Customer Reviews

Aliens vs. Predator

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(22)

 

 

If you have never seen the movies, read the comics or played any of the AVP games... you will think this game is 'okay'.

If however you have any experience with the genre this game will be a complete let down. I've been playing this game for about the last twelve hours with a few days previous where I played it on and off but it wasn't until I read some of these reviews that it jumped out at me. 'It feels off'. The way the previous games sucked you in was with the immersion, the dialogue, the story, the sound effects, even the combat. None of these are present in this game. There is no sound effect when changing vision modes as a predator. The AI is so bad that standing on a 1 foot tall box causes aliens to circle around you, trying to figure out how to get up there so they can attack you.

Meanwhile the dialogue breaks the mood every time. As a Marine your superiors (A 19 year old girl with a New England accent that emphasizes her own name 'Tequila' like she is Latino or something. I kept imagining a native Mexican slapping her every time she said it.) Anyway, she'll call you up on the radio and tell you to abandon the barricade where all the automated turrets are at (Because it's not safe) and go stand on the other side of the building, alone, by an elevator that simply won't open while she desperately tries to remotely fix it. Apparently you need to stand there until something scary happens or until you find a box to stand on. If you get attacked by aliens, don't worry, they'll circle around you hissing like cats for a while before one of them decides to approach and duel you in scripted combat.

Bored yet? Why not sift through the audio diaries that are littered about the complex. I swear, between the incompetent space marine sergeant trying to get you killed and everyone making audio diaries while they are dying... it's no wonder that security is such an issue on this planet. Everyone is dying but it's okay, it's not like they have a back story or anything.

Predator campaign isn't much better. Subtitles from your superiors tell you that EVERYTHING is an affront to your honor and everyone just has to die. With all that technology and tens of thousands of years of history... apparently this race has nothing better to do than stealth around human worlds waiting to be insulted.

Alien campaign was actually kinda fun. All 20 minutes of it.

I am a long time fan of the Aliens and Predator franchises. When the 1999 AvP game was released, I thought I had found gold.

The 2010 version is, I'm quite sad to say, an utter disappointment to this long-time fan of the franchise.

I will point out the good things about this game first.

The environment is beautiful and perfect. Everything looks like it is supposed to look.

The story line is pretty good.

The sound is great. Everything sounds like it was sampled from the movies.

Cut scenes are great.

I LIKE that Marines can only carry 2 weapons plus a pistol. I also like that you have to hold a special key to run and the Marine can only run a certain distance before tiring and having wait before running again.

And.... well.... that's the only good things I can say about this game.

To be honest, I have only played about halfway through the Marine campaign. But so far, the gameplay is terrible. There is no crouch. Seriously. Hitting the "Jump" key seems like it causes the Marine to lift the equivalent of about 6 in off the floor. I realize his is armored and carrying a weapon but come on.

It seems the developers tried to get away from the "pickup health and armor" that is the norm for 1st person shooters. I give them credit for TRYING to think outside the box. The Marine has 1 bar for health. It is replenished by using stim-packs. There is no bar for Armor. I understand the devs wanting to do something different. Fine. But the Marines wear armor. There needs to be some way to repair it. As it is, the armor plays no role in your character. That is supposed to be one of the things that differentiates you from the Alien and the Predator.

The environment is entirely too dark. I realize that when you are a marine the environment is supposed to be dark and scary, but there is a difference between "dark and scary" and "I cant see a $^&@ thing!".

The environment is beautiful, but largely non-interactive. It actually reminds me of Doom 3.

In the first AvP game, and the AvP universe in general, Aliens are super fast, super strong, can climb anything, see in the dark and if they grab you, you are dead. Their weakness is that if the Marines see them before they can close the distance, they are turned into a pile of goo by a short burst from the Marines "Superior Firepower". Not in this game. The Aliens are slow and take about 4-5 bursts from a pulse rifle to kill.

So if the Aliens grab you, you are dead right? Wrong. Not in this crappy game. Marines can MELEE an Alien off if the Aliens grab them. "WTF" you say? You heard me. If an Alien grabs you and is about to put the jaws to your forehead, you can whack him with your gun and knock him off. When I discovered this, it made me wonder if the devs of this game had ever seen the movies or read any of the comic books. A MARINE CANNOT MELEE WITH AN ALIEN OR A PREDATOR! Come on, Arnold got his ass KICKED by a Predator, you think your average marine would fair better?

