Pre-E3 2009: Aliens vs. Predator First Look
The ultimate killing machine squares off against the perfect hunter.
May 25, 2009 - Ten years ago, Rebellion surprised PC gamers with a stellar first-person shooter based on the Alien and Predator franchises. Rebellion spent the next decade making a string of mediocre shooters that paled in comparison to its most notable work. But the UK developer is hoping to reclaim some of its notoriety with a return to the franchise that put them on the map. Along with SEGA, Rebellion is "rebooting" Aliens vs. Predator for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360.
The basic concept remains the same. Aliens, a Predator and a number of Colonial Marines are mixing it up and you have the opportunity to play as each faction. This time around, there is a strict linear story which plays out Call of Duty style, switching between perspectives after each level. One of the Predator's holy temples has been defiled by the Marines, who in turn have accidentally awakened the ancient Alien Queen living in it bowels. The first batch of "junior" predators storm in and get slaughtered by the Aliens. And thus, one of the elite alien-hunting Predators is sent in to clean up the mess.
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We were shown a level from the Predator portion of the campaign, with a promise of an unveiling of the Colonial Marines at E3. The Predator is a bad ass killing machine. He's also one ugly mofo. But despite being armed to the teeth and the greatest hunting species in the galaxy, he's not invincible. In fact, very quickly you'll learn that the Predator is a hunter, not a commando -- you can't run headlong into situations and expect to live. The Predator wins by dividing his enemy and using stealth to catch them unaware. That's not to say the Predator can't survive a direct tussle, but he's best served when played to his strengths.
Though we haven't seen how the Aliens or Colonial Marines play, it's hard to imagine either will stack up to the Predator in terms of pure enjoyment. After all, the Predator has a ton of cool toys to play with and some gnarly dreads to boot.
The Predator has several visual modes including infrared and alien vision (which highlights Aliens trying to hide in the jungle), but the most useful is his Focus Mode. In this visual mode, the Predator gets all of his necessary information about his surroundings and his prey. Objectives and important items are highlighted in red and landing points are also shown. If a jump is going to make a loud noise, the landing point icon pulses. You can make the leap if you wish, but the noise could attract attention. And as we stated earlier, you're not going to survive if you're careless.
Focus Mode also allows you to size up your targets. Pick an individual and you can analyze their close and long range threat levels and see the weapon their carrying. While the demo made picking off marines look fairly easy, it's likely that in later levels a more strategic approach is needed to deal with certain weapon loadouts. Because a pack of marines can prove a challenge, you may want to split them up. One way to do this is to mimic a human voice to lure a marine from his squad and into a trap.
![[IMG]](http://xbox360media.ign.com/xbox360/image/article/986/986263/aliens-vs-predator-20090525035331209-000.jpg)
Worst. Company Picnic. Ever.
Being stealthy is made a tad easier thanks to the Predator's cloaking ability. As in the movies, with the touch of a button, the Predator can go invisible. That doesn't mean he becomes silent or that he can't be spotted in certain situations (Marine turrets, for example, can detect an invisible Predator), but it does make things a bit easier.
There is a cost, however, in energy. Most every tool at the Predator's command eats up energy and before long you need to find sources to renew this energy. There are a plentiful number of generators that can be siphoned and you get some energy from every trophy kill.
Ah, the trophy kill. It's about time we talked about the Predator's weapons. The one constant are his blades, a pair of which extends from each hand. These are for close-quarter kills. And, more importantly, trophy kills. Get in close, pop the blades and you can shove them up through the chin and out the skull of a Marine. The coup de grace is giving a little tug to pull both head and spine right out of the human's body. It's not just for show (despite being a trophy); you can then use the severed head at retinal scanners to get into otherwise inaccessible areas in military bases.
Along with the blades, the Predator has a limitless supply of mines. Though you never have to restock, you can only have two mines out at any time. Mines are perhaps the best way to take care of Marines, because it's easy to lure them into an explosive situation and a mine doesn't give away your location.
![[IMG]](http://xbox360media.ign.com/xbox360/image/article/986/986263/aliens-vs-predator-20090525035335740-000.jpg)
In about two seconds, this fool's head's going to pop off.
One thing that will give your location is your powerful plasma caster. When an enemy sees those three red lights pinpoint their chest, they're dead. Usually. The minute those lights lock onto a target, the enemy becomes aware of the impending attack (just like in the movies). You have a split second to fire before they leap out of the way. There's also an empty slot on the HUD for a fourth weapon, which is likely to be filled by a blade boomerang. Rebellion's still working on getting that right, but expect it to make the final cut.
But enough about killing Marines, what about taking down Aliens? That's where the challenge really kicks in. The jungle is full of these creatures. The Predator may be the perfect hunter, but the Alien is the perfect killing machine. Aliens drop down from trees, pop out of "bolt holes" and swarm from every corner of the jungle. If you spot one from a distance, taking it down is not problem at all. One solid blast from the plasma caster and that Alien is in pieces. But get too close and it gets a lot harder, primarily because Aliens bleed acid. Sure, you can cut one in half with your blades, but your body will be bathed in acid. You can get away with this once, but if you have two or three Aliens swarming? Your best bet is to get some distance.
It's too bad the acid is so deadly, because some of the coolest moments we witnessed were when a Predator went toe-to-toe with an Alien. Their limbs and tail can be severed, their heads lopped off too. These are persistent creatures though. Take a leg off and the Alien crawls after you. It's not a big deal if it's just you and him, but if his friends are keeping you distracted, you may not notice him crawling towards you until it's too late. And once he has a hold of you, your only viable option is to blow its head off -- but that just spews acid in your face.
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Three red lights... and you're dead.
And as if Marines and Aliens weren't enough to keep you busy, there are bigger and badder enemies waiting. Our demo ended with the reveal of the Predalien, a Predator/Alien hybrid possessing the best of both creatures. Consider it the perfect hunter and killer. And, of course, somewhere out there is the Alien Queen waiting for a tussle.
AVP has the makings of a great shooter. Visually it's a knockout (and there's still many more months of polish to come) and the concept is a proven winner. Each section of the campaign is said to have its own feel to it, which falls in line with the original game. Playing as a Marine was a downright frightening experience in Rebellion's first crack at the franchise. We're told to expect that same sort of division, with the Predator being about stealth, Aliens being about speed and constant assault and the Marines feeling more like survival horror. Multiplayer is also going to be a factor, but don't expect to learn much about that for a while. For now we'll just have to be satisfied with a brief look at what playing the Predator entails.
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