Aliens vs. Predator is a science fiction first-person shooter video game, developed by Rebellion Developments, the team behind the 1999 original PC game, and published by Sega for Microsoft Windows, the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360. The game is based on the Alien vs. Predator franchise, a combination of the characters and creatures of the Alien franchise and the Predator franchise. It was released February 16, 2010 in the US,[4] February 19 in Europe[5] and February 18 in Australia.
Gameplay
There are three campaigns in the game, one for each race/faction (the Predators, the Aliens and the Colonial Marines), that, while separate in terms of individual plot and gameplay, form one overarching storyline.
Following the storyline of the campaign modes comes the multiplayer aspect of the game. In this Multiplayer section of the game, players face off in various different gametypes in various different ways.[2]
Predators
As in the films, the Predator prefers to stalk its prey from the safety of treetops and the gameplay reflects this, the player leaping from branch to branch automatically with the help of a "focus jumping" game mechanic. The Predator has different vision modes, the most recognizable from the films being a thermal imaging scanner, but the player also has different vision modes for spotting Aliens (only accessible from a special mask the player picks up in-game) and viewing the world normally. For example, the Heat Vision mode allows the player to see marines very clearly, while it renders Aliens nearly invisible; the Alien vision works in reverse, making aliens appear clearly and marines nearly invisible. Regular vision allows one to see the environment and other predators better than the former two visions, making battles between two or all three species a tactical juggle to prioritize enemies based on their threat to the player.[2]
The Predator’s gameplay is more based on stealth and tactics than the average first-person shooter. The player has to be aware of Aliens, which have the ability to see through a Predator's cloaking device, that may climb up a tree and attack from below as well as taking care not to reveal themselves to marines too early as the marines’ weaponry and numbers are more than a match for the Predator. For long-range weaponry, the Predator can use a shoulder-mounted plasma cannon in addition to a glaive-like disc and a combi stick (or throwing spear). For close-range combat, the Predator has four retractable wristblades on its arms.[2]
The wristblades allow for the Predator to perform a "trophy kill," a nod to the movies in which the Predators take trophies, usually skulls, from their defeated enemies to show their prowess in the hunt. OXM labeled the trophy kill mechanic as "spectacularly violent" and it has been partially censored to avoid an Adults Only rating in the United States as it was "several measures more graphic" than any other recent games. There are several animations, one of which is, a "terrified" marine dragged into the center of the screen by his or her throat, which the Predator then snaps effortlessly with the accompanying sound of "someone biting into raw celery." The neck broken, the Predator decapitates the marine, a "sizeable portion" of the spinal cord following. Even after this, the marine is still alive for a short period of time, "gasping his last, with nothing but bloodied, glistening vertebra beneath his chin."[2]
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/7/7b/Aliensvs.Predator.jpg/220px-Aliensvs.Predator.jpg)
Jason Kingsley, the CEO of Rebellion, defended the brutality of the trophy-kill system, stating "This is obviously a game based on adult-rated movies, and we want to make sure it’s very clearly an adult-rated game. It's an issue for me; some computer games are for kids – we're not making a computer game here for anyone other than adults. That's very clear and within that context, I think the violence is part of the character and the world – so we're talking about a fantasy world here and fantasy creatures and we're talking about trying to build up a mythos. I remember the first time I saw it, one of the particular Predator kills, everyone went 'Oooh.' But it's what the Predator does in the movies."[2]
The Predator campaign explains how their species considers the war tactics of the human Marines juvenile. A quote from the intro states “We are old, my brother. Our race is few and scattered. Our ancestry lost to myth. The humans are still children, creatures of desire and hubris, with no comprehension of the long hunt. Still, they make good sport.. They have discovered a trophy long locked away. They must not be allowed to find the crucible that spawned our most respected prey. If they succeed, all life will succumb to the crawling dark...” The Predator played is never actually named though most people claim its name is Dark because on multiplayer mode the players skin is called Dark but no one knows for sure, the closest thing he has to this is his rank, which is "Elite", only something he obtained after completing his trials. It is clear however, that the constant events he fights and survives through gains him a massive amount of respect by the end of the Predator campaign, including gaining an ancestral Predator mask from an ancient temple, (which grants him the Alien vision mode).
Aliens
Aliens fight in close-quarters with their claws and tails, getting as close as possible to their prey as quickly as possible. Aliens have the ability to climb walls and jump from distances without effort, and can blend in with shadows, using darkness to their advantage. Within limited ranges, aliens can seek out prey through walls. These senses also allow Aliens to clearly observe cloaked Predators. In the single player campaign, players will have the opportunity to harvest 'hosts'. By pinning the host, nearby facehuggers are able to locate and latch on to them, thereby propagating the Hive. Throughout the game, the player also has the opportunity to perform 'Stealth Kills'.
