Alien vs. Predator

"One of the top games for the Jaguar"

The Atari Jaguar the system that could but didn't. Most people will remember the Jaguar for being the last console made by Atari and one of the worst consoles made by Atari and anyone in general. While the Atari Jaguar had some problems some decent games were made for the system. Some of these games include Doom, Wolfenstien 3D, Cannon Fodder, Cybermorph, etc. Easily one of the best games on the Atari Jaguar was Aliens vs. Predator. The review will be on what I consider one of the best games for the Atari Jaguar.

Story 7/10

The basic outline of the story is that a space station that is under the command of Colonial Marines is attacked by two different ships that dock with the station. One of them is a ship with Aliens on it; the other ship is filled with Predators. As a result most of the Marines were killed as a result. There are three different characters your can choose from, an Alien, a Predator, and the last Colonial Marine. Each of them has their own story to go along with.

As the Marine, you are the last human alive in the station and your objective is to destroy the station and make your escape via an escape pod while fighting off hordes of Aliens and Predators.

For the Alien your object is to save the Queen from the Predator ship. As the Alien you cannot use health items so you must cocoon Marines in order to survive.

Finally as the Predator, you are a young Predator who must go on the hunt for the ultimate prize, the skull of the Queen Alien. While doing so you must earn points for honorable killings and earn new weapons to use in the hunt.

When you play each story you will not run into another of your same kind. If you play as the Marine, the only people you will find are dead Marines and workers of the station.

For the Alien and Predator your main foes will consist of Marines and then later one you will find the opposite specie to fight. If you play as the Predator you will fight the Aliens later on, and if you are the Alien you will fight Predators later on.

It's not the most original story out there, but it's a decent story which could have provided more story into why the Predator's and Alien's ships decided to dock at the space station.

Controls 8/10

The controls for the game are pretty good. While you use the A, B, and C buttons for actions, the number pad serves as your changing weapons buttons. It's easy to move around and hitting the enemies is quite easy.

Sound 7/10
There is no music in the game except for the menu screens. In game you only have the noises of the enemies, and your guns alone with the computer voices that play when you access a computer terminal. More sounds could have been used for when your enemies die, since it's just one sound for the Alien, one sound for the Predator, and one sound for the Marine when he dies. While your Marine makes different noises when you get hurt, more noises could have been used for injuries. While not having music adds to the scare value of the game, it can seem boring later on in the game.

Graphics 6/10

This is one of the weak points in the game. While the graphics are not bad, they didn't age well, and look ugly by today's standards. It's not true 3d but some of the graphics for the walls and bodies could have been done better overall. The Marines look exactly the same when they die no matter what weapon they are using. It looks like they are holding a shotgun when they may be using a flame thrower or pulse rifle. The other bodies could have done better since everyone is either wearing tan pants and a green shirt, or a white lab coat.

Replay Value 6/10

This is sadly another weak point in this game. While you have three characters you can choose from and each have their own scenario, there is not much replay value after you play all of the scenarios. There is no bonuses for completing the game in a certain time, the only reward is seeing the ending and having some pride for finishing time. While you can replay the game over and over to see how fast you can beat the game it gets old after a while.

Game modes 3/10

There is no multiplayer, which would have been neat to have like co-op or death matches but sadly they are not included in this game. This is also another weak point, since not having multiple is no excuse.

Overall score 8/10

Pros:

Decent Story
Good sounds
Different scenarios allow for different modes of play.

Cons
Bad aged graphics
Not enough sound effects
NO MULTIPLAYER

Final Thoughts

While this game does have some problems like no multiplayer and aged graphics, it's overall a fun game to play. It has a certain scare value to it, if you have never played the game before since you never know what is just around the corner.

Would I recommend this game? I would recommend this game. If you are a Jaguar owner and are looking for some extra games to add, this is one to have. Also if you are an Alien or Predator fan then this is another game for you to have if you also have the Jaguar.

If you this is game is a port of the arcade game then you would be sadly mistake by the fact that this is nothing like the arcade game one bit.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 07/13/07, Updated 10/22/07

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