Articles: Alien vs Predator – First Look – 80

It’s been a long time since anything bearing the words ‘Aliens’ or ‘vs Predator’ wasn’t a recipe for instant, agonising death by schlock. Spawned from a fanbase loyal to the two classic sci-fi series, Aliens vs Predator began life as a comic series and mutated into two feature films that were about as welcome or enjoyable as an extraterrestrial lifeform bursting through your chest.

A new game built for Sega by UK studio Rebellion plans to change all that with an updated version of the series for Xbox, PS3 and PC. Tone managed to grab a sneak peek of the new Alien vs Predator and, from what we saw, it’s definitely not the painful experience we expected.

A front-up first-person shooter, the latest iteration of AvP allows the player to inhabit its brooding world as either the alien, predator or marine characters, with each having its own style of game play and special skills.

The real drawcard will undoubtedly be the game’s multiplayer element, which pits species against species in atmospheric landscapes that feel surprisingly authentic to original Alien and Predator films.

When asked about the relative quality of his own contribution to the Aliens vs Predator franchise as compared to the near universally maligned films, Rebellion producer Paul Mackman is philosophical.

“In some ways the AvP films weren’t successful critically or creatively, but I think they did pretty good business,” he says. “I think for a lot of younger people that might be their entry point into the franchise and that’s totally valid.”

He explains that his team was given a relatively free hand in adapting the franchise for the game. “We take what we can and what we want to from every part of the AvP universe,” he says. “There’s nods to AvP the films in the game, but there’s huge nods to Aliens, Predator and Alien; those were out primary reference points.”

AvP, in development for more than two years at Rebellion’s Oxford studios, is driven by its own bespoke engine. The team designed individual campaigns for each species, which all offer their own unique experience.

Predators have a heavy arsenal, including wrist blades, shoulder cannons and cloaking devices, while the alien hacks and slashes, traversing the environment in 360 degrees.

“For the predator, it’s being a hunter, being a stalker, using that technology and your toys,” explains Mackman, clearly enthusiastic about his creation. “For the alien it’s about being animalistic and instinctive, going in for the kill.”

Humans, on the other hand, are weak and spongy, conjuring up a sense of dread as the player struggles to survive.

“As the marine, particularly in single player, it’s survival in the dark, running scared, always peering into the shadows for threats,” he says.

Much effort was spent engineering the individual campaigns for each species, attempting to design levels that would work with all three characters while fitting the interlocking narrative.

“Having three species is very ambitious. It’s proven the biggest challenge but also the biggest selling point of the game,” says Mackman. “I think that was a key thing, to get the IP you want to 
feel like you are that character… As the alien it’s about making you feel like you want to capture that person and take them as a host for the queen.”

True to the spirit of the original series of both Alien and Predator, the new instalment in the franchise isn’t light on the gore. Predators are capable of taking trophies from their defeated enemies, which of course could only be their decapitated head complete with dangling spinal cord. In fact, the studio’s decision to keep AvP graphic almost saw the title banned in Australia, with censors initially denying the game classification.

“I wasn’t really surprised,” says Mackman. “You can’t really do Alien vs Predator without seeing what they do to people, so that had to be maintained.”

Alien vs Predator will be out in New Zealand this month, warts, spinal cords and all.