Colonial Marines
The Colonial Marine campaign is far closer to that of a standard first-person shooter. Marines carry a wide arsenal including pulse rifles, flamethrowers, and auto-tracking Smartguns. To help navigate the surroundings, marines are equipped with shoulder-mounted lamps, surveying flares to briefly illuminate darkened areas, and motion trackers, capable of providing info on hostile positioning as they move.
Plot
Marine
As a Marine, the game starts out above the planet, with the Marines squads on two separate ships, one of which is identified as the USS Marlow. The Marines have been given orders for a combat drop. When the Predators' ship comes out of cloak and destroys the Marlow, Major Van Zandt directs the surviving shuttle to land. The player Marine, dubbed "Rookie", is knocked out during the drop, and regains consciousness in the heart of the chaos itself. At Corporal Tequila's direction, Rookie is sent to several parts of the wrecked human colony with the purpose of getting systems back online to locate all the surviving Marines, especially Major Van Zandt. However, the Major is discovered cocooned, forcing Rookie to shoot him.
Moving further into the newly established hive within the refinery, Rookie encounters the Alien Queen and sets her on fire, ultimately killing her in an explosion with help from Tequila. Going through the swamp, Rookie is contacted by Tequila, on-board a drop ship to pick him up, but the ship comes under fire from an unknown assailant and crashes before a rescue can be made. The now-stranded Rookie receives the assistance of the colony's Administrator, Katya, from the Weyland-Yutani group originally sent to investigate the pyramid. Following Katya's instruction, Rookie is able to locate other survivors throughout the ruins and fight and kill a Predator before finally rescuing Tequila herself. Tequila asks the Rookie to shoot her but Katya informs him that if Rookie could get her to the research lab, Katya could perform surgery on Tequila to extract the Chestburster from her. Weyland finds out about this during the procedure and cuts the power to prevent Katya from trying to remove the Alien from Tequila and is forced to put her into a stasis capsule to prevent the Alien from hatching and killing her.
With their dropship and the Marlow destroyed, Rookie is informed by Katya, after finding out that she was an android, that Weyland has his own dropship and a personal datapad with vital information on it that cannot be left behind. Rookie goes below the facility to confront Weyland himself in order to acquire his datapad and use it to recall Weyland's personal dropship, getting himself, Tequila, and Katya off the planet and in the process revealing the Weyland who was on the base was an android the entire time. Rookie, Tequila, and Katya are then seen in cryo-sleep on-board the dropship, which is traveling to Weyland's personal cruiser, which is in orbit around the planet, while the pilot uploads the datapad's contents to Weyland's cruiser's computer. Weyland is then delighted to learn that Tequila's chestburster is secure, and to receive the contents of the datapad: the location of the Xenomorph homeworld.
Alien
As an Alien, the game starts out in a laboratory, where humans are being kept imprisoned. As one of them wakes up, a chestburster emerges from another subject, killing him, and soon after, another kills him too. As scientists enter the room to collect the specimens, they find that "Specimen 6" is missing. A Chestburster then emerges from the victim's mouth, rather than the containment tube, and as a result the room is gassed by head scientist Doctor Groves, killing the two scientists. However, Mr. Weyland himself prevents the death of the creature, impressed with the chestburster's cunning, and tells Groves to assign the creature to a special program.
Soon after, once Specimen 6 is fully grown, during an observation of its abilities, it is told by its Queen, which is also imprisoned, to escape, but it is gassed and recaptured. As Mr. Weyland opens the door to ancient ruins built by the Predator species' ancestors, the structure emits a beam of light that disables the local human colony's systems, also releasing Specimen 6's restraints, allowing it to escape. Specimen 6 releases the other Aliens and the queen. Once free, the Aliens go to the colony and the nearby refinery, where they begin to multiply through Facehuggers. The Alien Queen establishes a hive in the refinery and the Aliens become dormant until the arrival of the Marines.
After the Marines' arrival, Specimen 6 begins to kill Marines and disable the human colony's systems. While on its mission, it eventually finds itself at the ruins Mr. Weyland opened, where it and other Aliens encounter a group of Predators, which they immediately battle and kill. An Elite Predator appears and battles Specimen 6, who weakens it to the point that a Facehugger is able to attach itself to it. As Specimen 6 returns to the Hive through the jungle, it stops and is physically stunned as it sees the refinery is on fire, and senses that the Queen is trapped in the fire set by the Colonial Marine "Rookie," (as seen in the Marines Campaign) and died in an explosion. As it goes into shock, Mr. Weyland and a few combat androids discover Specimen 6, and on Weyland's request, they capture it. They take the captured Specimen 6 off-world to an orbiting ship, where Number 6 kills the crew, and escapes. It is shown that Specimen 6 opened a vent and began to build a hive in the ventilation system. It is then shown that Specimen 6 has metamorphosed into a new Alien Queen.
