Alien vs. Predator

"A Jaguar must-have, but with a few flaws........"

Yeah, yeah, I know - It's AVP. How can it go wrong? Easily. However, considering that this game was released almost 13 years ago, it's rather well made. I've been a fan of a possible AVP crossover ever since watching Predator 2 and saw the Alien skull in the trophy room of the Predator's ship. Granted, the series has had several slipups(pointing to the horrible SNES and Game Boy versions of the same title), but the Jaguar version took MANY steps in the right direction. Note that I am rating the game as it is, not compared to todays games.

Graphics - 8
The game is a Doom clone, but the graphics, even though they are 2D sprites, are very well done. The environment is what I call "Basic 3D", meaning there is no height differences in the levels. Most of the objects, as well as the various Aliens, are well designed and they look it(especially the Alien Queen!). Sadly, though, the Predators and Marines are slightly blurred, but still ok. The only gripe I have is that the graphics could have been a little better....

Sounds/Music - 5
The Pulse Rifle and Smart Gun sounds are nowhere NEAR what they should have been. I've had friends make rather accurate sounds of a Pulse Rifle or Smart Gun being fired on an old HP machine, using nothing but a .wav creator. Explosions, Alien screeches, opening doors, and pressurizing airlocks, however, all sound like they should. The Flamethrower is somewhat accurate, the Shotgun...well, it's HARD to screw up a shotgun sound effect. The Predator's voice-overs, however...they are taken right from the movie and sound great. There's nothing worse than stalking sub-level 2 as the marine, down to a shotgun, and hearing "Anytime" or the trademark Predator laugh. The Motion Tracker sounds like it should, with the exception of a slightly higher pitched beep when it reads something. As for the Music, well, there is none, aside from the title screen. This is better than the PC version however - when the music came on(or changed) you could tell something was about to happen. With the Jaguar version, and henceforth, no music, you have NO warning. Imagine accidentally finding your way into the Queen's chambers without any sort of warning......oops, game over.

Story - 5
It's your basic "one man army" storyline for all three races - the marine is the last one alive cause he was in cryosleep, the Predator is on his "rite of passage" and is alone, and the Alien....well, except for the fact that he can cocoon human victims, he is alone as well, trying to rescue his Queen from the Predators. Being a Doom clone, it works; I mean, we've ALL seen worse . There are some problem areas, but being a hardcore Alien/Predator fan, perhaps I am just being anal about it.

Gameplay - 9
Here's where the game shines. Each race has a different style of play, much like the PC AVPs. However, it is in some ways simplified, and in others, more complicated. The Marine is the easiest to get into - it is your typical FPS - get the gun, kill the baddie, get the key, repeat. The Predator...well, most of us are by now used to striking from concealment while invisible. No more - you MUST attack when visible, or you lose "honor points" which are needed to get new weapons. You can move around and stuff while invisible, no problem. However, if you attack WHILE invisible, you lose those points. Lose enough points, you'll lose the weapon. Yeah, big problems, right? The Predator has it easy compared to the Alien. HE has NO wall climbing ability, no Sniper Munch, NOTHING to help him - except for the ability to have multiple "lives" via the cocooning ability. Put simply, the Alien can cocoon three marines to impregnate with new Aliens to take over for him when he dies. This DOES take a little time, and seeing as the Alien is as weak as his PC counterpart...well, stealth is CRITICAL to a successful game.

Replay Factor - 6
Ok, let's face it - the game is a simplified Doom clone. Yes, there are three scenarios. Yes, you can always try to beat the game in a single sitting. Yes, I've probably heard that one too. Bottom line is, once you beat all three scenarios, there really isn't much else to do, unless you want to do some extreme challenges for the heck of it.


Overall - 7
Overall, AVP is a must-have for the Jaguar. It is one of those video game experiences that you'll want to play at least once for each race. The game is somewhat easy to find on eBay(sometimes you'll see none, other times you'll find 100 of them). If you own a working Jaguar, get this game - you won't be disappointed.

Buy/Rent/Download
You should be able to find it on eBay for around $10, plus shipping(give or take about 5 bucks). As for downloading - I do not entirely support emulation, so I can't comment on that.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 11/02/06, Updated 03/10/09

Game Release: Alien vs. Predator (US, 10/20/94)