When I got the first AvP, Half-Life 2, FEAR, Left 4 Dead, or Deus Ex, I sacrificed sleep to play through them. I couldn't wait until I had everything done and had some time to indulge in some epic video game fantasy. I could care less if i play the 2010 version of AvP ever again. The gameplay just plain sucks. I may try skipping to the Predator campaign to see what kind of job they did with him but if the devs messed the Marines up this bad, I can only imagine how much they changed with the predator.

If the devs had half a brain, they would have taken the 1999 game and updated it with modern graphics, a modern engine (Source perhaps?), more missions, and more multi-player levels and released that. But noooooo! Im sure they had to "exercise their artistic license" and try to "create something unique. Our take on the series". In other words, the same mindset that caused Hollywood to release that steaming pile of poo "Aliens vs. Predator" in 2004. What they have ended up doing is messing up the formula that made the original game so great.

The thing that makes me the maddest is that I game on the PC. So i cant even take this piece of crap down to gamestop and trade it in for something else. Im simply out the [...]. I got screwed.

I'm tired of getting PC games that require Internet connection to play. I'm in the middle of Afganistan and dont have access to commercial internet. I cant hook up a personal computer to the network so all these games that require internet connection to play are a waste of money for me. I'm sure you wont have to register this game online if bought for a concel so why is it this way for PC.

The Aliens vs. Predator franchise dates back a good twenty years, and has sparked a host of movies and games to cash in on the success of the survival horror series. Most recently, that was 2007's Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem for the PSP. Now in 2010 we get the launch of Aliens vs. Predator for next gen consoles and PC. Developed by Rebellion and published by SEGA there is a considerable force behind the development of the title. Given as how SEGA hasn't exactly been riding a wave of quality titles in recent times, it was interesting to see how Aliens vs. Predator played out.

The title focuses on the epic battles between the Aliens, the Predators, and the Colonial Marines who are being torn apart somewhere in the middle. The real attraction in the title is that the game can be played from the perspective of any of these three races, each playing entirely differently to the next.

The Aliens are fast and effective at close range. They use the darkness and their physical capabilities to gain the upper hand. They can cling to walls and run along ceilings, and whip enemies feet out from under them using their tails. Darkness is their friend, and they can use it very effectively to gain an edge. Aliens have heightened senses and can smell the scent of enemies, including predators. The aliens are by far the most fun to play, though the way the controls and camera is implemented, movement quickly becomes disorientating and confusing. However, their speed and attacks make them very entertaining for the most part.

The predators are more of a stealth unit. They are best suited to attacking from above, leaping easily from tree to tree, and using cloaking to come at enemies from behind. The predators can cast energy attacks at their enemies as well from a distance, which work somewhat like heat seeking missiles but are fun and easy to power up in the heat of combat. They are weak against the marines' heavy weapons, and their cloaking is ineffective against aliens, so playing the predator means you always have to have your wits about you. Speaking of wits, as a predator you can change your vision to include thermal scanning, allowing you to easily detect humans. Being able to use different forms of vision is a nice addition, and as the predator class isn't altogether that tough you will need all the help you can get. The predator class was probably my least favourite as it simply doesn't feel well implemented at all.

The humans, as can be expected, are the same as humans from any other FPS. They have firepower but lack virtually any other assistance other than a torch and a handful of flares. Playing as the marines is entertaining at times, but the controls across all the different classes are not particularly well structured, making it a challenge at best. Shooting can be so frustrating: at times that you'll plug more bullets into the ceiling and the floor than into the alien standing right in front of you.

The point of the various classes is to tie the storyline together giving you insight into the different sides in the conflict, and this works quite well. However it seems that by branching off in three directions neither of these has received the time and polish that would have been required to create a truly great game. While all the campaigns start off strong they give way to relatively dull levels and some frustrating design choices that leave players wondering if it couldn't have been done better. In next-gen gaming, invisible walls should be a thing of the past, but they're not as the game forcefully pushes you toward the next checkpoint. The AI is also somewhat frustrating as enemies generally fail to abide by any logical rules, often backing straight towards you making it feel like meals on wheels more than anything, particularly when playing aliens or predators.

