Alien vs Predator

[Angle-plex]

Anyone play the demo yet? It's ok, but it's only deatmatch which really doesn't work for this game.

 

[AntiLeaf33]

I downloaded the demo but I couln't find anyone to connect with, so I deleted it shortly after.

 

[sbofn]

I had the same experience. It was thrilling.

 

[Angle-plex]

It's gotten a lot better since I've played a bit. The Alien is really good if you know how to play, and the predator you can half-ass and still come out in the top 3. Any game except deathmatch would be awesome- I just can't stand alien vs alien, or marines shooting each other. The Predator Hunt and Alien Infestation modes look the most fun to me.

 

[Big Papa Paegan]

I'm very aroused excited about this game, primarily just due to being a huge Alien(s) nerd.

 

[Nightwing]

Question: Is the Alien as blindingly fast as it was in the first one? I hated how slow they got in the second game.

 

[Big Papa Paegan]

So, is this solely going to be a multiplayer game? Because that will suck if it's true. Everything I'm reading about it is leading me to believe that it's only multiplayer.

 

[Obi Chris Kenobi]

So, is this solely going to be a multiplayer game? Because that will suck if it's true. Everything I'm reading about it is leading me to believe that it's only multiplayer.

No, no, its single player too, pretty much in the same vain as the old PC AvP games. 3 Different campaigns, one for each species, all interlinked to tell a story, with multiplayer to keep you going once finished.

 

[Big Papa Paegan]

Okay then. It'll be worth a purchase since I don't have Live yet.

 

[Angle-plex]

Very mixed reviews so far. Lots of 7s and 8s, but Game Informer and UK Gamespot give it 5.5. Although UK Gamespot says multiplayer is good anyways.

 

[Obi Chris Kenobi]

I've yo-yo'd on this game way too much, so I've canceled the pre-order, and I'll pick it up later when its cheaper. Too much already being released in March/April to spill out for a game I can't make my mind up if I'm buying or not.

 

[Baby Shoes]

Picked this up today. I had a full price game to return to GameStop with a gift receipt that was expiring in a few days, so I grabbed this. Not sure if I'll get to it quite yet as I have Dante and Bioshock 2 from last week I didn't open yet. I've been trying to knock some of the short games out of my backlog lately and what I've heard on Dante is it can be beaten very quickly.

Anyone else get it yet? I'm guessing when I first start it will be as a Predator seeing those pussy-faces are my favorite.

 

[Big Papa Paegan]

Got it tonight. Played a couple of missions with each species.

Predator:
Easiest of the bunch. Cloaking ability doesn't drain your energy reserve (like in the underrated Concrete Jungle game), but the PlasmaCaster does. Every time you're cloaked and then strike? You become uncloaked. A little awkward, but whatever. The amazing jumping ability and thermal vision, as well as the distraction ability (you play a recording of somebody's voice, and whatever Marine you selected to distract will come over in the direction you chose them), help with killing the Marines, but the Aliens are a little bit trickier. Getting past the Sentry Guns is a bit of a bitch if there's not much room for jumping because they'll shoot you when cloaked, too.

Alien:
Moderate difficulty. Incredible speed and the ability to crawl on the walls and ceiling, as well as run into the vents, is a massive plus, but I'm surprised there was no acid spit feature given that it's fairly accepted canon that the creatures bleed and spit acid. Health regenerates over time, but it goes quick when against Marines. Haven't gotten to face a Predator yet, but I'm going to imagine that it'll be a bit difficult due to them having better long-range weaponry than the Marines. Fun, but a bit disorienting since your view is similar to the Alien's view in Alien 3, an almost fish-eyed one.

Marine:
Hardest of the bunch, considering everything is pitch black and your Shoulder Lamp does fuck all. You start off with the Pistol and have to kill a few Aliens with it, but then eventually find a Pulse Rifle, but only about half a mag of ammo (and no grenades). Creepiest/scariest levels, too, since your Motion Tracker will randomly go off, but you won't be able to see anything until it's right on top of you. Like with the Alien, I've yet to encounter the Predator, and I'm not looking forward to when I do considering how easy it was to kill the Marines as the Predator.
TIP: Don't tap the fire button when using the Pulse Rifle, hoping you'll get some quick bursts like you would in MW2 or any other modern FPS. Hold it down, and it will do its thing (pulsed bursts). Aim for the head, obviously, for the quickest and easiest kill. Pistols do jackshit, as it took a clip and a half to put down my first Alien.

