Hands-on | Alien vs. Predator

Format: PS3/Xbox360/PC | Genre: FPS | Publisher: Sega | Developer: Rebellion | ETA: February 2010

By J.D. Richardson

Along with God of War III, one of the most popular games at the Eurogamer Expo this year was Rebellion’s upcoming Alien vs. Predator revamp.

The constant crowds of people eagerly looking on, wide-eyed with excitement, were testament to that. The only thing is, it was a multiplayer only demonstration – so no single-player info here, I’m afraid. Still, that didn’t stop us from having a jolly good blast on the game.

The set-up was a four-player deathmatch, with each of the three characters available. I chose the Alien, as it has the most unique control method; I was curious to see how it handled, and how it compared to the original PC games.

It did not disappoint. The Alien sticks to and climbs up almost any surface, which adds to that fantastic sense of being able to stalk your enemies, as you sneak around and devise various ways to ambush them. Sticking to a ceiling and waiting for a hapless marine or Predator to run underneath you, then dropping down behind them and executing a stealth kill, is priceless – as are the stealth kill animations themselves, which show you slamming your tail through opponents’ chests or slashing their throats wide open. It’s all very gory, especially where the fragile bag-o’-meat marine is concerned. That said, one of the funniest animations occurs when the Predator kills the Alien, as he grabs the Alien’s little snapping inner jaw, rips it out, then holds it up while it still tries to bite the player.

//Jump around
As the Alien’s movement is lightning fast, it does take a lot of precision when navigating the maps and attacking – but that, for me, is part of its charm. When you enter that zone of concentration and you start racking up the kills, it becomes a compelling and thoroughly entertaining experience. It’s a proper skill that will have to be practiced and perfected to play competitively, as occasionally one wrong move will send you grabbing for a surface opposite to where you actually wanted to be, which can be rather disorienting.

The two maps that were on show were interesting and well-designed, with plenty of high vantage points and dark tunnels for stalking. Both were themed around old architecture, one placing you in and amongst a set of ruins in a dark jungle, and the other in an ancient temple built in worship of the actual Alien by some long-lost civilisation. Both felt right in terms of atmosphere, and both seem to fit in nicely with the lore of the Alien and Predator franchises.

Any fans of the original two games will no doubt be wondering if it actually feels like an Alien vs. Predator title – and the answer to that, if the multiplayer is anything to go by, is a resounding “yes.” It has the same ability to make your heart race and the adrenaline start pumping through your veins. It feels more akin to the vibe of the first game, so here’s hoping that the single-player experience can live up to that promise.

The only reservations I had with the build we played were regarding the slightly disappointing graphics – whose textures looked a tad on the low-res side – but this could have been down to the quality of the monitors, how close we were sitting to them, or just the fact that it’s still a work-in-progress.

Overall, though, my experience with Alien vs. Predator was a very positive one, leaving me more excited than ever about its release next February.  I absolutely cannot wait to get my hands on the full game and see what Rebellion have created. The single-player campaigns are obviously going to be the meat of the game, but as a side dish, the multiplayer already serves up a generous portion of fun.