Predator
As a Predator, the game starts in the jungles, where a "youngblood" is proving himself to be elite. Once the trials are complete, the player character is assigned the rank of Elite, and dispatched with a group of other Predators to a planet to investigate a distress call, sent by one of the Youngbloods, from another planet (BG 386). On arriving at BG 386, the Predator ship destroys the orbiting Marine ship, the USS Marlow, and launches the Elites to the planet's surface.
On the planet, the character finds one of the dead Youngbloods, and sets it's wristbracer to self destruct in order to keep the humans from discovering their technology. The player character is told to make trophies of humans on account of their intrusion on the planet, which is one of their ancient, and therefore sacred hunting grounds for Xenomorphs, or Aliens. The player goes on to infiltrate the Colonial Marine's forward base in the colony, disabling the systems and releasing the Xenomorphs into the open. The Predator infiltrates the Refinery, and finds the Alien Queen already killed by Rookie, the Marine from the Marine campaign. The Predator enters the ruins after escaping the refinery and finds the mask of an ancient and legendary Predator. Replacing his own with this mask, the character gains the ability to see and target Aliens in the dark as well as holes and crevices from where they can hide. The mask plays back holographic scenes from many years back celebrating the Predators' first victory over the Aliens. It is at this point the player is instructed to find a certain artifact of high importance to the Predators - an ancient wristbracer.
Venturing through the ruins, the player character finds stranded Colonial Marines and more Aliens. Reaching an ancient combat arena, the Elite battles a new Alien Queen and some of her Alien warriors. When the player defeats her, the Predator acquires a Combi-stick, a spear-like weapon that can be thrown while maintaining the thrower's cloaking.
The Elite then infiltrates the lab Weyland-Yutani built around the Predators pyramid and searches for the wristbracer stolen by the human colonists for research. The player character has its first encounter with the corporation's combat androids. Weyland attempts to capture the Elite for live experimentation, but fails to capture him. The player successfully acquires the wristbracer, and makes it to the tomb. The character is then informed the wrist bracer is to be used to wipe out the entire tomb, as its sanctity had been violated by the humans, and to purge the stain on the Predator's history.
Development
In December 2008, a Kotaku article stated that Sega had announced that an Aliens vs. Predator video game was being developed.[6] This meant that Sega's other upcoming game, Aliens: Colonial Marines, would be pushed back so Aliens vs. Predator could be released first.It was later confirmed that Lance Henriksen was involved as one of the characters of the game, he plays Karl Bishop Weyland (descendant of Charles Bishop Weyland from Alien vs. Predator (film)). It was also later confirmed that William Hope (actor) (Lt Gorman in Aliens) got involved, he plays as Dr Groves, a major character in the Alien campaign.
Australian controversy
An early build of the game was submitted for review to the OFLC, but was denied classification in Australia and effectively banned for sale altogether. Sega announced that there would not be a re-cut version released in Australia, and that they would appeal the decision. The game's refusal of classification again brought up the issue of a need for an R18+ rating in games, a move supported by many members of the public and government members.[7][8]
As of December 18, Sega has successfully won the appeal on the classification of the game in Australia.[9] "It is with great pleasure that we announce the success of our appeal," says Darren Macbeth, managing director of Sega Australia. "We are particularly proud that the game will be released in its original entirety, with no content altered or removed whatsoever. Australian gamers applaud the Classification Review Board on making a decision that clearly considers the context of the game, and is in line with the modern expectations of reasonable Australians."
The Board noted that "the violence depicted in the game can be accommodated within the MA 15+ category as the violent scenes are not prolonged and are interspersed with longer non violent sequences. The violence is fantastical in nature and justified by the context of the game, set in a futuristic science-fiction world, inhabited by aliens and predators. This context serves to lessen its impact. The more contentious violence is randomly generated and is not dependent on player selection of specific moves."
