Aliens vs. Predator is an action title developed by Rebellion Studios and published by Sega. The multiplayer only demo was recently released and we downloaded the reasonable 780mb demo to try what looked to be a unique multiplayer… and unique it is.
The demo gives us one map and game mode to try out with a lobby consisting of up to 8 players. The game mode titled ‘Deathmatch’ allows you to choose between Marines, Predator or Alien classes in a free-for-all scenario. The map is very well laid out and very reminiscent of scenes from the Alien movies where the iron structures all taken over by alien hive in certain areas.
I picked the badass Predator to experience the nostalgia of what the young boy in me thought was the ‘coolest’ villain. I must admit to being completely disorientated at first with the controls as I was expecting a traditional ‘shooter’ type layout. A few minutes in and accustomed to the controls I took a minute to take in the dark, tense and thrilling ambience, once again much like the movies. Other players (Aliens, Predators and Marines) are highlighted in green and you can see them through levels. I was quickly killed by an alien crawling on the ceiling… [Editor] cool. It dropped to my level, grabbed me and stabbed straight through my skull with its tail. The rest of the round was much of the same while I was figuring out the Predators skills.
With the Predator class you can slash away with his blade-like arms, you have as with all classes, a minor and major attack. You can run, jump and move much like a super-human of sort. You can also pick up the authentic weapons and shoot away but I preferred to stick my dual-blades through everyone instead in an intense and quick manner.
I actually found the Aliens class the most interesting because as I mentioned, you can run on walls, roofs in any direction. My attacking style became a hunting style and I could use the Alien’s agility to sneak up on the rest. The Alien has two main forms of attack, his claws, and his tail. The claws are quick but do less damage while the tail though is almost an instant kill. However it does take about 1 to 1.5 seconds for the tail attack to hit after being activated as with the Predators major-attack. As with the Predator you can grab your target for a more focused attack. It allows less resistance from your target.
I did not try the Marine Class as the players I was lobbied with reported it was boring compared to the other two. I imagine you can pretty much some up what the Marine’s movement will be like being human and I imagine the focus will be on weaponry here.
In conclusion from the demo I can say that I really the retail game the moment it’s out. It captures the ambiance of movies right down to the sound making for an awesome and submersed experience which is both tense as it is exciting. It had a good old ‘jol’ and a unique multiplayer experience. You can bet that I look forward to more.
Aliens vs Predator is also available on Playstation 3 and PC. For more visit the official game site.
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