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Gaming Review

'Aliens Vs Predator' (Xbox 360)

Released on Tuesday, Feb 16 2010

Also available on: PS3, PC
Developer: Rebellion
Publisher: Sega
Genre: First-person shooter

Alien Vs Predator. It sells itself, doesn't it? Matching two colossal science-fiction franchises and playing out their intergalactic quarrels really is mouthwatering stuff. It's a licence that has been visited numerous times over the years, and is seductive enough to lure the studio behind the famed 1999 PC version back to helm another. Despite an ambitious three classes to play around with, it's quickly apparent that this is a generic and frustrating shooter, but an enjoyable one nonetheless.

As before, it offers three campaigns for each of the starring species, but surprisingly, neither of the titular factions have been given precedence. The core of the story is that of the Marine, investigating a distress beacon at an archaeological dig, while battling swaths of xenomorph and the occasional Predator cameo. The campaigns for the two others occupy the same time and environments that the marine trudges through but open up their scale respective to their abilities - whether it be stalking on rooftops or crawling through vents. It's a tantalising prospect.

However, it's one that ends up lacking. The Marine's segment is the longest, and easily the least memorable or original. It's essentially a run-and-gun shooter, flashing a torch into dark corners and shooting whatever moves. Despite clever uses of lighting and that iconic radar reminding you of the enemy's presence, the lashings of ammunition (the basic pistol has unlimited ammo) and generous levels of auto targeting means the xenomorph isn't a force to be reckoned with. While tension is non-existent, clever use of sound bestows a strong atmosphere when exploring the dank surroundings, even if it is broken by the occasional bout of ropey animation.

The other two campaigns, lasting a swift 90 minutes each, feel like experimental downloadable content rather than an integral part of the story. But they're still the most interesting: the Alien can crawl up walls and the ceiling, while the Predator has access to spears and beheading throwing discs. Both can also instantly marine kills with gory and always satisfying stealth moves. Twisting off heads or thrusting claws through eye sockets never gets old - trust us - and between the blurred screen edges all the way down to the subtitle text, each species has their own distinct look and feel.

They both have access to melee combat, which is simultaneously the saving grace and downfall of their scenarios. While each species has a significant advantage over humans and androids, both will be cut to shreds if you charge into a group of either. A fair cop, you might argue, but the level design often plants enemies in groups in either tight spaces or wide open ones, making stealth difficult. The melee offers the chance to simply dispose of the enemy in a few hits before running away, which draws out a stray few humanoids for an easy dispatch. Since going in with your wall-running and spear throwing will finish you off in a near-instant, you'll have to resort to these cheap tactics, rendering the fancy tricks sorely neglected and making you feel undeservedly underpowered.

All three campaigns also suffer from the same set of near crippling issues. Checkpoints can be few and far between, and the game is a simple progression from objective to objective, which primarily involves powering up a generator or waiting for a lift as you hold off against waves of enemies. Occasionally this will only end once you've killed everything, leading to a laborious task of aimlessly running around corridors to slay any stray beasts. The A to B approach wouldn't be a problem if the objective markers weren't absolutely awful, flicking back and forth at intersections, or not appearing at all. While this isn't really an issue with the ground-based Marine campaign, when you're dealing with the added dimensions of rooftops, rafters and air vents, it's nothing short of a nightmare.

While the campaign can feel unfair and somewhat benign, suiting these races with real combatants in the online segments makes for a far more invigorating experience. As you might expect, the Predator generally comes on top, since it matches the firepower and melee of other classes and then some, but going toe-to-toe and outsmarting these races under the command of actual players practically makes up for the campaign's shortfalls. Species team deathmatch is a sci-fi dream come true, while our personal favorites are Infestation and Predator Hunt, where players must protect one other while the respective species strips away their number, resulting in blind firing at moving shadows and frequent bouts of mass panic.

It's these moments that pay more due service to the films than anything the scripted campaign offers. It's a brisk six hours, barring the fluff of collectables and extra difficulties, and one you won't dare contemplate again thanks to its constant frustrations and glaring direction issues. But once done, but you can't but look back favourably at the time you've had with it. Despite its many, many foibles, at heart this is a dumb shooter with lashings of fan service, and quite honestly, what more did you expect?

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