Playing Aliens vs. Predator 2010's multiplayer mode fills us with 1999 nostalgia. And yet, in some respects, this update of the old PC classic feels like a very different beast entirely.
In our recent hands-on we got to try out the real meat of the game's multiplayer modes; the three-way deathmatch. This is just one the scenarios set for AvP 2010's online roster, the others include a Horde/Firefight-style 'Infestation' mode, which has you holding off against endless waves of aliens, 'Infestation', a last man standing assault in which killed marines join the alien horde and 'Predator Hunt', which is similar to Infestation only with marines up against a single Predator.
As a human you're down to bare bones in terms of gadgets; you've got a flashlight and a gun. We're told your pick-ups and firepower are well above that of the other species, but the shotgun and pulse rifle we were limited to in the demo wasn't exactly nailing Predators to the walls.
So when the space-hailing nasties of the universe come screaming towards our mortal frame, the marine's best friend is his new block move.
When timed correctly you can use this to avoid leap attacks from both aliens and predators, and then follow it up with a quick counter to put them on the floor and in your sights. Considering aliens can murder you with a killer jump from what seems like miles away, this is a very, very useful manoeuvre for the lowly human and learning to anticipate other player's attacks is essential.
Most of our time with the man with the gun was spent shooting at shadows and trying to track the alien players running above our heads. Developer Rebellion is a cheeky outfit and it's decided to shape much of the game's shrubbery suspiciously similar to xenomorphs - there's even a giant statue of an alien in the jungle map we played - and until you learn the maps properly you'll likely spend most of your time looking in the wrong direction.
On the flip-side, the alien is perhaps the easiest to play of the three species and also the most disorientating. A claw attack, tail whip and wall-hug button are all you need to navigate the deathmatch arena efficiently with the big black critter, though this time xenos navigate the world with such visceral head bobs and movements that it can be a quite nauseating ordeal.
When your reticule glows you can initiate a leap to the targeted surface, making navigating the world an effortless task. And while the alien doesn't have any special vision modes, your default view highlights enemies - even through walls - enabling you to plan and come at opposing players from behind.
Last but not least the Predator is a far more acrobatic and melee-driven vehicle than the other two. Core to the Pred' experience is his new leap ability; holding down L2 (we played the PS3 version) displays a HUD item which you can use to aim your jump onto nearby tree branches or ledges.
And this - in the jungle map we tested, at least - is how you'll play with the Predator; leaping from tree branch to tree branch whilst cloaked, flicking on your vision modes to search for prey, before jumping in to stab him/it in the face.
Comments
9 comments so far...
StonecoldMC on 26 Oct '09 said:
The Survival Horror genre is probably my favourite and unfortunatley they have been thin on the ground in the last few years
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I hope that this and a few others are actually able to scare the bejesus out of me (rather than the Dead Space, RE5 style of scares).
Fingers mos def crossed!
Logiebear on 26 Oct '09 said:
I'm expecting this to be awesomely amazing, just like the original
lonewolf2002 on 26 Oct '09 said:
Must admit I thought Dead Space was more about the atmosphere(or sometimes lack of it being in space and all) rather than all out shocks. Either way Dead Space rocked in my book looking forward to the sequel.
Looking forward to this but would of rather had colonial marines but hey.
djs88 on 26 Oct '09 said:
im looking forward to this aswell, i hope they sort out the predator sound effects. Should be a awesome game, nothing else like it really
DevilsNeverCry on 26 Oct '09 said:
Awesome.
Really looking forward to this one that's for sure!
Sounds like Rebellion are on top of it but I hope they change the Predator sound effects.
Or at the very least have a sort of loop where there are more than one set of sounds for the visor, that wouldn't be too bad.
CaptainCortez on 27 Oct '09 said:
To me, the sounds count just as much as the gameplay.
This is because AVP is a game based around iconic 80's movies, and if you're going to recreate something, even if you want to modernise it.....the sound effects are one of the things which made films from that era so memorable!
Come on, sort it out Rebellion!
The original was made incredibly well for the time, so it can't be that hard to keep the sounds the same.
One thing I will say though, is that the game is looking very very nice, and I'm very happy at how accurate the pulse rifles actually sound.
Anyway, eurogamer on saturday, so I'll get my hands on then, and decide on whether I can forgive them for this or not.
Overall though, it's looking good. Looking forward to the release!
StonecoldMC on 27 Oct '09 said:
Hey, im not saying that Dead Space is a bad Game, in fact it is one of the more polished Games that ive played this Gen. It just didnt scare me at all, not once. Here's hoping the sequel can do that and more than once
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On a side note being the resident Alan Wake Fanboy of this site, if anyone is looking for a dark and atmospheric Game, have a gander at this: http://oxm.com.mx/noticias/egs-2009-en-vivo-alan-wake/ takes a while to load but wow! That Game looks good.
lonewolf2002 on 27 Oct '09 said:
Looking forward to MR Wakes arrival I must admit(started watching that vid link but paused it until it fully loads zzzz
). Have you seen the follow rusty/waking nightmare gameplay vid over at GT, bit better quality vid (not that I am complaining great link to a new vid)?
shiki on 4 Dec '09 said:
Looking forward to this, Had many hours of fun with AVP2 on the p.c
A lovely addition would be a Marine named Dutch with Arnie's face scanned in!