If you're scared of the dark, this one will terrify

I'll be honest. I'm 32, and while I laugh at movies like The Exorcist, Alien and Aliens scared, and still scare, the heck out of me. Well, this game does the same!

I received it as a gift and was eager to try it out. Unfortunately for me, I tried it at night, in a dark room. The ambiance is absolutely frightening. I started off by playing the Colonial Marine, and I could feel the hair stand up on the back of my neck as I carefully made my way down dark halls with only weak red lights to light the way. Alarms sounded in the distance, and the missions (you're left alone and have to make your way out) really make you feel alone and afraid. And when you hear the distant screeches of the Aliens, my pulse would race as I spun around trying to see where they were coming from.

The game is realistic to the extreme. The Aliens use walls and ducts to move around, making you work to look for them as you make your way through that first creepy colony. Facehuggers lurk in dark alcoves, too.

Oh, and there are two other types you can play as...Alien and Predator. The three characters make for an absolutely excellent game, allowing you to play three different versions and use three seperate tactics to complete your levels.

The Marine is in the middle physically, but has the most impressive arsenal of weaponry. Flamethrowers, Smartguns, and the old reliable 10mm rifle all make their appearance here...along with others. The Smartgun is the best one, because it auto-aims; this helps tremendously when you're being charged by an Alien who is bouncing at you, going from wall to wall to ceiling to floor. Drawing a bead on them while they're doing that is difficult with a regular weapon.

The Alien is the physically weakest character in the game, but the fastest - and he can climb on walls and ceilings. Believe me, you'll need these skills down in order to survive. As deadly as the Alien is, the Marines you come across aren't pushovers. Some of the humans you come across are civilians who run in fear and then cower in corners as you approach them. Lunchtime!

The Predator is the most powerful character, in my opinion, whose only weakness is having to constantly get 'power-ups' to keep his energy-hungry arsenal functioning properly. You will be pleased that all the movie attributes of the Pred are portrayed here accurately, especially the thumping, buzzing noise that you hear when your sight is switched to ultraviolet (the same you heard in the movie).

I love to be scared of the Aliens series, and have been disappointed in the last two movies...but this game delivers spectacularly and gives me the terror fix that I've been wanting for some time.