Aliens Versus Predator: Extinction

"Best RTS + AvP game ever. Most enjoyable war game ever."

There may be upcoming RTS (Real Time Stragety) games that look better, but they are no where near as fun as this RTS game, considering it takes place in the AvP
universe and it\'s made by a team experienced in RTS games.

I haven\'t had this much fun with a stragety war game since back in the day when all we had were green plastic toy commandos; pitting them against He-Man and Voltron units that were strategically placed throughout the battlefield (most of the house\'s first floor and basement =P )

The Aliens and Predator franchises were not just about fear, they were also about teamwork to survive. The first person shooter AvP games for the PC lacked that reality by having the playing complete all the missions/levels by themselves. (Heck even Ripley isn\'t lucky enough to survive a whole movie without the help of others.)

Well fear not. This time it\'s war. LITERALLY. And this time you\'re not alone :)

That doesn\'t mean there is no fear or tension during each mission. On the contrary!
Example: your units are being slaughtered by an unexpected massive assault from an opposing species. A few of your units survive long enough to retreat to a seemingly safe area. But your Synthetic\'s motion tracker detects incoming enemies. The team is cornered. You don\'t think your units will survive another attack without reinforcements or medical assistance. But the nearest landing beacon is too far away, and by the time the dropship arrives with the Medics, SADARs, etc., they won\'t make it in time!!!! So what do you do???

Moments like these are really intense and it\'s pretty tragic when your units get killed.

Well let me shorten this review so you get the idea:

PRESENTATION : 10

Every cell in this game\'s body is EXPLODING with everything AvP! It includes countless features you can only dream of doing in other AvP games. The game starts
with a awesome video of Aliens, Predators and Marines doing awesome stuff. Then you get a excellent title screen and then a menu screen that has one of the coolest looped backdrops! It shows 2 Marines (1 injured) high on some mountain cliff thing. An Alien on the lower left, and a Predator on the lower right. It\'s really cool and funny and amazing to look at. Of course a cranky old coot will think nothing of it, but a true AvP fan would appreciate it. :)

Also, the story before each mission is presented with large, GORGEOUS and original art accompanied by informative text. It\'s really cool.

GRAPHICS : 10

A game\'s visuals should be judged by its visuals alone. Not how it compares to games with more realistic graphics or games that utilizes 100% of a console\'s performance.

The units are sharp, detailed and very well animated! The colors are also very well done. So even zooming out, you can tell who\'s a Medic, Predator Brawler, etc.

The enviornments are large and quite lively. With rippling rivers, burning wreckages, wandering wildlife, and more! The explosions, acid, blood, gore, muzzle flashes and countless other effects are extremely well done.

CONTROLS : 10

This RTS game was specifically made for the console, so thanks to Zono\'s expertise, they mastered designing the controls in such a way that it\'s quick and easy to select/move units, form squads, issue commands, order units and upgrades, etc.!
With a little practice, you won\'t have any problems keeping your units in check.

SOUND/MUSIC : 10

Flawless sound effects and voices. From the pulse rifles firing to the explosions and screams, Predator roaring, Alien inhaling, etc. Everything is top notch. The music is also very good. Some of it you may have heard before, and all the tracks fit the AvP mood perfectly. Turn the volume as high as you want :)
And if you don\'t want to hear any voices, you can turn voices down in options.

GAMEPLAY : 10

No matter how many pages I write, I can\'t summarize the whole thing..

I recommend selecting Tutorial first. Tutorial is a HANDS-ON experience on how to effectively adapt to the game\'s controls and rules.

This is someone who will talk you through it with clarity and understanding. =)

If you weren\'t paying attention, you can pause to read the current step.

Please take the time to go through the Basic, Advanced, Marine, Predator and Alien tutorials, they are surprisingly fun to do and you learn a lot, especially about your
opposing species\' strengths.