Reception
Critical reception
Aggregator | Score |
---|---|
GameRankings | X360: 64.25%[13] PS3: 66.11% [13] |
Metacritic | X360: 64/100[10] PS3: 66/100[11] PC: 68/100[12] |
Publication | Score |
---|---|
1Up.com | D [17] |
Eurogamer | 6/10 [20] |
GameSpot | 5.5/10 [21] |
GameZone | 6/10 [19] |
IGN | 7/10 [15] |
Official Xbox Magazine (US) | 8/10 [14] |
Aliens vs. Predator has received mixed reviews from critics, and currently holds a 64.25% at GameRankings.[13] Metacritic rates the game at a similar 64%,[10] 66%,[11] and 68%[12] for the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC versions respectively. GamingShogun asked how Rebellion could have made such a lackluster title after creating the incredible, first AvP title.[22] Official Xbox Magazine praised the game for its 'Superb atmosphere' and 'Unique multiplayer', but criticized the odd melee system and how the marines could knock back an alien, relieving some of the atmosphere.[14] The most scathing review came from 1UP, who found the multiplayer hard to recommend over the prior game in the series, Aliens vs. Predator 2, describing it as 'ultimately thin and awkward'. GameZone's Dakota Grabowski gave the game a 6/10, saying "If the recent films on the Aliens vs. Predator franchise haven’t been painful enough to sit through, then perhaps video gamers worldwide are ready to stomach Sega and Rebellion’s pitiful offering. Delivering poor results and half-baked ideas, it’s my regret to call Aliens vs. Predator the year’s most disappointing title thus far."[19]
Sales
Despite its mixed critical reception, Aliens vs. Predator debuted at number one on the UK all formats chart.[23] It is currently the fastest-selling game of 2010 in the UK, a record previously held by BioShock 2.[24] It was also the best-selling game on Steam, as well as on the retail PC charts.[25][26]
Downloadable Content
Two additional map packs have been released for purchase via Steam and the Xbox Live Marketplace (for 560 Microsoft Points each) entitled Swarm[27] and Bughunt.[28] The Swarm Map Pack and Bughunt Map Pack were released on 19 Mar. 2010 and 9 Jul. 2010, respectively. Both downloads provide new multiplayer maps and survivor maps.
Sequel
Following the commercial success of the title, the co-founder and CEO of Rebellion Developments; Jason Kingsley, has stated that the developer is in discussions with Sega about creating a sequel.[29] Kingsley has expressed his personal desire to revisit the franchise.[30]
References
- ^ Kozanecki, James (August 11, 2009). "Q&A: Sega on Aliens vs. Predator". GameSpot. Retrieved 2009-08-12.
- ^ a b c d e f Channell, Mike (2009-05-07). "Aliens vs Predator". Official Xbox Magazine UK (47). Future Publishing: 32–39.
{{cite journal}}
:|access-date=
requires|url=
(help) - ^ "Aliens vs Predator System Requirements". Game-Debate. Retrieved 26 January 2010.
- ^ Aliens vs. Predator To Hatch In Stores On February 16th - Xbox 360 News at IGN
- ^ SEGA Europe Blog | Aliens vs. Predator multiplayer modes dissected
- ^ Fahey, Mike (2009-02-11). "Aliens Fight Predators Again in 2010". Kotaku. Retrieved 2009-07-21.
- ^ "News: Aliens vs. Predator banned in Australia". ComputerAndVideoGames.com. Retrieved 2009-12-05.
- ^ "News: Rebellion "disappointed" with AVP Aussie ban". ComputerAndVideoGames.com. Retrieved 2009-12-05.
- ^ Wildgoose, David. "Aliens Vs Predator Appeal Successful, Now Rated MA15+ [Updated] | Kotaku Australia". Kotaku.com.au. Retrieved 2009-12-18.
- ^ a b Aliens vs. Predator (Xbox360) reviews at Metacritic.com
- ^ a b Aliens vs. Predator (ps3) reviews at Metacritic.com
- ^ a b Aliens vs. Predator (pc) reviews at Metacritic.com
- ^ a b c Aliens vs Predator for Xbox 360 - GameRankings
- ^ a b Review: Aliens vs Predator - Official Xbox 360 Magazine
- ^ Aliens vs. Predator Review - Xbox 360 Review at IGN
- ^ Aliens vs. Predator UK Review - Xbox 360 Review at IGN
- ^ Aliens vs. Predator Review for the PS3,Xbox 360 from 1UP.com
- ^ Aliens vs Predator: Reviews, Trailers, and Interviews
- ^ a b Aliens vs. Predator Review - Xbox 360
- ^ Aliens vs. Predator Review | Xbox 360 | Eurogamer
- ^ Aliens vs Predator Review for Xbox 360 - GameSpot
- ^ http://www.gamingshogun.com/Article/6250/Aliens_vs_Predator_(PC)_-_A_Review.html
- ^ Gamasutra - News - Aliens Vs. Predator Tops BioShock 2 In UK
- ^ UK CHARTS: Aliens vs Predator takes No.1 | Games Industry | MCV
- ^ "Best-selling PC download games of the week: 'Aliens vs Predator' tops charts". The Independent. London. February 23, 2010. Retrieved April 23, 2010.
- ^ Gaming - News - 'AVP' debuts as PC number one - Digital Spy
- ^ Aliens vs Predator Swarm Pack Now Available!
- ^ Aliens vs Predator Bughunt Map Pack
- ^ AvP sales cue talk of a sequel | MMOMFG
- ^ Destructoid - Rebellion talks AvP sequel and 'totally sh*t' reviews