Who is afraid of the bad monster?

Version tested: PC

Small summary of the franchise: take a sci-fi series that has launched or confirmed some of the best directors of the last thirty years (Alien) and put it together with another, much lower but still with a marked appeal to the public (Predator), mix and that you will get is a crossover for all seasons, from comics to movies without forgetting video games.

Rebellion made school in this sense and in 1999, after a first attempt on the Atari Jaguar, he launched what probably remains his most successful work on the market. More than ten years later and after a 2009 to be forgotten - Shellshock 2 and Rogue Warrior still should be understood how they arrived in stores - the Anglo-Saxon software house tries again and with this Aliens vs. Predator try to return to the glories of the past. The result, it should be said right away, cannot be counted among those of unforgettable importance, but the title has some interesting ideas by experiencing an atmosphere that is sometimes successful and some gameplay choices that cannot be experienced elsewhere.

variants

The selection of Aliens vs. Predator is based almost entirely on the possibility of impersonating a representative of the three forces in the field, passing from the defenseless marine to the animal-like Alien up to the Predator. The three campaigns therefore take place separate but parallel, sharing a rather narrow and retired narrative plot, based as it is on the usual presence of an alien planet, an alien pyramid, two alien races plus one, alien to the others, which reaches where it shouldn't. be trying to make good and bad times. The idea is nevertheless functional to create the basis for giving body to an atmosphere capable of arousing different sensations depending on the clothes worn at that moment.

The formula works especially in the first case, along the marine's campaign, where impersonating a rookie you will first have to make your way between now desolate complexes and the jungle, to try to survive, and then stand up as savior of the homeland, foiling the usual threat that leaves room for reflection on who between the apparently defenseless man and the other two species is the real threat. The first third of single player is therefore structured as a classic shooter, with a handful of weapons available apparently limited in number - just five between submachine gun, flamethrower, shotgun and precision shotgun to which is added a sort of high-tech gatling - but more than enough to manage the constant attacks of the Aliens, truly spectacular in their movement along the walls, playing with the dark corners present a little everywhere. The level design alternates some sessions of linear movement between corridors and rooms often filled only by sinister creaks, with slightly larger areas that are the theater for prolonged assaults, perhaps repetitive but genuinely fun in their constant need not only to shoot madly, but also to identify the position of the threat, strategically using both the torch and the more powerful but short-lived flares. About three and a half hours in the company of a novice soldier, in tension for a threat often only feared by a series of clichés, however functional, aimed at alerting and partially mortified by a final phase against some rather standard but rendered humanoid enemies. annoying by a sort of cooldown that, fired at them a shot, prevents them from being hurt for a few moments before being able to damage them again.

Discarded the role of a sweaty human and dressed as an Alien born in a research center installed on the planet, we are faced with the least convincing portion of gameplay ever. The premises are good and the tutorial dedicated to movements and attacks was successful, as well as the writer did not cause too much trouble even the camera which, given the possibility of walking on every wall, could initially prove to be difficult. The problems are rather detectable in two distinct but fundamentally important elements: the alien has no motivation other than to entice some human and the arrow that indicates the next goal, thus preventing the creation of an empathic bond that enhances the atmosphere, while the clashes are initially fun being based on the assumption of a physical superiority over the opponents and, therefore, on the need to create some opening to attack in a stealthy as well as devastating way, but they almost always take place within the usual closed areas to be cleaned before moving on to the next one. With the marine, the tension and frenzy of his style of play, the formula worked well, in this case a little less.

The Predator is a sort of middle ground between the two previous ones, with an interesting background and the ability to move vertically on several floors, combining invisibility with gadgets - lethal, of course - in some cases to be recharged using the special scattered control units. a little everywhere. This last portion of the game combines some less convincing elements, such as hand-to-hand clashes that often become confusing, with others significantly more inspired and the perception of how Rebellion has worked well on the levels to make them recyclable but always different at the time of being played. in each of the three campaigns. As mentioned at the beginning, Alien vs Predator is pleasant to play and some design solutions work in their uniqueness, so it is a pity that many ideas have been left in power and so much of the good present can be carried over to what was experienced in 1999. To complete the experience in single writer took about eight hours and replayability is guaranteed only by a scoring system that does not push anyone who would not have already done so to pick up the question from scratch.

