Aliens Vs. Predator Xbox 360 Preview: Game NOT Over

By Dave Rudden
June 02, 2009 14:26 PM PST
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When the two biggest titans of sci-fi horror fight, gamers win!

Almost every epic TV, movie, and comic book crossover has been ruined by unreasonable fan expectations. Marvel vs. DC? Hated it. WWF vs. WCW? Sucked bigtime. Freddy vs. Jason? Redefined lame. Aliens vs. Predator hasn't fared any different in Hollywood, as the movies have discouraged fans of both franchises.

Aliens Vs. Predator Xbox 360 Preview: Game NOT Over

Game (not) Over, Man!

But this is a video game magazine you're reading right now. And when it comes to video game crossovers, things are different. Capcom hasn't missed yet with their many fighting game crossover titles, and Mortal Kombat vs. DC was a winner too. Heck, even Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games wasn't half bad. We're happy to report that from what we've played so far, Aliens vs. Predator upholds the tradition of fun gaming crossovers (especially the previous AvP games), while also washing away the stink of the two movies.

Aliens vs. Predator is being developed by Rebellion Developments, a nearly 20-year old studio best known for the well-received original AvP game for the PC. From what we've heard of the concept, this new game is going to follow many of the same edicts as the original. Still set in first-person, the game will once again feature Aliens, Predators, and Colonial Marines in a remote corner of the world, each group doing their darndest to murder the hell out of anyone outside of their species.

Bleed, Bastard!

Like the original, you'll play as all three of the warring factions, but our hands-on time primarily put us under the Predator's helmet as he sought out both human and alien prey. Good old Pred is quite a different beast than the soldier-types usually found in FPS games, and his control scheme reflects that. In the version we played, the Predator had one melee and one projectile attack. Only one of the two could be armed at a time, with the right trigger performing the attack. Switching between the two proved to be a tad cumbersome, so hopefully the final version will map the two to separate buttons. The projectile weapon is the Predator's signature Plasma Caster, complete with the "three red light" aiming system. Holding down the trigger charged the shot, much like the Plasma Piston from Halo. Like that weapon, there's no ammo per se, but the efficiency depletes with each firing.

How do you "refill" your Plasma Caster? Easy. Trophy kills. When you have your melee weapon equipped, you can either swipe at your enemy for an easy kill or hone in on them and perform a trophy kill that not only helps you regain firepower, but also looks sickeningly awesome. We were able to perform trophy kills on a handful of marines, and the brutal animation never gets old. If you've seen the movies, you know that the Predator's ship is filled with "trophies"--severed heads of enemies it's defeated in battle. In the game, we get to see the collection process, as the Predator literally tears off the head of his enemies, pulling the spine out too. We attempted to perform trophy kill on an Alien as well, but due to the combination of the Alien's speed and the difficulty of the action, we couldn't perform it. Hopefully it will a bit easier in the final version.