At what point does style surpass substance? Can a great aesthetic make amends for faulty mechanics? Well–maybe Toyota owners would be best to answer those questions in general (just kidding–I’ve got a Prius). After playing Aliens vs Predator, I had to ask these questions, and my answers are a little different from the other opinions about the game you may have heard.

First, I have to put my biases regarding this game on the table. First, the Aliens and Predator IPs are my favorite sci-fi properties–ever. I like them more than Star Trek, more than Star Wars, more than Battlestar Galactica…All that. I have most of the AvP comic books, some of the Aliens and Predator novels–hell, I even paid theatre prices to see those below average AvP movies. Secondly, I’m a huge fan of Rebellion’s previous work with the AvP license on PC. I spent many hours at my best friend’s house playing through all the campaigns in AvP 1 and 2. Good times.

Rebellion’s newest effort harkens back to those PC classics, this time with a hi-res coat of HD goodness. Rebellion has a way of conveying the aesthetic of all three elements (Alien, Predator, and Colonial Marine) to such a degree, that you almost feel like you’re skulking down the dark steel hallways as a Marine, listening to your motion traker go off when anything in the environment moves. You feel dangerous playing as the Alien as you stalk some hapless scientist from a vent shaft, and see the shock spread accross his face as the tongue bite brings him to the afterworld. As the Predator, it’s awesome taking down an armed Marine from a long range plasma cast shot, or distracting a small patrol and taking them out one at a time. As the Marine–well–you feel like a reluctant victim; the way it should be.

There were some problems that affected gameplay in the early PC versions that have been addressed in this game. As the Alien, the ability to run up walls and ceilings was completely disorienting. This doesn’t happen in this version. A simple cursor design always points toward the ground, so you never feel lost, even as you scurry upside down on ceilings, or jump from wall to wall. The game does a good job of representing the tools available to a young Predator hunter on his first outing. Wrist claws, Combistick, Plasma Caster, sound distorter and Cloaker are in full effect, and all these tools are a blast to use. You can even jump into the trees if things get a little hot…Unless you’re being pursued by a pack of Aliens, that is. The Marine’s tools are very familiar. You start off with a semi-auto pistol with unlimited ammo, and shortly after acquire the all purpose Pulse Rifle. During the course of the game, you’ll have access to a sniper rifle, shotgun, and even the life saving Smart Gun, and the sentinal gun emplacements. While you aren’t exactly helpless, the pressure is heavy as you watch that ammo counter get lower and lower on that Pulse Rifle fending off a horde of Xenos.

Well, with everything Rebellion did right, there is quite a bit that was done wrong…Even though I understand why they did some things. To begin with, I have never seen worse AI in an FPS than this. I mean, they don’t even try. As the Alien, you can almost kill Marines with impunity. All they’ll do is spout one of the several canned statements they can say. “Don’t let your guard down”, or “Don’t relax now Marine”, or my favorite “Did you hear that?” I actually impaled one of those brain-dead AI goofs as he was saying that. Now, I can understand why they did things that way to a certain extent. On Rebellion’s earlier PC outings, using the Alien was almost impossible. If you were spotted by a Marine, it was game over. To compensate for this, they went to the extreme in the opposite direction by making all NPCs as dumb as a brick. I’ve laid waste to entire patrols by killing all the Marines in the same spot.

This could be overlooked if the AI improved in the Predator’s scenario, but its just as bad, if not worse. You can use the voice distorter to select a Marine, and the spot you want to have the distorted voice come from…Repeatedly. Have a patrol to get past? Simply send each Marine to the same spot, and run each run through with your wrist claws. The Marines don’t get any since until you activate the Plasma Caster. Even if they’re half way accross the map and facing the opposite direction, then they turn into Space Rambo–at least until you re-activate your cloaker, or jump onto a roof. They go back to dumb.

Control at times is clunky. Sometimes the Alien gets stuck transitioning from one surface to another. Movement with the Predator is the same. The Predator has a jump ability, where you highlight the area to jump to, but this interface isn’t smooth at all. When you’re trying to put space between you and a group of Aliens that movement interface isn’t consistant and simply doesn’t work. Mele combat is kind of a “simon says” mini-game. Press LB and RB to block, then hit RB to counter to knock the opponent to the ground and finish them off. This is acceptable as the Alien or Predator, but seeing the Marine knock a Predator on its butt simply doesn’t ring “true” to the license. The Marine is the best working scenario mechanically. Its not Halo smooth, but it works.

Honestly, the Marine scenario is the best, because the Aliens act like they should, and the Predators act like they should. Aliens come at you through vents, through floors, and come at you in mass waves. Your encounters with Predators are limited, but when they do happen, they crank the tension up considerably.

There is a multi-player component to the game, but I haven’t had the opportunity to play. Nobody on my friends list has the game, and, in this time of Modern Warfare 2 and Battlefield: Bad Company 2, its unlikely I’ll get the opportunity to. I don’t do random matches, so I apologize for the incomplete review. From what I know of the multiplayer, the real fun is the Marine co-op “horde mode” where you and two others stand against wave after wave of Aliens.

So, it boils down to style over substance. I’m a fan of Rebellion’s previous AvP games on PC, and of the Aliens/Predator licenses in general. Rebellion is able to draw heavy from their previous work, with the best set pieces that the license brings with it aesthetically. I can’t help but wonder how phenominal this game would have been if Rebellion’s environmental aesthetic prowess could have been paired with Bungie’s, Dice’s, or Infinity Ward’s mastery of FPS mechanics. Dare to dream, I guess…

So, in the end, I can only recommend this game to avid fans of the Alien/Predator license. The aesthetics are good enough to cover for the game’s poor play mechanics, but only to fanboys like me. Those who are used to the console standard FPSes from Bungie and others will be quickly turned off by how clunky this game works. Rebellion should have learned from what other developers have accomplished. The lame AI and the clunky gameplay mechanics are simply inexcusable in this day and age of console FPS gaming.

Tags: Reviews