Heavy inheritance

The multiplayer has on its shoulders the heavy legacy left by the game of which it is in practice a remake, a mixture of adrenaline and possibility that at the time bewitched many. Unfortunately, the version tested for the review was complete with everything but sadly empty of people with whom to launch into the action, leaving us the only possibility to make some evaluation starting from previous experiences.

The demo released recently was rather unfair, ten months old as it was - it was packaged for E3 2009 - and with the free-for-all deathmatch mode that does not in any way decline the potential expressed when in teams, mixed or even better divided according to the species they belong to. Some extra options, such as the one that pits seventeen marines against a Predator or an Alien, capable of converting victims into its own kind, should then add other fanciful possibilities to a compartment for eighteen players at first sight of good perspective, provided that the six maps inserted are sufficiently well designed and increase in number over time. There are also two environments in which to play cooperatively, alone or up to four against the computer for as long as possible, but they seem quite ends in themselves. It is useless to dwell on the issues related to the balance with so few games on the shoulders, moreover on the demo; certainly there is no lack of adrenaline and no fun either.

Curiosity

The series Aliens vs. Predator he has been a plucked chicken over the years: from comics designed by Chris Warner and published by Dark Horse Comics up to fifteen video games, passing through three novels and a successful series of action figures. Ah, there are also the two films, how to forget them: the second is the worst of the two, despite the fact that Raul Bova starred in the first. How is it possible? No alien pyramid has answered this question yet.

Lights and shadows

Mouse and keyboard were once again called upon to triple their commitment, with fully customizable mapping but already more than satisfactory from the start, except for the bizarre choice of placing the Alien sprint on the Q key. There have been some complaints about a bit of lag in the mouse cursor: the writer has not experienced problems and for those who have it it could be a problem related to v-sync or some option in the graphics card panel aimed at forcing the number of images per second. The pad is supported but certainly not the best option, as usual when in first person. Technically, Rebellion's work left quite well impressed despite the tested version stopping at DirectX 9 support, while the one coming out in stores should adopt the eleventh version of the graphics libraries, at least according to what was stated. The models of the characters and often some elements of the backdrop are poor in polygons, it is true, but the lighting is absolutely of the highest order with numerous dynamic light sources that allow you to create reflections and shadows functional to the atmosphere, almost from survival horror in some sections of the campaign dedicated to the marine.

The animations are normal but the ones that matter, the quick sneak of the Aliens, work as well as the final moves performed by both the aforementioned monsters and the Predator, between spines eradicated from the bodies and cameras that linger on the cranial perforation. of the unfortunate poor. In multiplayer, the lighting system loses a lot but the downgrade is, as always, sacrificed on the altar of performance, after all it is not what matters. The sound is also good, everything is always aimed at increasing heartbeats but really in evidence with originality only in a passage inside a nightclub, with the music pumping from the speakers and the Aliens coming out of the fucking walls.

Comment

Resources4Gaming.com

7.2

Readers (220)

8.3

Your vote

A good first campaign, the one dedicated to the marine, and the offer of a gameplay with a certain variety are the strengths of a title that amuses but leaves many elements without the care they deserved. Ups and downs that recommend the purchase to those who are really determined or looking for something different, hoping that multiplayer turns out to be as good in time as it could be if everything were to work perfectly. The undecided or those overwhelmed by the releases of a first part of 2010 full of news, could go elsewhere or opt for the rental, on balance the perfect formula for Aliens vs. Predator.

PRO

• Three games in one
• As the marine you have fun and the spirit of the franchise is well exploited
• Potentially frenetic and long-lived multiplayer
• Technically it presents excellence

AGAINST

• Three short games in one
• The Predator campaign works in half, that of the Alien very little
• Different from many other titles but not original at all
• Plot already seen and heard. It's still. It's still.

PC System Requirements

Test Setup

• Processore AMD Phenom II X3 [email protected]
  
• 4 GB of Ram
  
• Scheda video Radeon HD 4890

Minimum requirements

• Windows 7 / XP / Vista
  
• 1 GB RAM (XP)/ 2 GB RAM (Vista)
  
• 3.2 GHz Intel Pentium 4/Athlon 64 3000+
  
• DirectX 9.0c compatible video card with 128 MB RAM (NVIDIA 6600, ATI X1600)

Recommended Requirements

• Windows 7 / XP / Vista
  
• Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 the equivalent
  
• 2 GB RAM
  
• DirectX 9.0c compatible video card with 512 MB RAM (NVIDIA 8800 series, ATI HD2900 PRO)