The Bestiary gives you PAGES upon PAGES of detailed information about each
species and EVERY type of unit in the game! It includes pictures, comparison charts, THE WORKS!!! You can also view the Bestiary anytime while you pause the gameplay. Thank you, Zono!

The missions themselves can literally take over an hour to complete, while there\'s never a dull moment. And with the multiple difficulties, you are never left without a good challenge! Each mission has multiple objectives and optional objectives. The maps are so large and full of different paths that there are countless ways to secure and dominate each area.

The game offers 3 comfortable camera views. Normal, Zoom out, and Zoom in.
Zoom in is almost side view and it\'s useful to see the action closer than in most RTS games. If a wall or obstacle is blocking your view, use the Back button to zoom out.
The other 2 zoom modes are very helpful and it\'s smart to make use of all 3 zoom options.
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There are many ways to organize your units. My favorite way is highlighting the units I want to group up, then holding the White button and pressing the D-pad in the direction I want to assign that squad to. So you can set up to 4 groups. And you can switch between then instantly by double tapping the D-pad in the direction you assigned them to.
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Now for the units. Each one is so unique and awesome to have! There is not a single unit type or units upgrade I don\'t like. Zono designed the units in such a way that NONE of them are useless and ALL of them are fun to use and cool to look at!

And in addition to each unit type available, most have upgrades that turn them into even more effective, useful and sometimes ESSENTIAL units!!

I love playing as all 3 species, especially the Colonial Marines. (tip: upgrade your Medics and Synthetics when you can). This game has so much replay value since the CPU is so challenging, the units are useful, smart and fun to use! The combat and exploration is so intense, gory and jaw dropping!!! etc.!!!
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As for the A.I., yes, like the well known RTS that received a \'PC game of the year\' award, Starcraft, there are times when your units will wander off. Just pay attention and keep track of your units, and try not to squeeze them all through a tight opening at once, and that\'ll less likely happen.

But on the bright side, the A.I. is so smart that they immediately attack any enemies on sight and while moving(if you want them to), and units like Medics and Comm Techs automatically do their job (healing/repairing) if they are within range of an injured/damaged target :)

You will definitely come across countless cool and memorable moments.
Like, I was in this Marines mission that involved a optional mission of keeping a scientist alive. well, I left him and a Medic near a landing beacon while the rest of the squad moved towards the primary mission objective. Well later on, my main squad has been
fighting enemies and then I noticed the ping sound and the red mark on the minimap that showed a battle going on by that landing beacon. I immediately jump to that part of the map and I see an injured medic and the scientist firing at an Alien with no legs!

I check the medic, scientist and Alien\'s health and knew that they wouldn\'t survive (Medic are not great offensive units and the scientist only had a knife or scapel, I think, LOL!

So anyways, I highlighted them both by holding A and letting go. and then had them retreat south!

So all you see, in zoomed-in mode, a badly injured Medic and scientist running south, while being chased by an Alien with no legs, that was using it\'s arms to clamor it\'s way after them. The humans must of been like, \'aaaaaaaAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaa!!\'

That was so damn funny, I didn\'t notice they were running towards Aliens that were already south. So in the end they were bloody mush before the other Alien got there!
hahaha! and that was just one of those kind of moments! =)

Zono simplified the way to get credits/money in the game to purchase more units/upgrades, etc. I thank them whole heartedly. The currency award type of system for each species is quick and painless. (unlike the tedious mineral gathering from other RTS games.)

And also, the maximum amount of units you can have is properly balanced! not too few and not too many. You can have up to 25 Marines, 14+ Predators, and 45 Aliens.
The mass quanities really lead to massive battles and the flexability to split up and explore multiple areas at once.

Well to sum it up. This game (like any game) isn\'t for everyone.

But if you try it and love it, you\'ll never let go. :)

Thank you, Zono.

Rest assured that while many magazines and websites didn\'t give the game the credit it deserves, there are still AvP fans and newcomers alike that will appreciate this game as much as I do. :)

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 08/06/03