Aliens versus Predator makes its smashing return to the video game industry. Will it leave you feeling like you just rode your unicorn off a rainbow, or just feeling a bit probed?
With its three separate campaigns, one for each species, AvP has more options then your average shooter. Does more equal better? Not at all. Let’s break them down individually.
The Marine campaign is mediocre at best. With its whopping 4 different weapon choices, all of which besides the pistol you have to find somewhere during your travels, variety is not its strong point. Its aggressive use of auto aim makes certain you are always hitting your target and you never get the feeling you are truly in danger. Ammo and “stim-packs”, what they use for health regeneration, are plentiful and can easily be found lying around the environment. Speaking of environments, they are so often reused in each level that it is easy to begin to wonder if you have been going around in circles. Rest assured you have not. Clearly the budget wasn’t spent on level design. It wasn’t spent on boss battles either. They are pathetically easy and never require any more skill then run and shoot. This was my least favorite of the three campaigns.
Moving on to the Aliens campaign. They do a really good job teaching you the controls here. When you are done with the tutorial you feel like a badass alien hell bent on world domination, or whatever they are after. That’s where the good stuff ends. There are basically only two different level objectives in this entire campaign. Kill everything in the room or get to point A. While there are many interesting ways to take down your prey, leaping at them from the ceiling, sneaking up behind them and jamming your tail into their eye…etc., after about the fifth room it loses its luster. All you really need to do is run at your enemy spamming the light melee attack and you are guaranteed to annihilate anything in your path. Only a single boss battle will stand in your way to victory for the hive. A big bad mofo Elite Predator! Shaking yet? Well you shouldn’t be. He doesn’t put up much of a fight.
Finally we have come to the Predator campaign. By far my favorite of them all. After a quick tutorial level you are released to wreak havoc on human and alien alike. The developers really make you feel like a stealthy unstoppable assassin. There is great progression for your character as you find and pick up new weapons from fallen allies. Which make this campaign even more fun and immersive. Each level requires you to have a good plan of attack and nothing feels more satisfying then executing that plan to perfection. With not a single boss battle at all I was left feeling like maybe something was missing, but that is my only complaint (never thought you’d hear me say that did you?).
The multiplayer does an excellent job of making you feel like you are being stalked by your enemies when you are on the Marine side. It pays to use tactics and stick together to stay alive. And then you hear that unmistakable clicking sound that tells you somewhere out there is a Predator and he has you in his sights. So you scream into your headset like a little girl and try and run away. Only to get your head taken off. Literally!
Spawning as an Alien you have a few things going for you, speed and agility. Flanking your prey is a cakewalk when you can hang upside down from the ceiling and leap 20 ft onto his chest.
I also liked the unique approach they took with the Predator in multiplayer. He spawned with only his melee weapons and cloaking device. All his other tools where spread across the map. It is an interesting way to balance the species.
I’m sure there were more modes than Deathmatch available, but it seemed no one was ever playing any of them.
When all is said and done AvP isn’t a bad game. What it does it pulls off very well. The sound effects are spot on to the movies and it captures the feel of each species perfectly. The problem is horrid level design and the feel of a shooter straight out of 1995. If there was a story present in any of the campaigns I never saw it. Still interested? Give it a rental. By the time you need to return it I’m sure the multiplayer will be abandoned anyway.
Here’s a little gift from me to you. This is what the Aliens plan on doing when they catch you. You may want to bring lube. You have been warned.
Hides in the shadows beating you down with sarcasm. 
Nice article. And unlike Nathan “shitnuts” Erber (that’s his REAL last name “Schmidt” is the mask he hides behind) you actually played the game before expressing your opinions!
As much as I like to run off my mouth, I generally try to educate myself on the subject matter first. Funny how that doesn’t make me look like a jackass…usually.