24-Nov-2001 This killer shooter goes for the jugular This killer shooter goes for the jugular
Strap a man-sized Huggy on to your arse, it's fright time. In fact, AvP2 isn't just a frightening first-person shooter, ooooh no. This'll have you rocking, dribbling huge globules of drool and muttering insanely to yourself about invisible beasts and brain-eating killers that walk on walls. If you don't do that already, of course.
Indeed, AvP2 is so brilliant, and messes with your mind so much, that an hour of play will reduce you to a paranoid weirdo, unable to even go shopping without jumping at footsteps behind you, barking, "Die alien scum!" before realising that innocent-looking toddler presents no immediate threat.
This isn't just another shooter – it's the single most scary, intriguing and down-right entertaining way to give yourself a coronary in the history of computer gaming. And that's just for starters.
SAME STORY, DIFFERENT VIEW AvP2 is based around one plot which can be played from three perspectives: either as a Marine, Alien or Predator. The first of these is the closest you'll get to a standard shooter. In typical Aliens style, you're sent in to investigate a loss of communications with a deep space colony.
The action is superbly paced, ranging from manic retreats to safety while emptying every available bullet into endless droves of aliens, to cat and mouse tactics when taking on predators who want to skin you alive, hang you upside down and cleave off your skull. Nice...
The Predator missions rely much more on stealth and careful planning, and much like the Arnie/Glover movies, your initial aim is just to kill as many of the other species as you can without being spotted. But as the plot unravels you'll find yourself doing a lot more than trophy hunting. Both the Predator and the Marine have a superb array of weaponry with which to blast the crap out of the enemy, including pulse rifles and spear guns, all with authentic sound effects taken straight from the films.
HUG-GY ME, BABY While the Alien campaign is the most limited of the three, you play as a range of different aliens, including a face-hugger and the chest-burster. In one mission you actually have to find a victim to impregnate, then in the next find your way out of someone's guts to hunt for food, to later evolve into a full-blown alien. You can even play the entire lifecycle of an alien in the multiplayer too, feasting on your mates' corpses to evolve.
Atmospheric sound, fiendishly smart AI and cool strobe lighting effects are all some of the best we've seen, but the biggest bonus is you get three games in one, as well as the brilliant multiplayer deathmatches. Play as any of the three species, either teaming up or fighting against each other, and you'll soon see why AvP2 rules over other PC blasters.
Martin Korda
// Overview
Verdict
You'll cry hysterically with fear, you'll weep with joy. This is quite possibly the finest first-person shooter ever.
The first few minutes of the opening Marine mission are among gaming's scariest ever. Not because of the things you see, but because of the things you hear but don't see. The terror is purely psychological, built up by memories of the movies. Tension builds as you stumble across atrocities while trying to enter a base. All the signs are there but where the hell are the Aliens and Predators? When your motion tracker finally kicks in, you blindly pump a zillion rounds into the shadows, just like in the movies.
You hear a Predator, somewhere. And then the bridge blows up. Run!
Where the hell did he fall from? This isn't looking good at all...
This flaming vehicle rockets right past you and explodes...
Ping... ping... ping... Aargh! Fire! Just one thing. Where are they?
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