REVIEW: Aliens vs. Predator

Its funny sometimes how this whole games review business goes. Last week I kind of trashed on a game that's a critical success. This week, I'm going to give some love to a game that sold well but the critics bombed. Sometimes, its about what you've expected vs. what's been delivered. Tonight, we delve a little bit into Aliens vs. Predator, Rebellion's follow-up (or update) to the PC title of the same name.

In actuality, this should be called Aliens vs. Predator vs. Colonial Marines. Perhaps that was a little to much to fit on the box art, or an acronym that got way out of hand    (AVPVCM? yeah, too much). The single player campaign gives you the option to start out as either species, each with their own distinct storyline that passively weaves in and out of one another. I want to start with the Single Player, because that is what I spent the most time playing, and I feel its the strongest part of the game.

I began AvP(vCM) as the ubiquitous Colonial Marine. Ahh, the Rookie, getting his feet wet with the grunts doing a stand up fight and a bug hunt, of course this chicken shit outfit isn't good enough to guide you along the course, everything is going to go belly up and you're going to have to go it alone with nothing but your handy pulse rifle and your instincts. Don't get too friendly with any fellow grunts you encounter in your travels because they aren't going to last long. For salty veterans, they do tend to die wastefully.

Unlike most people, I actually dug the Marine campaign the best. I didn't mind the constant tick of the motion tracker, and you are given flares to deal with the substandard lighting in the game - which has been a sticking point in many of the reviews. My reaction to that is that you are given unlimited flares. Use them. The lack of lighting is done to build suspense within the gameplay. You hear the xenomorphs in your motion tracker, its actually a little anxious trying to figure out where they are coming from, then you throw a flare and its AWW SHIT. Blerg.

Before I go into the other species, one thing I do like is that once you finish a section of any given campaign, you can pick up another species. I found myself playing all three campaigns at once. The story kind of interweaves through all three, and kind of keeps your interest pretty well.

As an Alien you find out that the Company is full of asshole scientists who just want to study you being the perfect organism. You begin in captivity, and subjected to a battery of tests that serve as your tutorial. However, no man can hold you and you're job is to pretty much bust out and wreck shop. Mother alien sends you on your missions which is pretty much to ruin the Marine's day. You also have a few arsenals of execution moves up your sleeve. There's the old tail spike up impale, the tail spike decapitation, the ol' trepanning maneuver with your second mouth. You can also take those cruel corporate scientists and turn the tables on them by introducing them to your friend Mr. Facehugger.  You also have the luxury of running fast, running on walls (which can be a bit disorientating at times), and stealthing for your kills. The Marines aren't that bright, but they're good in numbers and brought some remote guns to lay down on your ass, so the best strategy is to separate them and take them down one by one.

Predator may be one ugly motherfucker, but he's got the best of both worlds. He's got some ranged attacks, a couple of devastating claws, and multiple views to spot bad guys. Aliens tend to gang up to take him down, and Marines never seem to be able to give him much trouble. He has a few pretty good killing moves on his own. He's also the guy you want to have in multiplayer because he seems to be the strongest overall of all the species at work.

One knock on the game that I can probably deal with is that it doesn't look great. I think that's a little harsh, but I do think it could use some polishing visually. The Alien animation could use some work when you are playing from the perspective of the Marine or Predator. It doesn't look fluid almost cardboard cutout-like. I've read that there is a blandness when it comes to the executing moves--I guess if you've seen one decap, you've seen them all. Ever since I saw early videos and screenshots of the game, I've advocated that the game should go for max gore. For the most part I've been satisfied. I don't think there is an abundant lack of ingenuity when it comes to finishing moves. Perhaps Rebellion should have introduced Babalites.

Multiplayer offers a slew of good modes. I'm kind of skimming over it on purpose because I didn't put a lot of time into it. Its worth checking out, but my only complaint is that when one game is over, you are spit back into your own lobby; the game will not cycle onto a new map with the same room you just played in. C'mon, folks, its not 1999 anymore. We can actually stand to play the same room more than once.

One thing that I'm kind of at odds with has nothing to do with the game itself, but with the reviews. This game scores about a 66% on GameRankings, and sites like 1Up and Gamespot gave the game a much lower review than what this really is. Gamespot pointed out the level design and controls being substandard, and gave the game 5.5. I really don't agree with this at all. I mean, maybe they were expecting too much of this game. I had pegged AvP as a middle of the road shooter incorporating elements of two different franchises (save the horrific AvP movie franchise) that I love. That's what I got. Is it flawed? Yes. Will it be in my top ten of the year? Likely no. But is it worthy of a barely passing grade? No - its worth more. I take a look at reviews like that, and compare them with the reviews Splinter Cell Conviction has been getting, and I'm beginning to wonder if Sega didn't put enough review bribe money in their marketing budget. Its very interesting to see the reader response grade be much higher than the critics' grade. I'm with the gamers on this one. Yes there's room for improvement but you can deal with that over a weekend or two before you send it back through Gamefly.

TL; DR- Like Alien 3: Underrated, but still a rental. (also Fincher rules)