Aliens vs. Predator

Predator - The game developers were clearly inspired by the settings and ideas AVP (2004) helped established, which is why much of it's design in this game resembles those from the actual film, which in IMO was a bad route take. Now it's not all bad, as a matter of a fact, some of the concepts are actually quite interesting, like for example the ability to jump across long distance, from platform to platform, and the fact that the disc actually requires skill to eliminate your opponent unlike it's predecessor which featured a lock-on tracker system allowing killing Humans and Aliens to be far to easy. The sound bites were arguably the biggest disappointment about playing as the Predator, because literally all the sounds the Pred makes have been re-recorded, leaving the player with no famous roar, or screech but instead a mutated horse which doesn't in the slightest sound anything like a Predator should. The single-claw approach along with the updated sound effects almost makes for a different creature, and therefore doesn't leave you feeling like your controlling a Predator, which overall is rather disappointing. The campaign was rather flat story-wise, but I did enjoy the expansion of the Predator culture, and slashing Aliens never gets old especially since there's many trophy kills and normal strikes to choose from. The lack of the combi-stick and/or net gun was also disappointing..

game-play - 8/10 story - 6/10

Alien - One thing I must say that they improved on with the Alien game-play in terms of realism, was that they finally fixed the heat bite feature. In all 6 of the Alien films, it's clearly established that the 'little mouth' pokes a hole right through the center of the human forehead, which is exactly what the Alien does here. In lets say, AVP2; the Alien completely bites the head off, which whist looks cool doesn't fit in with the logic of the Alien's capabilities -- so I was glad to see this fixed up. The controls look and fell accurate to how the Alien moves and behaves, but having said that the pounce is no longer in tact which I found disappointing considering stunning enemies and then attacking them when there most vulnerable in terms of movement, was one of the funnest things to do in AVP2. The sounds have once again been modified, and apart from a death scream, all the original sounds have been replaced, but in this case, I actually don't mind 'em as much as the awful re-made roars the Predators make. I'm about half-way through the single player campaign and while I heard a lot of positive reviews about it, I was quite underwhelmed; mainly due to the fact that you don't start as a face hugger and work yourself up through the life cycle which I really enjoyed in the AVP2 Alien campaign.

game-play - 7.5/10 story - 4/10 (so-far)

Marine - Quite possibility the most underrated single-player campaign out there. I really enjoyed the dark and creepy atmosphere of the Marine, and IMO, it really captured the fear of the Aliens again, since there really wasn't much light and you had to use your motion tracker and flares to get an idea of where they were located. The weapon selection was a bit of a let down considering there was no rocket launcher or mini-gun to choose from, and the sniper whist understandably toned down from its 'overpowered' approach in AVP2, doesn't do near enough damage as it should. Overall I found the Marine to be quite entertaining; and it was easily the best single-player experience in the game.

game-play - 8/10 story - 9/10

It's good, it's pretty good. I am glad that somewhat in 2010... we put back some things on the right path. After AVP (2004) and AVP Requiem (2007), which I didn't like at all... I thought that all that alien & predator thing is going down the drain. But, thanks to this new video game, and film "Predators", we got some interesting stuff here. Now, let's get back to the game. Graphics - incredible, gameplay - amazing, what can I say, atmosphere and music were great too. And still it kept good impression when you are playing with Alien, or predator, or the marine. Again you feel cool when you are playing with each of them, and their stories are connected, just like in AVP 2 (2001) video game. Though, I don't think that the action scenes, or some moments in the game were not that much tense and not very high voltage. It's kinda slow. This game rules because of good graphics and gameplay, but the plot is weak. Never, during gaming, I have never felt anything exciting in the plot, it's pretty simple, and I feel sorry for that. The intros for all three campaigns were good, but as the plot moves on... something was missing. Maybe it was about these changes that occurred within Alien and Predator canon/universe. You can see that in the game, and there are pretty cool moments with those changes. Like, for example, giving predators much more deeper hunter culture. But, I like things simple. That's just me. When I heard so much about this game, and I expected to be something big, yet simple, and it wasn't ... It was really good, but without the plot... 60% of it is good. But, still highly enjoyable.

I'm not really a big fan of First Person Perspective games. I do think that Aliens vs Predator would have been better as an over-the-shoulder third-person actioner, even the 1994 side-scrolling beat-em-up version was better than this. But for what it is, it's still a worthwhile game.

I wasn't immediately hooked, to be honest. I found the combat system to be clunky and difficult, though once the first level was cleared things got better (this applies to all three campaigns). Some of the gameplay and tense moments actually reminded me a lot of Condemned 2: Bloodshot. You play as either the Predator, Colonial Marines, or an Alien in three individual stories that all tie together, each with their own set of pros and cons.

The story follows on from those utterly awful AvP movies, but connects it with the Alien and Predator franchise in a more cohesive way than those cinematic travesties managed. But the video game franchise of this particular crossover has been stuck as a First Person actioner since 1999 and with this next-gen incarnation I think that Sega and Rebellion should have tried a new approach.

Despite the flaws, it's an enjoyable game that's very easy to play, if not finish, with plenty of trophies available.

Graphics B Sound B Gameplay B- Lasting Appeal B-

When playing as a marine it is really satisfying shooting the aliens but then tiresome when you have to fight wave after wave. You play as a marine who has to find his way out of a situation and there is only one way you can get out, by killing everything in sight.

Sometimes it is a good idea to just run away and leave your alien opponents behind you - it does work.

I have only played a bit on alien but completed the game on hard when being marine but predator however, remains untouched.

I must note that there was an aimbot in play when progressing through this title. I had no control over the aimbot I either turn the game off and not play or live with it. I don't know maybe it had something to do with 20th Century Fox having being part in production.

Just buy it it is so cheap now have a bit of a thrill.

Compared to Colonial Marines: this looks like goddamn Bioshock. It's got problems in terms of visuals (at times they look okay, other times they're hideous), the focus on melee combat takes much of the suspense out of the game as you can simply push yourself up against a wall and hold the "block" button, and the story leaves a bit to be desired. But this truly captures the aesthetic of the universe: no other game makes you truly feel like you're playing as the Predator or the Xenomorph like this one does. It's so much fun to play as the alien terrorizing colonist and helpless marines: only wish the campaign was a bit longer. The survival mode is also a fun time waster. Overall: give this one a try if you're a fan of the franchise. It's available on the Xbox store and is backwards capatible, it's worth it if you love these movies like I do.