Aliens Vs. Predator 2 is much better than the original and is thoroughly engaging even with some shortcomings.

User Rating: 8.1 | Aliens Versus Predator 2 PC
I played the original Aliens Vs. Predator a few months ago after reading how critically acclaimed it was and how many fans still play it to this day. To put it simply, I was not impressed. Nothing in that game really popped out at me. It just failed to spark my interest and keep me playing. I did finish the main story missions for each character, but I didn't bother with the bonus missions and I highly doubt that I'll ever go back and play it again. Despite all of the deceptive accolades and my huge disappointment with the first game, I still thought I'd give this game a shot. I am so happy I did. This game surprised me in many ways.

There are 3 characters you can play as. Just like in the first game, you can play as the Marine, the Predator, or the Alien. Each of them have 7 levels to play through, some of which have multiple parts to them. So with 21 levels, some more expanded than others, this game has a little meat to it. Sure, it won't take you all that long to blast through it, but it's long enough to make it noteworthy.

The Marine is the most basic of the 3. If you've ever played a first person shooter on a PC, then you should have no problem playing as the Marine. Throughout the game, you'll be bombarded by enemies of all types. You'll fight a lot of humans, a Predator or two, and a whole bunch of Aliens. Fighting the Aliens is easily the trickiest because 1) they're super quick and you'll be dead fast if you get surrounded and 2) a lot of the environments are very dark making it much harder to see the quick moving species. Luckily, you'll be fitted with flares, night vision, and a shoulder lamp. All of these help make your fights a bit easier, but the fun is figuring out how to utilize them. Should you use the shoulder lamp since it drains less batteries, use the night vision knowing full well that it eats up batteries quick, or throw one of your few flares in the room ahead to light it up? Most of the time it really won't matter, but there are some instances where one is easily better than the other which adds a little strategy to the game. Besides this, you'll also have your usual gunplay. You'll run around, shoot some enemies, proceed forward, and repeat. It's not that it's not fun, but it's exactly the same as other shooters and not any better.

The Predator is the most versatile of the 3. You'll have 3 different vision modes besides your normal one. These are what make up the strategy for the Predator. In the normal mode, you'll automatically see an aura around living creatures which clues you in to where they are without them having to see you. However, in your other vision modes, you'll be able to lock on to the humans or Aliens and shoot them with your shoulder cannon. So you'll have to ask yourself which one you find more useful. The Predator also has a cloaking ability which anybody that has seen the movies should know is the coolest asset of the Predator. Sadly, it just doesn't seem to work properly. There are times where it will work perfectly and you'll be able to sneak past or stealth kill your enemy, but other times they'll see you from a considerable distance and start shooting. Yes, I know movement can still be seen while cloaked, but that doesn't change the fact that it's highly inconsistent.

One of the other things that disappointed me about the Predator are the platforming segments. In the movies, the Predator is running everywhere and jumping through trees and it looks awesome. In this game, the platforming segments are just terrible. You'll usually just have to jump up to a higher area or cross some platforms. But the problem is that it just isn't fun and sometimes it's frustratingly difficult. An improved platforming engine for the Predator would have been greatly appreciated and even having whole levels where you just sneak around and spy with a lot of platforming would have been nice to break up the repetition that starts to settle in. Besides this, the Predator is nothing more than another FPS with some different weapons thrown in. You'll have your shoulder cannon, a spear gun, a weapon that can only be described as a ninja star boomerang (you throw it, it kills its target, and it returns to you), and others. They're cool to use, but you'll quickly find that they work exactly like regular guns and the difference is minimal.

The Alien is the biggest departure from the tried and true first person perspective. The Alien's abilities are severely limited and because of that, it actually makes these areas the most engaging. Playing as the Marine is cliché so you won't think much of it and playing as the Predator is no different. You'll still feel like a soldier. But the Alien segments actually make you feel like this character. You'll only have 4 attacks: a swipe with your tail, a swipe with your claws, a head bite, and a lunge. The thing that makes these areas the most engaging however are the ways you can sneak up on your prey and take them out. The Alien can wall walk and there is nothing more satisfying than cunningly advancing to the spot on the ceiling right above where your prey is, jumping down in front of him, and biting his head off. It's just something that you have to do to truly appreciate. The greatest improvement in the Alien section of the game from the first one is that the sight of the Alien in the first game was skewed on each side. It made everything look sort of curved and it did nothing more than give the player a headache. There were even times when I felt nauseated playing it. Thankfully, the sequel rights these wrongs and does away with the nauseating and headache inducing first person perspective from the first game and replaces it with the standard view.

During the first level or two of the Alien, you'll be able to do something that you couldn't in the first game (if my memory serves me well) but always wanted to. You'll get to grow into the Alien that we all know and love. You'll start as a facehugger that has just hatched onboard a ship and you'll have to find a solitary host to take over. You won't be able to attack so being stealthy and quiet is the best way to proceed. After you find your host, you'll burst out of his chest and begin your quest to grow. You still won't be able to attack and you won't be able to wall walk in this stage either. Both of these stages in the Alien life don't have much depth and they're fairly easy, but they're arguably the best part of it because it really gives you the feeling that you're controlling your own destiny.

The graphics are much better than I expected. Since the first game is so old, it was hard for me to get past the ugly graphics and effects when I played it. This game thankfully looks passable. It looks like a very early Playstation 2 game. It certainly doesn't look nearly as good as newer PS2 games, much less next-gen games, but it was fine. The lighting was especially good. The first game was way too dark and it became a cheap tactic for the enemies to easily kill you before you even see them. This game still has it's dark parts, but your flashlights and night vision will make up for it.

The sound is mostly top notch. The Alien and Predator sound great. The Predator war cry sounds absolutely perfect, although it does get used way too often. Every time you cut off a head, he'll let his scream out. It gets annoying, but it also takes any of the realism that the game had going for it out because nobody else can hear it. It's just there to let you know you took a head. The Alien sounds the best through and through. When it gets shot or burned, the painful shriek it lets out sounds just like it did in the original movie and it's music to the ears. Also accurate, the growl it emits when about to take a victim is amazing. While you're playing as the Marine, you'll hear both species make their cries and growls and it's definitely unnerving. There were more than a few times where I'd hear the sprinting footsteps of an Alien, look around, and nothing was there. It was great. The worst part of the sound is undoubtedly the voice acting. Honestly, I can't tell you what was going on in the story, nor did I care. The developers tried to tie all of the character's stories together and from what I understood, they did a fairly decent job, but the voice actors pretty much killed any interest I had in it from the start.

In my review for the first Aliens Vs. Predator game I said that it was just too old to be as highly revered as it once was and it lost something over time. Fortunately, this game makes me feel the opposite. I feel like this game has stood the test of time and is still fun to play today as it undoubtedly was back when it was released. I also didn't think the first game was particularly scary. The sequel still isn't scary per se, but it was a few tense moments and a couple cheap jump parts. I know this is an old game and most people that haven't played it probably never will, but if you can find it for cheap somewhere, Aliens Vs. Predator 2 is a high octane ride with everybody's favorite sci-fi monsters that you won't soon forget.