Aliens Vs Predator

We got to have a closer look at Aliens Vs. Predator this month. We didn’t get to play, unfortunately, but that’s the way it goes when you’re being shown a game that’s not going to be out for almost a year. But the two sections that were being demoed for us certainly put aside any fears that Rebellion had completely lost it, and we can stop mentioning the godawful Shellshock 2: Blood Trails (apart from all the times we mention it on these pages).

The first section we were shown saw the player taking control of the Predator. As you’d expect, he’s armed to the mandibles with a set of claws on each hand and he can easily rip into space Marines and aliens alike, but that’s only if he has to get up close and impersonal with his quarry. Long-range options include the plasma caster with its distinctive triangle of laser death appearing on targets before the shot takes off limbs and destroys enemies.

Surprisingly, though, the way the Predator plays isn’t about killing as many things as quickly as possible with every futuristic weapon you can think of, instead it’s about remaining stealthy and picking Marines and Aliens off quietly and quickly. The cloaking device plays a huge part in the Predator’s arsenal, because when you’re invisible, the Marines can’t see you, and then it’s a just a matter of making the jungle look like it’s come alive so you can take them.

It’s a little easier for the Predator to get around than it is for the Marines. Because of its alien legs and muscle structure it can leap vast distances, which helps it get in position for some sneaky killing. There’s a neat system for doing this. In the section being demoed, the Predator was in the jungle with some very scared-sounding Marines tramping through the mulch on the forest floor. The Predator was high up in the treetops and was able to look down and scout around for a good opportunity to skin someone, and to get around, all it took was using a cursor to select a branch to jump to and then jumping to it. Pretty simple indeed, but there’s another level to this.

The cursor, seen through the Predator’s high-tech helmet, can detect what surface you’re going to land on and whether or not it’s going to make a noise. So after a few successful soundless jumps, there was one that made the trees shake, and this attracted the attention of the Marines below. From their chatter you could tell that they didn’t know what was going on, but they saw the glimmering silhouette of the cloaked Predator and immediately opened fire – well, you would, wouldn’t you? It was easy enough to shake them off and disappear back into the jungle with a few more jumps, but it was explained to us that even a Predator wouldn’t last too long against a squad of Marines armed with pulse rifles.

Further in, the Aliens started attacking. They came scuttling out of strange holes in the foliage and crawled alarmingly quickly over the tree branches, and then they were all up in the Predator’s helmeted face. Because of their strange senses, they can detect pheromones; the cloaking device is of no use. They’re disturbingly fast, but with a combination of physical attacks with the Predator’s claws and getting some shots in with the plasma caster, they eventually were eradicated, but not before gushing forth a very damaging spray of acid blood.

… continued