The Alien missions give you a differing perspective over the Marines, the same events happen and you get to see another side to the tale, it is however noticeably shorter than the Marines campaign and even on the harder difficulty it doesn't pose much of a challenge. You could say that the main challenge of the Aliens campaign comes from getting to grips with the control method, it doesn't work as well as you might hope most of the time, it just doesn't seem that precise. It can also be quite nauseating at times as well, running along the ceilings sounds great in practice but it doesn't take a lot for you to get disorientated; however with some time you do get used to it, at least to some degree. The transitions from floor to wall to ceiling can be quite cumbersome as well and don't seem to work that well, it's much easier to just jump from one to the other. It's a shame there wasn't more made of this mode, it occasionally hints at a more stealthy approach to taking down your prey and for those brief moments it can shine but they are few and far between. The end battle also seems far too easy and it really is quite pathetic once it's all over with, again, a shame given that there was so much scope given here.
The Predator is the third race and you'll be thrown into the role of one of the Young Blood Predators, a Predator in training if you like; again the first part of the mission has you learning the basics controls so you're ready to go out and stalk your prey like a professional. It plays much like a cross between the Xenomorph and the Marine game, you're back on level ground for the most part but now you have the ability to jump and land in the trees to stalk your prey with a variety of different weapons, one of which is your shoulder mounted plasma cannon and it's fantastical triangular targeting system, (and no, you never get bored of it).
The Predators kill animations can only be classed as downright vicious; the special melee kills are used for Trophy Kills, you know, those bits the Predator collects in the movies from its kills, like human spines. Suffice to say that for those of you with a fondness for the more gory parts of the movies are going to love this.Tracking your prey in the jungle can be quite a task for a creature the size of the Predator so you've also got the stealth capabilities to fall back on as well; though that won't do you a great deal of good against the Xenomorphs who won't be falling for any of that; the humans are suckers for it however and killing humans through stealth brings endless pleasure.
With all three campaigns combined the game isn't exactly an epic battle to get through, the Marines campaign is by far the most enjoyable experience to work your way through, not just because of it's length but also the sense of atmosphere you get from it; perhaps this is because you can't relate in the same way to a Xenomorph or a Predator. Ultimately you're left wanting more from the story, it's a shame its been squandered away like it has when so much more could have been made of it, it's especially strange and disappointing given that Rebellion have such a pedigree in making these types of games.
Longevity of the title is somewhat increased with the inclusion of multiplayer which sees you going online to battle it out in a scary environment, the usual options are available for you; Deathmatch with two variations, one for mixed species on a team and one for teams of mixed species. The Infestation mode is similar to a survivor mode, one player starts off as a Xenomorph with the rest as Marines, as the Marines die they are respawned as a Xenomorph and must then help hunt down the Human menace. Predator Hunt is the same kind of deal except one player starts off as a Predator instead, naturally this can be tense as the Predators have the ability to cloak out of sight of the humans which adds an additional element to the game.
It isn't purely competitive however, Survivor mode sees you joining a team of up to four players against waves of incoming threats which start off small and gradually build in both size and difficulty, the action of course takes place in a closed environment and as you try to survive as long as possible the game just makes it harder and harder. Survivor isn't the only mode, Domination has players battling for control of certain points in a map; the team with the most points at the end of the game wins. Getting a game online is pretty straightforward, enter a lobby and search for the game you want to play, or set up a private lobby for you and your friends.
It's hard to recommend Alien vs Predator to anyone but a fan of the films or the series in general, don't take that the wrong way, for what it is; it's good. It's not exceptional and nobody would ever accuse it of being so, but it has enough enjoyable experiences for it to be worthwhile experience for those who show even a slight interest in the title. Those players who played the original two games on the PC will find this new game quite different from the earlier games, some may like it, the majority will probably not. It's a good game, but it's definitely one for the fans, but that doesn't mean new players can enjoy it, however, you should really give the game a try before laying down your hard earned cash.