Graphically Aliens vs. Predator is no great delight. The levels at times look good enough, and the alien character models look fantastic, but the human models on the other hand look downright hideous, so hideous in fact that I thought I was playing Halo again. A highlight however are the fantastic trophy scenes when you decapitate an enemy to pocket the skull. These are gruesome and fun to execute as they vary just enough to not become overly dull too quickly. The audio for the title is also a real highlight. The marine campaign is rather shocking at times, as you hear aliens scuttling through vents above you, frightening the bejesus out of you. This really adds to the atmospherics in some of the darker more brooding levels, feeling something like F.E.A.R. at times.

The online mode surely must be the highlight. A range of game modes are available mixing the three sides against each other. Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Infestation, and Predator Hunt which are a bit like Zombie in Halo where one player has to infect the others, and finally a Survivor mode for endless waves of enemies to battle in co-op. Though the controls are still a hassle the advantage surely is that all players are facing the same struggles. Unfortunately though the player base online appears so low its virtually unplayable. So if you plan on picking up Aliens vs. Predator ensure you've got a healthy friends list to team up with online, then there is certainly a lot of fun to be had.

Overall Aliens vs. Predator falls well short of the mark. The games controls are too confusing and the environments frustrating. Sometimes character movement appears inconsistent and this makes flitting from wall to ceiling difficult at times when playing the alien. The graphics are stunning in parts, but below average in others again reflecting the fact that the developers split their efforts across three campaigns, rather than focusing on one and doing it well.

Aliens vs. Predator certainly has much in common with the movies, but possibly isn't quite the answer that fans of the series were wanting in the way of video game fulfilment. Its a good effort no doubt, but its not quite there yet. Maybe the next iteration.

When you download this game, you are actually downloading the "steam client", and you are purchasing the product key for the game.

To download the GAME, you must create an account with steam, and install it's client. Then you must open the client, and select (at the bottom) "+ADD A GAME". This is where you enter your product key for Aliens VS Predator.

Once you have done that, THEN "steam" starts to download the actual game for you.

Though I've yet to finish downloading the game, I figured I'd go ahead and post this now, so that anyone who tries to download the game knows that when you purchase it, you will have to do digital backflips in order to install your game; it's not like it comes with instructions of "install this client, open this program, browse, enter code, re-download, install the game" etc.

I've been playing the singe player. No problems with frame rates, install was easy.

Game sucks.

Saves only at checkpoints, so plan on doing things again and again.

The dialogue is pathetic, and will jar you out of any immersion in the game you manage to achieve. This is a game based on epic movies, dialog should be pretty easy to come up with.

The audio diary Easter egg hunt is stupid.

Player movement feels clunky.

Marine can't jump over little 3' high guard rails.

Graphics are pretty mediocre, in some ways (the moving aliens) they are great, but in others they kinda clash, seams between textures tend to pop out, the whole feel is....off.

This game is frustrating, not fun.

Worst is that it's steam only, I missed that in the fine print. Registered to you only. No selling, no gifting, no playing without internet, no playing if steam ever goes away. I would not have purchased has I known that. I do use steam, but generally for super sale items, not for a full priced game I'm not 100% sure I'll like.

this review is for the online play

believe the negative reviews. this is the worst game ive played in a long time. avp2 was one of my favorite online games (played deathmatch nonstop). this game is an abomination. it is literally a chore to play this. the controls are terrible, especially for the alien. weapons diversity is sacrificed in favor of an updated melee system, which no one needed. a marine should not be able to block a predator attack. or an alien attack. and then counter. plus theyve added instakills, so anyone can just spam the e button during a fight and hope for the best. even a simple thing like jumping as the predator is needlessly complicated. oh, and THERE IS NO CROUCH BUTTON. and thats not all. YOU CANT PICK WHAT SPECIES YOU WANT TO PLAY AS DURING DEATHMATCH. they put you on a team, thats your team. sorry for the caps, but this is a disgusting abortion of a video game.

