator campaigns are good too, especially the predator where you feel like a universal hunting machine with your cloaking, jumping, stalking and eventual decapitating and eviscerating of man and alien alike (in full gory violent detail).
I could go on about this game but like I said at the beginning it's not going to appeal to everyone, but the fans of the films are boumd to enjoy it and I suspect, like me, fans will probably go and buy it anyway.
My final issue is the lack of deathmatches and other multiplayer games in single or solo mode, this would have been a nice touch for those who either don't have good enough internet connection, don't have the internet for the xbox or simply don't want to waste their time playing against kids online.

A final note on the much maligned graphics, I must say I don't see what "everyone" is going on about, personallly I thought they were fine; suitably dark and grimey; not gears of war beauty but still good enough for this generation, especially when you get up close and personal as a predator or alien and look in to the eyes of the poor marine who you're about to violently slaughter.

Overall I'm still unsure if I love this game or if it's just that I love the aliens and predator films so I'm a little bias toward a good but certainly not brilliant game, but I gave it a 4 either way as it is simply a fun game.

Anyway, I'd best be going now as it'll be dark soon and they mostly come out at night...mostly.

Let me state firstly that I am a `mature gamer'(xCCx JAZZMAN on XBOX live)
AVP? Well it's a surprising package really, and depending on your needs, suits at least some, if not most in some way.
Many of us are spoilt with MW2 and its beauty, and AVP isn't really a `beauty', but graphically it still has its moments.

Lets start with the marine campaign, for the purist you may as well look away and not even bother, you can't crouch, use `iron sights', and jumping might as well not be an option either as there really is little or no use for it, there is nothing other than point and shoot and turning your torch on and off, although the motion sensor is a very satisfying toy, purely because (like the pulse rifle) it sounds and looks like the one in the movie, and is a major addition to the whole `feel' of the game from the marine perspective, the real let down for the marine side is a lack of interaction, in addition the whole idea of stealth and giving your position away by having a torch on doesn't really come into play either, there is very little stealth involved with marines, and once you have played the other campaign's you'll see why the torch being on or off matters not a jot as both the aliens and certainly the predator can see you with their `focused' vision anyway.

The Alien campaign is probably the most enjoyable, you do get the pleasure of stealth killing, and more enjoyable is harvesting humans, you get the option to `grab' and kill with a random finishing move, and of course you get to use the infamous `headbite', which isn't the best looking move in the world, but still pleases.

The alien can walk on any surface, but `autoclimb' is best switched off at all times as when you `run' very fast you can end up on a side wall or ceiling quite easily, also the alien has a `focused' vision, this is where humans have a glowing outline (like the readybrek kids if you're that old!) of two colours, red if they pose a threat and green if they can be `harvested', lets not get carried away with game play here, as in fairness there is so little other than stealth that you can do with the alien, which is a good thing.

Predator campaign? Well it's by far and away the poorest, mainly because unless you up the ante difficulty-wise it really is quite easy until the very end.
You eventually get to use all the predator weapons, the disc thrower being the best(which is probably why you don't get it until half-way through) but you do start with the shoulder mounted plasma cannon, and unlike the marine's, jumping is a prime requisite.

The predator is the consummate stealth warrior, and it's hard to imagine why they made him so tough, apart from the fact he has great weapons and fighting skills, he can also take quite a lot of punishment, see everything by way of two modes of vision and the predator achievements are very easy.
Other than a standard manoeuvre-strike fight at the end (which can be tricky until you use the right weapon)it is just a 'by-the-numbers' campaign.

For fans of the films (both alien and avp series) its pretty good, for the gamer its a bit of a letdown as the actual game play is flawed, but still fun if you're not too serious, the campaigns are enjoyable, the multiplayer is good when it works, but neither at any point excel.

This latest XB-360 incarnation of AvP is on a par with the Aliens vs Predator PC game from 1999 (and its sequel from 2001), which were great for their time but in 2010 you kinda expect something a little more...
The single player campaign is very similar to previous AvP games, it plods along happily enough but there's nothing new or innovative, ok graphics, ok storyline, and so on; infact one could almost believe that Rebellion have had this game sat around the office since 2002...
Where this game really bombs is the multiplayer experience: all the stealth, atmosphere, planning, tactics etc etc all go out the window and you end up with a dozen or so characters running around like headless chickens.

If you're a hardcore lover of anything Aliens, USCM or Predator related then you might be able to see past the mediocrity, but if you're a 1st person shooter fan then you'll be back to CoD:MW2 within an hour or two.