Aliens vs. Predator

The Hunt is On

That’s not to say the warm glow is entirely fueled by nostalgia; this isn’t just a total rehash of the late-’90s PC game. Rebellion has gone back and looked at how it should feel to play as a Predator, using the first film as its prime inspiration. A Predator doesn’t trundle around like your standard FPS grunt — he leaps between tree branches and ledges, sizing up an attack from above using his various vision modes. Rebellion was excited to include this element as a crucial part of the Predator’s movement, and the team settled on a system that allows you to lock onto nearby ledges and tree branches and automatically leap between them. No clumsy platforming or toppling from treetops here — just fast, stylish stalking. We weren’t able to get our hands on it (after all, the game likely won’t ship until 2010), but the “focus jumping” mechanic looks both efficient and intuitive even in this early state. The original AvP was always about threats coming from every possible angle, and finally the Predator is able to take full advantage of the environment as well.

The Human Element

Of course, the violent relationship between these three warring species works only if there’s balance, and simply hanging around in the treetops isn’t going to keep you safe. Aliens are capable killers, and they’ll clamber along the underside of the same branches and ledges that the Predators rely on. Similarly, if a Predator reveals himself too hastily while stalking a squad of human foes, the Marines’ strength in numbers and instant-response ranged weaponry will turn him into bright green burger-meat.

Now, a unit of Marines cautiously works its way through a jungle on a distant colony planet; we watch from beneath the lid of the Predator stalking them. The iconic heat-vision mode is back (along with its counterparts for detecting Aliens and other Predators), allowing us to keep an eye on the Marines’ steady progress through the area. One of the more convenient ways to pick off the troops is by using the Predator’s shoulder-mounted plasma cannon, which locks onto enemies more quickly in the relevant vision mode. The other option is to dive in, using the Predator’s lunging attack, and get your wristblades dirty. (In the final game, the Predator will have a full arsenal of weaponry; we’re guessing — hoping? — we’ll see the return of the glaive-like disc and a spear gun for stapling enemies to walls, although neither’s confirmed at this point.)

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