Goes beyond the standard FPS fare by offering extremely unique game-playing roles.

Aliens vs. Predator is big on unique game-playing roles and intense combat. The premise is rather simple as you get a choice of playing either as an Alien, Predator, or Marine in an Alien-inspired environment where it’s open season amongst all three. This makes for a compelling gaming experience as each character has its own unique strengths and weaknesses.

I played the game starting with the more traditional Marine; from there moved on to the multi-functional Predator and then concluded with the incredibly agile Alien. The Marine is by far (and sort of expected), the weakest of the three characters. You accumulate the typical FPS weapons as you progress throughout the various levels but you still feel like Gomer Pyle going up against Team-Alien! In realistic-mode, it’s just plain tough to survive against what seems to be a never-ending onslaught of fast-moving Aliens. The motion tracker becomes your best buddy but it’s still a bitch to dispose of these bipeds. Even when you are able to blast them, you better get ready to evade their acidic blood, otherwise you’re burnt burger. After playing a few rounds as a Marine, you come to realize that it’s more than just an adventure - it’s a nightmare! The positive is that all of this makes for an extremely intense and almost nerve-wracking experience, especially when you factor in the limited number of saves per level.

It’s hard to believe that Fox Interactive initially released this game without a mid-level save feature - the guys at the design house, Rebellion, have obviously played too many hours of this game. Even with the added save feature, you still have to contend with the limited number of saves and you end up trying to guess when to use the saves. A running count of completed objectives would have made sense and still kept the intensity level high. There will always be multiple debates on this subject matter but I’m in the camp of limitless saves. It as simple as this - put in a reward feature that judges you on the number of saves used during a level. If you complete a level with a minimum number of saves, you get a reward (cool weapon or access to an extra level). Isn’t the difficulty level supposed to be there to make the game more of a challenge?

Now that I’ve got that off my chest, the limited save feature is not as significant of a problem to the Predator since he has an always-available “Medicomp” feature. As long as you have enough field energy, which is self-generating (increases over time), you can inject yourself with a hit from the Medicomp and are soon feeling better than Schwarzenegger on steroids. The bottom-line with the Predator is that this dude can fend for himself in the world of Marines and Aliens. His vast array of weapons makes him my personal favorite. Just his Plasma Gun alone will take out the pesky Aliens without a problem. The rest of his arsenal: Speargun, Plasmacaster, and the “Smart” Disc are all extremely effective in silencing your enemies with rather gruesome results. The Predator’s standard equipment is even more impressive. The cloaking field enables partial invisibility against Marines (effectiveness lessened with movement) but unfortunately, it doesn’t work when confronted by an Alien (damn!). The Predator’s vision mode is another effective tool and a trip to use. It enables you to view the electromagnetic spectrum of an enemy, which gives you a big edge in spotting Marines or Aliens. All you do is scroll through the different color modes and you're ready to spot enemies with ease. Predator is definitely cool as it offers some real punch to the traditional first-person character role.

But if you had to pick one FPS character that would make any gamer’s “Most Unique List” - it would have to be the Alien. First of all, you are stepping into the claws (?) of a pure creature which is not your typical FPS fare. Then your only weapons are your hands and tail. You can scale walls and hang from ceilings. Top it all off with the fish-eyed vision and you end up with a completely different dimension to the first-person perspective. It does take some time to get used to the free-range capabilities of the Alien, but once you do, the effect is truly amazing. The best advice is to get comfortable with wall scaling and use speed to your advantage. Success is predicated upon stealth and quick attacks. Any other method will result in certain death, as the Alien’s ability to withstand conventional weapons and natural fire is almost nil. Bottom-line - leave your Quake attack skills at the door, this is a whole new game when you play as the Alien.

An interesting byproduct with all of these unique game-playing characteristics and the intense combat is that you end up not paying all that much attention to the surroundings. Graphics and sound are on par with what you’d expect with a current FPS. The design of the Aliens and the Predator are very impressive but the Marines and civilians seem rather bland. AI is good and the offensive abilities of whichever enemy you are facing is first-rate. The only other area that that comes across poorly is the pathetic Marine commander narration (simply awful) and the whining cries coming from some of the Marines. I could have sworn that I heard one of them crying out for their mommy!

Level design is excellent with a heavy emphasis on vast and intricate environments. Many of the levels are Giger-influenced which makes you wish that the entire game would have been designed that way but you have to give credit to the level designers and artists for their success in effectively bringing the Alien world to your computer.

Aliens vs. Predator achieves success in its ability to go beyond the standard FPS fare by offering extremely unique game-playing roles in an environment that faithfully captures the spirit of the Alien movies. If you are expecting Quake in an Alien world then you’ve bought the wrong game. AvP is all about understanding the different characteristics of each game playing role and adjusting your strategies accordingly. This fact alone is what makes Alien vs. Predator a truly unique experience and a must-buy for any gamer that feels that first-person shooters are all the same.

If you like this type of game, you might want to also try Quake II or Half-Life.

Reviewed by James Diaz.