Techtite's PC Game Reviews!

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"Aliens Vs. Predator Vs...TERMINATOR...?" 

Without a doubt, if you were to choose a sci-fi horror series up to par with Alien and Predator, it would be Terminator. Trouble is, the only people imaginative enough to conceive of this are Dark Horse comics, and their graphic novel showcasing the concept was...not so good, or so public opinion says. Still, if there is to be an Aliens Vs. Predator 3, how about adding a few of those cyborgs to the mix?...perhaps even the liquid metal terminator, hmmm? I'm sure by the time of release, 3D card could more than handle such a game...maybe.  

Aliens vs. Predator 2 is an it's-about-time sequel that even surpasses next year's Jedi Knight 2, for the longest time fans had to wait for another installment (next to Return to Castle Wolfenstein, of course!). After all, Alien Vs. Predator was first released for the Atari Jaguar game system, way back in 1994! By comparison, Jedi Knight fans had to wait "only" 5 years for their sequel. We'll have to see if Jedis in training are rewarded for their patience in a few months. If it's anything like AvP2, however, I'd say the wait will be more than worth it.

The story is immaterial, since it's just a way to have humans (Marines), Aliens, and Predators all on the same planet for a big battle. Wisely, the game designers have made the Aliens and Predators almost excusable in their monstrous methods, since the real enemy to one and all is the Wayland weapons division; the guys who risked all those lives in the Alien films, just to capture a few aliens for their biological weapons labs. In such a story, Aliens are being exploited, Marines are the guinea-pigs who want to escape, and Predators are no more war-like than the human baddies they're killing. Each character type leads to the same story and timeframe, though with totally different levels and puzzle styles, as seen through the eyes of that character type.

The first type you'll probably play is the human Marine; he's the best way to see the aliens and predators head-on, and you get to defeat them both, Schwarzenegger style. The only caveat is...unless you're a veteran of the shooter game genre, this is often a suicide mission, even in "easy" mode. Just as in the movies, aliens spurt acid while predators have cloaking devices...and both are far stronger. To make matters worse, your motion tracker (just as in the films) can be thwarted by aliens who stand perfectly still until you're right next to them! This battle is made even more difficult --as if it wasn't challenging already!-- by the frequent pitch black corridor, which can only be lit by a flashlight on your helmet...which needs to be shut off frequently, to recharge. I know this is all to set the mood in an "interactive thriller," though still, I would've liked to click my quick restore key about 100 less times than I did. On the other hand, a good challenge is why you bought the game, right?

Second is the Alien...and by far, the best thought out character type in the whole game. I admit, there are times I thought the graphic designer for these game levels was one sick puppy, though fans of the Alien character might say that's what makes the levels so cool. For one thing, you start as a facehugger; the spider-legged creature from an egg, which needs to find a host for a true alien drone. Then comes the next part --fully interactive-- when the snake-like baby Alien must bite its way out of the human host (a visual that will have you screaming some obscenity which ranges between "ewww!" and "Hey, what attention to detail!"). From there you're a full-sized alien, who may not be able to use any weapons like the other characters, though has powerful claws, a stunning tail, a spring-jaw set of teeth, and --better yet-- the ability to fully rejuvenate health by eating your prey. Did I mention your prey are those nefarious schmucks from Wayland Weapons Division, who caused this whole mess? Go get them!

Last (and sadly, least) is the predator...a character who, aside from the thrill of playing him, is a hybrid mix of intriguing graphics and ill-conceived gameplay. For one thing, you're practically blind as a bat unless you use the alternate vision modes supplied by your mask. There's one vision mode for each alien type, including your own (for multiplayer, mostly...). Trouble is, it's a little disorienting when your environment is suddenly mono-colored except for your targets. Worse yet, the only way you can retrieve power for your weapons is by taking some from your health...and vice-versa. This is all to even things out in multiplayer, since the predator needs some sort of limitation (power supply) with all the cool long-range weaponry he has...some with automatic tracking! Still, when you're playing as him, it's not as forgivable. I also didn't like how I couldn't tell I was fighting the Alien Queen, aside from the difficulty in defeating her. Meeting her in her creepy egg-nest-lair (a la the Aliens film) would've been cooler.

One added Predator gripe (dissent can be sent to Techtite's letters page); I'm no pacifist, and yet an ancient, Doom-like, "kill everything" methodology is not only repetitive and un-challenging; it is nothing like the Predator's methodology in the films. What goober thought that killing innocent, unarmed, cowering-in-fear civilians was part of Predator's repertoire? As the first film showed, Predators are hunters first and killers second, who are willing to let unarmed creatures alone since there's no "sport" in killing them (indeed). You'll come across hundreds of unarmed lackeys who whimper in front of you pitifully --"No, no, please...pleeeease!"-- and while you can just leave them be (as I did), the game offers no penalty if you kill them in cold blood; instead, you're given another "trophy" for your collection, booby prize that it really is. Meanwhile, killing a more worthy opponent like the cyborg --or even the Alien Queen-- offers no "trophy" rewards at all. Huh...?

Yes, Predator snafus notwithstanding, it is fun to be able to play as an Alien, a Predator, or the sole Marine who defeats them both...and yes, that's worth a hearty thumbs-up. However, this game experience is not best-of-year worthy, as some game mags have implied. Let's just say I had more fun playing Anachronox. Scariest game of 2001...? Nah; Clive Barker's Undying wins that category. As for multiplayer, such awards would go to Wolfenstein, unquestionably. I guess I have less respect for a game whose chosen textures and game maps are so dark...not figuratively, though literally. Yes, the films used darkness as a mood-setting device, though they needed darkness to make cheesy special FX harder to spot. What's this game's excuse...?