Alien vs Predator (2011) Review

Platform: PC
Genre: FPS

Before I start talking about the game I would like to make a point. Sadly some new games have to live up to some expectations. And based on those they fail. I think that the AvP is one of those. Because a lot of us loved the old ones, we all thought it will be the same only with updated graphics and so on. The game is somewhat different (in a few ways) and that may have triggered it's ... let's call it ... downfall.

I was surprised to see it's marks, and even more surprised that i liked it after i finished it.

So, as you may have expected, the game offers you three campaigns: marine, alien and predator. I will talk about them one at a time. The stories are connected in a interesting way, and you will know/understand it all only at the end. One example: At the beginning of the marine campaign you see a human-ship blown appart by a predator vessel for apparently no reason. Well, theyr motives will become clear after you play the alien campaign.

So.....

Marine:
The somewhat scarier campaign. You get to use weapons, but you only three slots. The game offers 5 weapons to put an end to the xenofobes and hunters. The pistol with unlimited ammo, assault rifle, shotgun, flamethrower, a sniper-rifle and a smartgun which can auto-lock enemies and it will occupy 2 weapon slots. The sniper and the smartgun have detecting properties. The story is interesting and due to good animation and facial-expression kinda touchy at the end. In this one you will rely a lot on your flashlight, but fortunetly it never depletes itself. Your health is represented by 3 bars. If one bar isn't depleted it will regenerate itself, like in Far Cry 2.

Alien:
The stealthy approach to the game. Unlike the older games, you start as a grown-up alien. Maybe some fanboys won't like this, but, as said ... I considered a whole new game not thinking one second about what was before. You can use your claws or tail, go through vents, see through the dark, grab enemies for a instant finish (after hitting them a bit). These finishes are really cool and bloody. Delicious. You can replenish your life by eating fallen enemies faces. Cool ! The only problem is that the campaign feels kinda short. Also you can walk on any surface and chasing your tail is really cool (and kinda weird that I spent some time doing so). Plus you can lure humans away by hissing at them.

Predator:
Prolly the most interesting one (story-wise). Predators can use their canon or claws. At least at the beginning. Till the end you will get the spear, proximity mines and a throwing disk. The health system resembles the human's. Also you can jump higher or further than the two other races. Also the shoulder-cannon has a auto-lock system which can really come in handy sometimes. The most usefull things however are the camouflage and the visions. You get two different visions. One is the heatvision (usefull for detecting humans) and another one for detecting aliens. You can cloak yourself, but you will be detected by aliens and by some humans (which have detecting-weapons) and if you enter the water it will go away. Also you can give orders to humans to get them in a position where you can kill them easier. Found a locked door that can only be opened with a retinal scan ? Mo problem, the predator can rip a officer's head off and use it to get where he needs.

Each campaign has it's collectibles and if you get them all in a level you will be rewarded. I wouldn't want to spoil the surprise but ... truth be told, I couldn't be bothered.

The sound is great, it may ... atually I bet it will spook you at least once :P and the graphics are great. It also uses DirectX 11, but that wasn't the case for me. I just have to say that I really liked the way the aliens move ...
The stories really blend together, and the human-nature .... well let's put it in simple terms.
ALIEN KILL PREDATOR AND HUMAN.
PREDATOR KILL ALIEN AND HUMAN.
HUMAN KILL ALIEN AND PREDATOR ... AND HUMAN.

My only complaint would be ... that the game is way too short. I understand that many of the maps appear in every campaign ... but it could have been a little longer.

the bad: Too short, fanboys
the good: graphics, the way the story is presented