A reboot of the AvP game series was announced in early 2009 and hype grew almost immediately. With Sega producing and Rebellion returning to the helm, it looked like fans were going to be in for a treat. Made with both the casual gamer and the hardcore fans in mind, it tied itself in with the movie franchise, which is something the previous games. AvP was released in February 2010 to PS3, 360 and PC systems and although a few poor/mediocre reviews appeared, the overall reaction was very positive. It reached and stayed at the top of the charts in it’s first weeks and was already considered to be one of the most successful games of the year.

Singleplayer

Since I’d never really experienced online play at the time, I was really looking forward to a strong SP experience. Following in the footsteps of the original game, the three campaigns intertwine with each other. Actions taken in one campaign, have a direct consequence in the other two which I find to be very immersing and smart storytelling. I think the basic plot itself is decent and neatly ties in with the movie franchise. I also felt the continuation of the ritualistic ties with the Predators and Aliens to be a great move as it does give a sense of plausibility as to why both creatures are engaged in combat. It’s the thing I enjoyed most about the 2004 movie. But, do the campaigns do justice to their respective species?

Marine: 2.5/5

The classic FPS experience: you and your gun vs countless enemies, is probably what many fans were looking forward to most. The isolation and atmosphere created in the original game is probably what it’s best known for and adding Xenomorphs into the mix only escalated the terror. The first level of the Marines ticked all the right boxes: tight, dark corridors, motion tracker teases and moody atmosphere, it seemed like this campaign was going to be a winner. But in the next levels the tension seems to slowly disappear, probably due to the fact that more and more enemies are thrown at you and appear almost anywhere. Aliens work best in the darkness and having whole swarms run at you in broad daylight just doesn’t work in their favour.

About midway through, you encounter a new enemy: the combat synthetic, illegally introduced for security purposes. I guess this adds some variety to the fray, but did I really buy this game to shoot robots? Surely if their AI wasn’t so horrible it wouldn’t be so bad. Despite most of the combat being uninspired, there are a healthy number of boss battles scattered throughout, most of which are quite intense. Apart from these occasional sparkles of gold, the journey you take here really isn’t that scary or intense. Enjoyable at best, but considering the greatness created years before, this campaign is very much a broken opportunity.

Alien: 2/5

The weakest of the three unfortunately, very disappointing considering it’s my favourite space beastie. The best part was undoubtedly the beginning as you free your brethren and sift through the research facilities staff with evil precision. There’s some gloriously violent executions to be seen here and this only adds to the enjoyment. I found the controls surprisingly easy to get to grips with and I was soon sneaking up on the unsuspecting bastards with ease. But, after you free your momma from her restraints and your hoard descends deeper into the facility, your essentially on your own from there on. Even though your objectives seem to repeat themselves for the remaining of the (shockingly short) campaign, there is some skill required to take out groups of Marines. The fact that you can lure them away from their squad and, quite literally, mutilate them with out their pals knowing is strangely satisfying.

The only other memorable part of the game would be the final bosses (three of them to be exact) and the ending is quite exciting and teases at what is to come next. The gameplay itself isn’t quite as exciting however. The transition from surface to surface can be a little clunky and more than once I found myself having to drop to the ground and start again. There’s also a small vent transition at one point in the game, which, for lack of better word, looks horrendous. At the end of the day, this campaign is shallow, lackluster and just not as fun as it should be. You’re not the Xenomorph.

Predator: 3.5/5

By far the most enjoyable character to play, the Predator campaign is loaded with intense hunts, nail biting combat and grisly trophy kills. And, unlike the Alien campaign, it gets better as it goes on. The best part here, for me, was that I could totally geek out and do exactly what the hunter from the original movie done: stalk from the tree’s and take out victims one by one. Simply put, if you want to feel like an intergalactic badass that pulls no punches, gameplay here will not disappoint. Your ability to leap on high surfaces gives you a nice sense of freedom and one-kill ranged weapons an evil sense of power. Besides dispatching of any threat that comes your way, the main objective throughout the bulk of of the story is to hunt down the Abomination (aka the PredAlien). This may work as a devise but it just doesn’t drive the plot forward as much as it was probably intended. The creature doesn’t have as much as of a presence as it should. After all, you only see it twice in the full game and it makes no appearance in the other campaigns. It does lead up to a satisfying final boss however and makes for a worthy foe. The finale was quite good too and it essentially ties into the Marine ending. With it’s rewarding action and all the gadgets fans have come to love, the Predator campaign is the one to beat.

Graphics: 3/5

Something promised from the outset was that AvP would feature top notch graphics. The interesting thing about the final game is that the graphics seen via each species are quite different. The Marine is the darkest, obviously, and there’s some wonderful talent to be admired. Although the environments themselves may look a little bland, the lighting work here is quite outstanding and works wonders when used to conceal stalking Aliens. The Predator campaign is a little brighter for some reason, but the same lighting and textures used. The look even better actually. The Alien campaign is an interesting one as the creature only sees in one spectrum of light. So what you gain in being able to see in the shadows, you lose in visual enjoyment. All the environments look rather pale because of this. It’s far from ugly, it’s just not as pretty as the others. One thing consistent in all three campaigns however, are the details but into your enemies. The Aliens in particular are excellent and it’s clear a lot of attention has been put into the character models.

Sound: 5/5

By far the games strongest point, the sound design is almost perfect. Fans can enjoy effects from almost all the movies ranging from the Chestburster shrieks from ‘Alien’ to the low Predator bellows from AvP Requiem. The score was very well done also and didn’t feel like it ripped off any of the movies. The tribal/horror/action themes are still there, but come across in a fresh way that makes the overall gaming experience more engrossing. Although the bulk of the vioce overs aren’t that good, I admire the casting of the great Lance Henriksen (AvP, Aliens, Alien³) and William Hope (Aliens) as both a continuation of the saga and a wink to fans of said movies.

Multiplayer: 3.5/5

What this game lacks in SP, it definitely makes up for in online play. Hosting a handsome amount of map and modes, players can cut lose and have an experience that the SP just can’t match. Players can gain XP based on their kill count and skill on the battlefield and in turn unlock skins that can be used in later games. These skins are are actually quite fun to earn and it can be quite addictive trying to gain ranks to see what you unlock next. Giving you the chance to show off your skill and teamwork to the community, the MP in AvP is by far what the games all about. It isn’t without it’s flaws however. The connection on some games (depending on how many are playing) can be quite bad and this in turn causes hosts to leave games which can be quite aggravating. Also, the time taken to actually find matches can vary from just a few minutes to quite a while and this can be tiresome if you don’t have the patience.

Overall: 2.5/5

I really wanted to love this game and I guess I was expecting something great. Something that I could play as a fan and actually feel like I was embodying the creatures that I’ve come to admire so much, something that would be as near flawless as the movies they occupy. This is not the case however and I was disappointed with the end product. All games have their flaws, but the ones here latched onto me and just wouldn’t let go. The plot is the dire point for me. With dialogue clearly not professionally written and at times cringe-worthy and repetitive, it just doesn’t hold a candle to the depth it could accomplish. There is enjoyment to be had from this game, but I feel there’s much more that can be done with the license. Since a sequel has pretty much been confirmed (not surprising considering the tremendous success) I really hope Rebellion improve upon the faults in this game and take it to new heights.

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This review was written by Spectrum’s G-Sea