Alien Versus Predator

Alien versus predator for the X-Box 360 is a First person…perspective game.  I can’t call it a shooter, because only the Marines rely on guns.  The aliens and predators both rely mostly on melee combat, which does not do well in a first person perspective.  You play through one of three campaigns in single player mode.  As the marine you go through the levels like an exterminator killing anything that isn’t human, as a predator you have a ridiculously easy time luring humans away from their friends to kill them, and as the alien you run around on the ceiling and impale people with your tail.

            I realize that that summery seems rather short, but then the story modes are all pretty short and repetitive.  There are collectables for each race, but the only interesting ones are for the humans, which allow you to listen to audio logs to help build the atmosphere.  The story mode is little more than a practice for the game’s real strength: the online multiplayer.

            You can fight in a number of matches, but I’m going to be focusing on the death matches for this review.  Once you get online and jump into a match, you’ll quickly realize that this game is horribly broken in a number of ways.  The funny thing is that it’s broken for each race, so it all evens out in an odd sort of way.  Each race, under the right circumstances, is practically invincible against another.  A predator, when standing still, is totally invisible to a human and can take its time in how to pick him off.  The only thing a human has to see through the predators cloak is the sniper rifle, which no one ever uses during a death match because it gives you tunnel vision, and you might as well hang a steak around your neck.

            The predator’s weapons are also overpowered.  The plasma castor when charged will lock on to an enemy and will instantly kill them and damage, if not kill anyone near them.  The disc will usually kill anyone it hits, and it bounces around making it hard to avoid.  The land mines are a real pain for other players, and the spear, though hard to use accurately, makes no sound and doesn’t require your laser sights, so your position isn’t given away when you throw it.