so, in review :
needlessly complicated, horrible controls, that at times are unresponsive or plain just dont work well
no class system - you are either alien, pred, or marine and thats it. in avp2 there were 4 groups (marine, corporation, alien, predator) with FOUR classes each. so right there its 16-3 in favor ov ap2.

overemphasis on melee
lack of weapons
obnoxious instakills
cant choose what species you want to be in vs
even the lobby system in online mode is annoying
the maps arent even remotely interesting

its as if the game designers went out of their way to make this game the least fun as possible. the game doesnt even seem complete. it is an irritating, frustrating, hollow experience. save yourself the money, dont make the same mistake i did.

and to the people responsible for this travesty of a game, which could have, should have been great ... eat it. you suck.

You MUST install STEAM in order to play this game. It is not a big deal... I installed it and I opened an account. The problem was that I couldn't play the game because of Installation Incomplete(53) error. Well, I rebooted, uninstalled and installed the game a few times but it didn't help.

I also checked STEAM web site for error code 53. It says on the web site that System Mechanic is the reason why I get this error code. So, I have to make a choice now. I can uninstall very useful System Mechanic and I might have to uninstall my Antivirus and Firewall to get STEAM to work and hope that nobody will hack my computer and steal my personal information. OR I can through away AVP3 and stay away from STEAM games from now on...

I just don't understand why somebody who buys games for $30 - $50 is not allowed simply to play games offline in single player mode.

Back in the day when game publishers actually made games for specific platforms that took full advantage of their features and capabilities Aliens vs Predator 2 for the PC released almost ten years ago was the best of the genre, hands-down. It captured all the tension, terror and excitement of the movies featuring the Aliens and the Predator with logical use of mouse and keyboard for the full range of movement each species was capable of. And the story line wasn't half bad either.

Fast forward to the present. The PC gaming genre is infested with horribly broken and poorly executed console ports with clumsy controls, limited player movement,obnoxious checkpoint save systems. Aliens vs. Predator falls into this category.

Sure the DX11 visuals look good (I have a Radeon 5870, 3GHz Core 2 Duo Rig, 4GB RAM, Windows 7 Professional 64-bit). But that's all the game has going for it. After spending HOURS downloading a massive patch through Steam, the game is still full of bugs. After multiple re-installs, I couldn't pick up weapons. Or the game would freeze. The Marine's movement is severely crippled compared to Aliens vs Predator 2. The game falls back on the oldest and lamest trick in the book of endlessly respawning enemies to drive the player from one linear and boring level to the next.

With all the advanced PC technology available today, this game could have easily outdone AvP 2 with a little effort from Rebellion. It's a shame games like Aliens vs. Predator are thrown together and dumped on the market to make a fast buck. All style and bugs--no substance.

I don't understand why this game got so many low reviews, especially since it doesn't have a bad DRM issue (although it requires steam...but such is life)

Honestly, the single player is a waste of time apart from using it to learn the control scheme :(

But if you're like me and you prefer to compete online, AvP is fantastic. Each race feels authentic and fun to play, yet they are very well balanced. It is strategy, rather than reflexes that will give you an edge in multiplayer.

Marines- their physical abilities are lacking- they cannot sprint or jump very well. But they make up for it with a motion sensing radar and a decent selection of weaponry. The winning strategy is to stick together and engage other races at range.

Alien- Exceptionally fast, can jump and climb and crawl on walls etc. They have a "sixth sense" which lets them see enemies through walls at a certain range, and their melee attacks are exceptionally quick and potent. To win as an alien, you have to make use of your speed and agility to get close enough/behind other races in order to kill them.

Predator- Predators can cloak themselves to hide from humans, can jump around a little better than aliens, have solid melee, and a wide variety of equipment and vision modes. To win, you have to stay cloaked and jump around in order to avoid detection by marines, and stay in high and/or well lit places to avoid getting killed by an alien. Also, it's all about knowing what equipment to use against your prey:

-marines are best killed with the spear and mines, heat vision
-aliens are best killed with mines, disc, and plasma caster, alien vision

The graphics may be just OK and the single player may be lame, but AvP is a pleasure to play online.