A masterpiece and a classic - can be easily recommended to any gamer for its awesome gameplay and immersive atmosphere.

User Rating: 10 | Aliens Versus Predator 2 PC
So what happens when you mix an immersive atmosphere with great gameplay mechanics, good use of a popular license, a well-told story, improvements over a previous game and a worthwhile multiplayer option? You get a video game like Aliens versus Predator 2. AvP2 has got everything an exciting first-person shooter should have… and more! So what makes it so fantastic? Feel free to read on, if you wish to know why you will soon be either looking through your collection for this game, or going out and buying it if for some mad reason you don't already own it.

First of all, Aliens versus Predator 2 offers three completely unique singleplayer campaigns. Each one of these is very different to the other two because you get to play as different characters (from different species). There's the Marine campaign, the Predator campaign and last but not least, the Alien Campaign. What makes each of these special are the different weapons that the player can use and the different gameplay mechanics that are present in each campaign. All three of them are fairly short individually, but add up together to form a good length. Although the game has only one main story, each campaign shows it from a different perspective and at a different time.

The marine campaign puts you in the boots of Corporal "Frosty" Harrison, the electronics specialist belonging to a squad of Colonial Marines. It concentrates on creating suspense and tension when wondering through dark corridors, using an unreliable shoulder lamp, night vision (which rapidly eats away at your battery) or flares to light your way - then, suddenly throwing the player into a combat scene full of action-packed, FPS gameplay. Although the marine campaign uses confined spaces to great effect, it does not limit the player to exploring just those and does offer some open areas for a few levels. Overall, this campaign is action-packed and the most atmospheric; especially when wandering through air vents with a motion tracker in your hand and listening to the bleeps as the bloodthirsty aliens rapidly advance towards you.

On the other hand, the Predator campaign grants an experience that concentrates on slightly more stealthy gameplay and gives the player loads of weapons to use - making you feel much less helpless that in the marine campaign. While this does remove some of the atmosphere and quite a bit of the suspense, it does so in favour of much more powerful combat sequences. As a Predator, you can use different vision modes (heat signatures for Humans/Aliens etc.) to spot your enemies, as well as cloak yourself to remain undetected for as long as you can until you get close enough for an instant-kill to a powerful enemy. As mentioned before, when playing the Predator campaign, the player gains control over some iconic & powerful Yautja weaponry, such as: the wrist blades, combi-stick, smart disc and the mighty plasma caster (to name a few).

The last of the three - the Alien campaign - allows the player to control a Xenomorph. This campaign concentrates on stealth and fast combat oriented gameplay. It doesn't involve any ranged combat (with the exception of the deadly pounce attack) and gives you speed & agility, over strength and vitality. Whilst playing as an Alien, you will not be able to endure much rapid gunfire from marine weaponry, so you can climb walls and ceilings to avoid taking in all of the damage and move faster by jumping, running and pouncing. You can also use vents and other… unconventional means of travel. Also, somehow when playing as Alien, you feel slightly safer than you do when playing as a Yautja and much safer than controlling a human marine.

Aliens versus Predator 2 has one main plot and the writing itself, although great, is not amazing. However, the way how the story is told through three distinctively different perspectives is fantastic. When you finish the marine campaign for the first time, you will receive a good narrative and be satisfied with it. Then the Predator campaign is more of a tool used to tell you what happened to other characters and overall as the filling in the pie, you could say - as it focuses more on gameplay rather than story. Lastly, the Alien campaign is used for a similar purpose as the previous one is, but to a much lesser extent, as it also serves as a strong ending to the epic plot that may have seemed fairly simple at first (but after playing it from three different perspectives) is now revealed to be surprisingly complex. Also, AvP2 dos a good job of reminding you that all three campaigns are set in the same place. For example: as Frosty, you will come across a whole in the ground… as the Alien, you find out that you're the one who makes that whole.

Now let's move on to the graphics. It may be difficult for some to review an older game so many years after its release. However, as long as you keep in mind the fact that AvP2 was released back in 2001 and can compare to other video games released at the time, it is safe to say that Aliens versus Predator 2 is a very good-looking game. Although it wasn't the most visually impressive game of its time, it was still great back then and even now impresses me with some interesting models, immersive level design and some nice animations. Artistically, there's not much to see here, but the game's art isn't visual… it's all in the atmosphere and gameplay, and those certainly can be classified as art.

AvP2's audio is the cherry on the cake, just what you needed to make the whole experience even better. Obviously the soundtrack is made up of some highly atmospheric, disturbing, calm, depressing and also tribal themes, each appropriate to the specific gameplay sequence that it is played with. The voice acting is, surprisingly, very good and gives personality to every one of the characters. Also, there wasn't a single time where I felt that the sound effects took me out of the immersion. Everything sounds authentic to the original Alien and Predator movies, making all of it feel even more believable - as if you were right there in the game's setting.

What else could a near-perfect game like Aliens versus Predator 2 need to make it so astonishing? Ah yes, a reason to keep the player coming back to it and give him or her the satisfaction of having invested their hard-earned money into a worthwhile product. Well, obviously, the satisfaction is certainly there after completing all three campaigns. The game is actually so immersive that you'll want to replay it on higher difficulties. But that alone is not enough. This is when the multiplayer comes into motion.

AvP2 gives you the traditional deathmatch and team deathmatch options, but there are also new and original game modes that offer even more amazing gameplay. The maps are very good, but the classes you can play as are fantastic. Each player can choose to play as either the USCM (United States Colonial Marines), Xenomorphs, Yautja or Corporates. Each of these factions has various character archetypes that allow for flexibility in gameplay and different styles of combat. This is especially interesting for the Aliens, who get different types of Xenomorphs (such as drone, runner, praetorian and Predalien).

The Good:
+ Gameplay uses immersive techniques and an "alien" atmosphere to hook the player in
+ Creation of suspense and tension is used to immensely good effect
+ Graphics are impressive for 2001 and the level design is great
+ Fantastic music that is highly atmospheric and sound effects that feel authentic
+ 24 weapons in total (10 Marine, 8 Predator + 4 Alien attacks), each unique
+ Some challenge can be found even on the easiest difficulty
+ Impressive use of lighting to further develop atmosphere and increase difficulty
+ Maintains a good, steady frame-rate throughout the whole experience
+ Playing online with other players is a blast, plus the original game modes stop it from getting repetitive
+ Voice acting for all characters has personality and sounds believable
+ Story is successfully told and made epic through three distinctively different perspectives
+ Even those who aren't particularly interested in AvP should love this
+ Large modding community has spawned many interesting, custom singleplayer campaigns
+ If you completely hate AvP, this obviously isn't for you… but may even change your mind!

The Bad:
- If you completely hate AvP, this obviously isn't for you
- It is a shame that the official multiplayer servers were taken down, and after so many years it is hard to find players on the unofficial ones
- The game doesn't hold your hand like most new games do, so those who don't like to investigate and prefer less challenge may dislike some of AvP2

What more can I say? 'Aliens versus Predator 2' is one of those classics that you simply must play! However, unlike most of those, it doesn't have to rely on old fame and can appeal to new fans as well. This is a game that will be loved (by fans of both Xenomorph and Yautja) for ever. It can also be easily recommended to fans of shooters, atmospheric gameplay, complex story and almost any other gamer. Aliens vs. Predator 2 will always remain as one of the very best games I have ever played and I suggest that every gamer puts it on their must-play list.