The best Alien/Predator Experience EVER

Despite the fact that Aliens Versus Predator was a horrible movie, the games that predated (and to a point inspired) the movie are much better. Although Rebellion made the first AvP, it was Sierra that perfected the game.

First off, if you were playing this game in 2001 when it came out, it would look cutting edge. Now, it looks like something you’d expect on a PSP. Currently, the game looks dated, but not unplayable. The levels vary between xenomorph (alien) hives and metallic military institutions. Some levels transition between the two. There are a few out door levels that just seem uninspired, but server their purpose within the game. Humans have the standard square faces of the time. The decals are pretty good, so it’s not that hard on the eyes to look at. Xenomorphs and Predators seem to have more detail put into the 3D models, but again they are nothing compared to modern games. The game has fairly low requirements (to today’s standards). It’ll run on a GeForce 2, so when I ran it on my Radeon 9600, it looked great.

The audio does its job. Voice-overs are pretty much just telling you the story, but they fail to convince. Like when the humans are under attack, I understand this, but the actual sense of urgency within the character’s panicking dialog just seems more forced than passable. At the end of the day, don’t expect any academy awards from the voice actors. The music is very reminiscent of the Aliens movies. It works well for some levels, but is better turned off. The Xenomorph shrieks and Predator snarls sound straight out of the movie. They’re by no means original, but a nice touch. It sounds like they also pulled all the weapons from the movies as well. Most notable is the distinct fire of the Smart Gun. It’s the unmistakable sound that lets you know you’re dead meat (when playing as a non-human character).

Unlike Aliens Versus Predator (by Rebellion), AvP2 features a much better story that is told from 3 perspectives. You can play as Human, Xenomorph, and the Predator. Each character has their own reason for being onsite for the events that pass. The earliest is the Xenomorph, the Predator, and then Human. I recommend playing in that order if you want to see the story in a non-Tarentino style. The Xenomorph’s story starts out as a captured specimen that is going to be used for military research. After an accident, the egg hatches and you play through the life cycle of the Xenomorph from there. The Predator starts as a hunting mission for Xenomorphs. And the human mission is in response to a Xenomorph “incident.” As you progress through the stories, they begin to intertwine. For instance, as the Xenomorph, you are reeking havoc on a facilities; meanwhile, the Predator is attacking the humans. Such things really add. Plus if you stay in certain positions long enough, you can overhear conversations that add additional information to the story.

When playing AvP2, you must become familiar with 3 play styles. Each of the 3 characters plays radically different. As the Predator, you are more like the standard FPS hero. You’re hard to kill and fairly quick. Predators have cloaking devices, but are forced to cycle between 3 vision modes to view prey. If you’re in the wrong vision mode prey that are not highlighted by the vision mode will be very difficult to see. There is a normal sight, but this is weakened by the inability to lock on to enemies. The human features the best in ranged weapons. You have all projectiles and bullet based weapons. To track your enemies, you have the new (and nerfed) motion tracker. Unlike previously, the motion tracker requires movement to pick up a nearby enemy (where as before, it could track stationary enemies). The Image Intensifier (night vision) negates the ability to use the motion tracker, but enhances your ability to see in the dark. The final character is the Xenomorph. Despite the fact that you can only use melee attacks, the Xenomorph is the most fun to play as. The newly added “Pounce” attack allows you to close the gap between you and an adversary extremely quickly. This also promotes wall jumping. The Xenomorph can cling to most surfaces which means you can escape to heights players normally cannot reach. And the Xenomorph heals by eating other players.

This is all fine and dandy when considering single player, but AvP 2 is much better in multiplayer. Unlike before, there are now 4 classes with 4 subclasses to each. You can play as Alien Drone, Runner, Predalien, or Preatorian. Each has different durability, swiftness, and strength in attacks. Only the Preatorian cannot climb walls, but it makes up for this be being built like a tank. With Predators, Marines, and Corporates, the varying subclasses determine the weapon sets you can use. If you’re tired of being fragged as a Xenomorph, I suggest finding the human or Predator that best suits your combat style. The only problem is that some classes have snipping weapons, which really get cheap in the sense that trained players can snipe others from across the level without much effort. The best levels are indoors since they allow not only for intense close quarter combat, but they also provide loads of ambush points for Xenomorph players.


One of the strongest points of AvP 2 is the authenticity of the weapons. Of course the Xenomorphs are limited to slashing with claws, but you can also whip with the tail. This provides a momentary stunning effect on the victim that gives a nice chance to get in the most lethal of all attacks (and most satisfying), the Head Bite. Head Biting is a 1-hit kill and requires precise aiming. All Xenomorphs can perform this (except face huggers and chest bursters). Predator has his infamous wrist blades, but since these are somewhat short range, they have added a spear. The spear is simply a more powerful version of the wrist blades with longer reach and the potential of a 1-hit kill (and trophy collection). Other notable weapons include the net launcher (momentary stun weapon) and everyone’s favorite Disc (ala Predator 2). The Disc seems a little less useful this time around, but it’s still fun to throw. Because almost all predator weaponry requires energy to use, the Predator is now equipped with an energy restoration device. This evens the odds a little. Cloaking is still useful, but in multiplayer, not a good use of energy unless in a dark area. Finally, the human has some of the most cliché weapons. You start with the standard pulse rifle which doubles as a grenade launcher. You also have the Smart Gun. This one is a personal favorite because it not only makes a distinct sound, but it can track opponents while you fire. Other weapons include rocket launchers and other weapons seen in mainstream FPS titles repackaged for the AvP 2 world.

Despite the age of this game, it is still a very fun title. It won’t hold up to modern titles like Half-Life 2 or Halo, but it still offers quite a bit for FPS fans, especially if you like class based FPS titles. I strongly recommend this game. It’s more of a buried treasure at this point, but still a great game. Don’t judge it base on the horrible movie released in 2004.