Modes:
Since I don't have Live yet, the only mode available is Single Player Survival, which is just a gauntlet run with you as a Marine, armed with a Pistol and a Pulse Rifle, as waves upon waves of Aliens - each wave stronger, faster, and greater in numbers than the last - close in on you. A fun time, though.

Graphics:
Perfectly acceptable, although they look more like something that would have stretched the capabilities of PS2 or the original X-Box than the current gen stuff, specifically MW2. Great use of shadows in hiding the limitations, though, and the designs of each area I've encountered so far (Lab, Colony, Jungle) is perfectly taken right from the movies.

Sound:
Weyland Bishop, likely best known as Bishop II in Alien 3 (and a descendant of Weyland Bishop I in the first AVP flick), is the head honcho of Weyland-Yutani, which means one amazing thing: LANCE FUCKING HENRIKSEN. Other voice acting seems solid, if a bit generic for the Marines. The sounds of the Marines' weaponry, the Aliens' hisses and growls, and the Predators' clicks and cloaking noises are taken directly from the movie (I think the sound of the Pulse Rifle just may be one of my favorite sound effects in any movie), but the Predators' PlasmaCaster sounds more like a generic laser from a generic sci-fi flick than it does the quick CRACK~ like in the movies.

Overall:
I can't give it a solid rating yet considering I've only played it for maybe a couple of hours total, and don't have the capabilities of doing online play, but it's looking like an 8-8.5 thus far. WAAAAAY better than those pieces of garbage Alien Trilogy and Alien Resurrection for the PSX back in the day, that's for sure.

 

[Angle-plex]

I've never seen a game with reviews so mixed. I think it's pretty fun, the multiplayer takes a while to find a game and some modes just don't work with some maps, but once you get a good game going its a blast.

 

[Big Papa Paegan]

The sound of the Pulse Rifle is PERFECT. I can't put that over enough. It sounds like you're watching Ripley empty a magazine into the Queen's chamber.

 

[Damaramu]

I heard that playing a marine on multiplayer is terrible because you just get blown away quickly.

 

[Big Papa Paegan]

I can see that. Playing it single player is difficult enough, so I can see multiplayer being a son of a bitch.

 

[Angle-plex]

Only reason it is tough as a marine is because so many people play predator. 6 preds vs 4 aliens vs 3 marines is always a bloodbath.

 

[AntiLeaf33]

Then again, why would you want to play as a weak ass human, when you could be an overpowered Alien or Predator?

 

[Big Papa Paegan]

Because Aliens and Predator's don't have Smart Guns...

 

[Sabre]

Im playing my way through the Marine campaign. Its not bad, just sometimes hard to kill the aliens due to the nature of how quick they move. Makes it realistic, but hard for a shooter imo.

 

[Big Papa Paegan]

Wait 'til you get the shotgun. It makes it a whole lot easier. Let 'em get close so they stand up to attack, block their strike, and then blow them the fuck away.

 

[Sabre]

The alien controls blow.

That is all.

 

[Big Papa Paegan]

With the Alien it's more about camouflage, timing, and speed of attack. Stick to the ceiling and vents, hiss to draw a marine in, and then hold LT to focus on them and attack once their back is turned. BAM! They're down, you strike a few more times, grab them and shove your mouth through their head/tail through their gut/rip their throat out/HARVEST.

Aliens and Predators are good "hunting" characters, meaning you can hide in one area where there are a lot of others around, and then strike once you are able to isolate a single opponent. The Marines, though, force you to run and try to draw the enemy in, so check your corners and do your best to keep moving.

 

[Sabre]

I still have no idea how to Harvest, i done it once to a scientist and have never been able to replicate it.

 

[Big Papa Paegan]

When you pounce on them and knock them down, there's a command that pops up ("X to Harvest" on 360). You can only harvest unarmed personnel. If they're armed? You kill them, usually through inner-mouth-to-the-face or tail-through-the-gut.

 

[2GOLD]

So I'm hearing the game is going down in price finally and wanted to know if it is worth 40 bucks to buy it. I really want a good Aliens game to tide me over for 3 or 20 years before the release of Aliens Colonial Marines.

 

[Obi Chris Kenobi]

Go in with low expectations and you shouldn't be burned too much. SEGA have pulled the plug on any further support for the game, and there's plenty of bugs kicking about still.