Being a big fan of Rebellion's original Aliens vs. Predator FPS, the studio's new sequel--a faithful three-campaign amalgamation of the original experience--is extremely exciting to me. And while I didn't go hands-on with it at E3, I did get a behind-closed-doors look at the Marine campaign. And the Marine campaign, as any fan knows, is the best part of any AVP title.
What I saw was encouraging. In terms of raw graphical prowess, the new Alien vs. Predator is a pure species of Alien game. Smoke, light and shadow dominated the palette in an overrun civilian compound, the setting of the demonstration. Gaping, acid-encrusted holes in the steel walkways, turret targeting lasers faintly cutting through the haze--it all would have been intensely scary, had the introductory level not been populated with scores of NPCs.
But beyond the game's impressive graphical touches--those screenshots aren't doctored--Rebellion is putting some work into making the iconic enemies just as terrifying to fight as they were in the original.
In the new AVP, Giger's nightmares understand what shadow is, and will intelligently use it to their advantage. During one assault, three aliens rapidly closed in on the Marine and his NPC buddies. After taking down two of the beasts, the third quietly disappeared near the end of the battle. Sensing a trap, the Marine slowly... Read more
