Aliens vs. Predator Review

Game:  Aliens vs. Predator
Year (s):  2010
Company:  dev.  Rebellion Developments
            pub.  Sega
Engine:  Asura
Type:  First-Person Shooter

Price (as of December 5, 2011 )

Regular price on Steam:  19.99
Lowest Buy-It-Now on eBay (new, with shipping):  13.95

Game Time:  13 hours, first time on normal

Obligatory Trailer:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NtpnNjh3jI


Plot

Humans, Aliens, and Predators each have their own single-player campaign.  Events in these occur at the same time, at the same facility.  The Weiland-Yutani Corporation, with their androids and machinations, play a role in each campaign. 

As a human, your squad of marines drop down to help the distressed colony.  The Alien infestation is overwhelming, and your mission quickly becomes a rush to rescue your CO and escape.

As an Alien, you bust out of a laboratory and establish Alien domination.  The Queen gives you orders telepathically.

As a Predator, you are responding to a distress call from an Elite Predator.  The Predator battles to regain artifacts looted by Weiland-Yutani, detonate the area, and kill the alien/predator hybrid. 


Graphics

The Asura engine looks much like anything else I've played in the last five years.  I sometimes had lagging problems, which could be due to the engine, to Steam, or just be a sign that my computer needs an upgrade. 

Asura uses DirectX 11, and is Rebellion's in-house engine.  There is little information online about it, and a great deal of speculation without citation (mostly on forums).  The bottom line: it looks good, but is more system-intensive than most games.


Gameplay

Each race has a different set of weapons, abilities, HUD, view of the world, etc.  Each one is unique and therefore requires a different approach to the same situations.  This is most interesting in areas shared by each campaign.

Human gameplay is pretty standard.  There's a handful of weapons, but you can only carry a few.  Flares, a flashlight, a short sprint, and up to three stimpacks on-hand.  Nothing new here.

Aliens can climb on every surface (I love the concept, but it's quite disorienting).  They can see in the dark, and rely on stealth to kill targets one at a time.  No ranged attacks.

Predators are somewhat of a middle ground, with both ranged and melee attacks, and the ability to be invisible to humans.  They can jump great distances, making them the middle for maneuverability too.  At the end of their campaign, when I had all of the Predator's weapons, they seemed to be the most powerful.


Audio and The Movies

Voice actors from the movies are featured (most recognizably Lance Henriksen), as well as some of the same sound effects.

Motivations of the corporation remain true to the movies.  Aliens and Predators behave just like in the movies, with the same methods of attack.  The human's motion-sensing radar is featured, straight out of the movies, and the plot seems to fit with what has been established before.  Rebellion stayed true to the franchise enough to satisfy strict fans. 


Expansions / DLC / Sequels

There are currently two DLC map packs that add new content to multiplayer only.

Aliens vs. Predator held sales records in the UK, on Steam, and on the PC charts.  Rebellion's CEO has stated he is in discussion with Sega in regards to a sequel, but there have been no announcements yet.


Final Thoughts

I like the Alien and Predator movies well enough.  This game is much like playing a movie.  The graphics are great, but the game itself is rather average.  So much potential yielded no fear factor, and zero firefights that really fulfilled me.  Overall:  if you like the franchise, it's alright.  Otherwise, don't bother with this one.