Aliens vs. Predator (now reviewed)

Vlad Piranha

Okay, so is anyone else stoked?

Last edited by Vlad Piranha on Wed Feb 24, 2010 10:34 pm; edited 1 time in total

massive · Posted: Tue Feb 09, 2010 8:57 pm Post subject:

conceptually cool, balance will be the real test. not stoked, like a new version of Windows...it may be better to let someone else take the first plunge.
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Vlad Piranha wrote:

I'm offended that a zombie holocaust isn't on the list. It would be terrifying, sure, but it would be pretty sweet if you think about it.

Vlad Piranha · Posted: Wed Feb 24, 2010 10:33 pm Post subject:

I just got done finishing the marine campaign in the game, which seems to be the best overall experience in these games, so I believe I have a good handle on things. The story is actually built on top of the franchise instead of being an homage to it. The parts of the first AvP movie that were actually interesting lore-wise return in this and make for a much better storyline in many ways. Lance Henriksen even lends his voice to his character, giving you a really good A-list villain for the first time in the history of the game series.

At first, I disliked many of the changes from the previous two games. For starters, there is no crouch at all. That's a little weird as the marine and predator, but really strange as the alien initially, since it was a crouch of sorts that allowed you to run on the walls.

In this game, the aliens are quadrupeds unless you're making an attack, in which case they'll stand up to swing their tails. Wall-walk is not automatic in this game, but it isn't controlled by holding a key either. It's a mix of the two elements. Basically, you'll approach a wall and hold down the middle mouse button and continue running forward to climb it. Once you're on the wall, you're on the wall. You can target the ground and jump down or you can click the middle mouse button to drop off. This keeps you from having to painfully hold a key for long periods of time while waiting on a ceiling for prey. At the same time, you can simply hold the middle mouse button while you run to be sure that you'll scale anything that gets in your way from point A to point B. This is a great change for anyone who has played the original games. In addition to improved movement, the pounce has returned with better mechanics. Now you must be in range, but if you hold a targeting button, you can leap onto an enemy and close with him extremely quickly. Then it's all melee for a kill.

The Marines have remained more or less the same in spirit. The changes in the weapons are their biggest balancing act. Shotguns and Pulse Rifles are great tools for dealing with aliens as always, but if you aren't truly skilled with them in all situations, you can use the sniper rifle or smartgun to fight the predators as these weapons were built to have an enemy tracking feature.

I've spent the least amount of time playing as the Predator so far, but he seems to be the most balanced out character this time around. In the past, predators had very little mobility aside from a tall vertical jump to help them scale walls or find a sniper spot. This time around, you can hold the shift key to target an area within range to leap to and hit jump to do so. This allows them to move between the trees, rooftops and ground with exceptional ease. The same feature can also target an enemy and be used to leap onto them like Wolverine leaping off of a turnbuckle. In AvP 1 and 2, you only had two options: either use overpowered ranged weapons that gave your position away, or run straight at your opponent on his flank and hope he doesn't see you in time to mess you up. Now there's a third option: Taking to high ground and moving above your opponents to leap down on top of them and take them out quickly. The predator now has the same ability to use the environment to his advantage as the alien for quick, quiet melee kills which are much more satisfying anyway.

The part of the game that requires the largest learning curve is melee. In the good old days, if a marine didn't kill an alien by the time it closed with him, he deserved to die, and he probably would. Now each species has the ability to hit with different attacks as well as block. While this is irritating at first, it begins to be your lifeline as it's central to the game's balance. An alien may attempt to rush a marine directly and go for a swing. The marine can block a light attack and counter with the butt of his weapon to knock the bug down. Then he can spray the critter with lead until it's dead. On the other hand, the alien could pounce onto marine and, while he's stunned from that, wind up with his heavy attack that can't be blocked. If he hits with it, he can then follow up with a flurry of quick attacks to finish his opponent. At the same time though, a heavy attack can be stopped while it's winding up with a light attack. A predator could smack the alien to stop his attack and follow up with his own. It's all technique. Imagine playing the most gory version of Punch-Out imaginable. Once you've learned how to fight, melee fights are a thrill. On top of that, you can also score an instant kill if you sneak up on an opponent from behind and hit the use key once you're right next to him. It's a great way to take out a camper quickly and efficiently. Just remember, someone can do it to you after you finish killing your victim, so don't be stupid.

I personally would give the game a strong B+, since the film fan demographic that'll buy it will probably be satisfied. I love this game and I've waited 9 years for another one of these. Bear in mind, AvP2 is on my top 10 list. Those are some big shoes to fill. Just one note, there is no way the Xbox version will ever compare with the PC experience. You just plain need a mouse and keyboard to keep up with the onslaught. In addition to that, AvP utilizes DX11 for some additional graphical effects that are very pretty. Lastly, the $60 price tag for a console version sucks. $50 for PC is probably a little high for anyone who isn't a fan of the games or movies already. If it drops to $40 in the near future, however, there's no reason you shouldn't take your place in the war.

RK-Mara · Posted: Thu Feb 25, 2010 4:39 am Post subject:

Vlad Piranha wrote:

I just got done finishing the marine campaign in the game, which seems to be the best overall experience in these games

Have you played the other two campaigns yet? I've heard alien is the worst of the bunch.
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massive · Posted: Thu Feb 25, 2010 5:32 pm Post subject:

Another great fucking review Vlad....thanks for taking the time to put all that down. Much appreciated.
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Vlad Piranha wrote:

I'm offended that a zombie holocaust isn't on the list. It would be terrifying, sure, but it would be pretty sweet if you think about it.

Brutus · Posted: Sat Feb 27, 2010 12:59 am Post subject:

Nice. Available on PC?
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K9 Carlos · Posted: Sun Feb 28, 2010 9:24 pm Post subject:

Brutus wrote:

Nice. Available on PC?

10-4
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-=|CT|=- K9 Carlos

SupaFly wrote:

barreling axe is like throwing a hot dog down a hallway these days

Quote:

I didn't say it was your fault, I said I was going to blame you.

Brutus · Posted: Sun Feb 28, 2010 10:09 pm Post subject:

interesting... Very Happy

*now wants*
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Vlad Piranha · Posted: Sun Feb 28, 2010 11:58 pm Post subject:

Sadly, there is no such thing as a dedicated server for this game yet. I'm not sure why that is, but Rebellion is supposedly working on that shortcoming. That isn't to say that the game is unplayable online, but I just thought I'd better point that out.