The horrifically violent finishing moves are the highlight of this sporadically problematic First-Person shooter
Marine Campaign = 7/10
The marine campaign starts off surprisingly well, and is genuinely creepy for the first hour or so. You'll get a good nervous sense when navigating dak corridors, with only the comfort of your flashlight, and, of course, your gun. Unfortunately, the guns aren't fun to use. The assault rifle is a petty gun, and sounds horrible. I found the pistol the best weapon to use, and it is very useful aswell. The aliens cleverly conseal themselves in the vents, at which point becomes unnerving.
Sadly, after the first hour, you'll venture outside, mostly through jungles and ancient ruins. This is the point in which you get a heavy serving of boredom and repetition. You not only encounter aliens, but encounter human-like androids, which provide some really frustrating moments as they take several clips to be brought down, and are deadly with the weapons they weild.
Much of the story will be told through this campaign, but its boring and totally uninteresting.
Its ok overall, but thankfully the other 2 campaigns are more fun (and gory!)
Predator Campaign = 7.5/10
This campaign still has some problems which hold it back, but it has some absolutely thrilling moments. Experiencing the First-person view of the Predator is one that should certainly not be missed. There are some very familiar weapons from the famous movies, and each dishes out a fair amount of grisly punishment to helpless soldiers. Predator, as you know, utilises stealth against enemies, and when your taking out human prey one by one, you feel like the almighty alien, which can only be a good thing. Stealth sections can be problematic though, thanks to annoying enemy AI, and occasionally unresponsive controls. The best way to stealth kill enemies, is to lure them away from each other. Once alone, sneak up behind them for a extremely brutal trophy kill or finishing move. Heave your enemies up into the air with your wristblades, or physically rip the spine and skull out of your opponent with your bare hands. There is great variety in all the different moves, and each one is remarkably, and suitably, bloodthirsty to execute.
When it goes like this each time, you get a huge sense of satisfaction, but the AI can sometimes hinder your enjoyment. Like sometimes, they'll see right through your invisibility cloak from far away, or even here your footsteps when your creeping up behind them. Apart from that, Predator is a formidable and powerful character to possess.
You also have other equipment if you want to go for a more open battle approach. You can throw a deadly disc through the air, and even blast enemies to pieces with your plasma caster. Some thrilling stuff for sure! You also will encounter the aliens, so the element of surprise just won't work. 2 other vision modes can be used to scout out your environment first though, so you can gain first blood.
Alien Campaign = 8/10
The alien campaign, in my opinion, was slightly better than the other two. Its fast paced, and like before in the Predator campaign, experiencing the strength of the alien first hand is cool and fun.
The best thing about the alien, is your ability to end humans lives dramatically and gruesomely. You can pull off all sorts of bloody killing moves when you get closer enough to your enemies. Getting around walls and ceilings can sometimes be troublesome though, since ocassionally you went grip onto the wall when you want, and then getting off can also get on your nerves. However, once you get used to the controls, this will rarely happen. The stealth scenes are well done, and like before, the idea is to get people on their own, away from the rest of the group. You can't spit acid like you might have expected. But what you lack in acid, you make up for with deadly claws, which come as no surprise, great fun to use.
Overall, Aliens vs Predator will last you a good 10 hours. It may have its problems, but the best thing about it, is its tremendously violent moments, that will make even the hardened gamers wince at some of the deaths. A rental is advisable.
Story - 1/5
Characters - 3/5
Gameplay - 3/5
Controls - 3/5
Graphics - 3/5
Sound - 4/5
Length - 3/5
Replayability - 2/5
Atmosphere - 3/5
Enemy AI - 2/5
Good Points: Finishing moves and trophy kills are brutally awesome, You experience the First-Person view and killing instincts with the Alien and the Predator, Suitably gory, Some great sound effects.
Bad Points: Marine campaign gets really boring towards the end, Some unresponsive controls, Marine weapons aren't fun to shoot, Uninteresting story, Stealth sections can occasionally be troublesome.