Aliens vs Predator
The AvP demo dropped today. It consists of a one level death match. Players can choose to play as the Aliens (Xenomorphs for the faithful), Predators, or the generic Space Marines. The match holds up to eight players with only two of which being able to select the Predator. That's right, no more than two Preds per match. I don't see why, as each class is a blast to play, but thems the rules. Locked out of the demo are different skins to play as for each class. The game ends when a player either racks up 30 kills or the 10 minute timer expires.
The level itself is dark and very confusing. It appears to be a Marine base overrun with Alien growths. There are weapons, ammo, and health kits scattered around for the Marines and Predators. The Aliens are completely self sufficient. While playing, you can hear the growls, hisses, and gun fire of other players. It seems to be coming from everywhere at once; the acoustics of the level are quite interesting. Enough about that though, let's get to what you want, the classes.
The Marines - The Marines are your standard grunt. They carry a large machine gun with an under slung grenade launcher (grenades found separately). He has a light melee attack as well, but that only serves to push away something that's too close. Throughout the level are various other guns to use, such as a shotgun, flamethrower, and rifle. Tucked away is another weapon that appeared to take two of our previous weapons to make. It was a mini gun with a feature that gave targets an outline, making them easier to target. The Marine also comes equipped with radar that shows targets in a 180 degree line of sight. It also makes an incessant beeping whenever something is close by.
Aliens - Aliens are fast and stealthy. Speed is the name of the game when playing this class. In addition, the Aliens have the ability to run over any surface, with the right trigger transitioning the surface you are on. They have a quick light claw attack and a slow heavy attack with their tails. If you manage to sneak up on an enemy, you can press "X" to perform an instant kill. The only issue with this is that you are left vulnerable while your character goes through the animation. The leads to many instant kill conga lines with players lining up behind others stuck in animation. Aliens cannot pick up any other weapons and must hiss to regain health. I don't understand how it works, but it's fun to stalk another player on the ceiling and occasionally hiss at them. It usually ends up with them firing blindly into the darkness. If you are taken down, however, you blood is that delightful acid that pools up and injures anything too close. So you might get lucky with a kill from the grave.
The Predator - The Predator is a behemoth. He starts off with a pair of claws strapped to each arm. He uses the same light/heavy attack pattern as the Alien, but can also find weapons around the level. I managed to track down his staff and the frisbee of death. Also, like the Alien, he has an instant kill attack with the same issues. The Predator's greatest strength is his ability to stealth and the three types of vision. While in stealth, you can run around without fear of humans seeing you. However, the Aliens can see a faint red outline. The vision is a treat though as you can relive the movies with all the classic sound effects. You have your standard vision, thermal (for humans), and a monochromatic mode that renders Aliens in bright green. The Predator also has the ability to set up simple traps that go off when another player stumbles by them.
If the game plays as smoothly as the demo, then it should be fantastic. My only complaint was that the demo didn't support two players on the same Xbox. As of yet, I cannot find any information as to how many players the final version supports on a single console. The game comes out February 16, 2010 for NA.
The level itself is dark and very confusing. It appears to be a Marine base overrun with Alien growths. There are weapons, ammo, and health kits scattered around for the Marines and Predators. The Aliens are completely self sufficient. While playing, you can hear the growls, hisses, and gun fire of other players. It seems to be coming from everywhere at once; the acoustics of the level are quite interesting. Enough about that though, let's get to what you want, the classes.
The Marines - The Marines are your standard grunt. They carry a large machine gun with an under slung grenade launcher (grenades found separately). He has a light melee attack as well, but that only serves to push away something that's too close. Throughout the level are various other guns to use, such as a shotgun, flamethrower, and rifle. Tucked away is another weapon that appeared to take two of our previous weapons to make. It was a mini gun with a feature that gave targets an outline, making them easier to target. The Marine also comes equipped with radar that shows targets in a 180 degree line of sight. It also makes an incessant beeping whenever something is close by.
Aliens - Aliens are fast and stealthy. Speed is the name of the game when playing this class. In addition, the Aliens have the ability to run over any surface, with the right trigger transitioning the surface you are on. They have a quick light claw attack and a slow heavy attack with their tails. If you manage to sneak up on an enemy, you can press "X" to perform an instant kill. The only issue with this is that you are left vulnerable while your character goes through the animation. The leads to many instant kill conga lines with players lining up behind others stuck in animation. Aliens cannot pick up any other weapons and must hiss to regain health. I don't understand how it works, but it's fun to stalk another player on the ceiling and occasionally hiss at them. It usually ends up with them firing blindly into the darkness. If you are taken down, however, you blood is that delightful acid that pools up and injures anything too close. So you might get lucky with a kill from the grave.
The Predator - The Predator is a behemoth. He starts off with a pair of claws strapped to each arm. He uses the same light/heavy attack pattern as the Alien, but can also find weapons around the level. I managed to track down his staff and the frisbee of death. Also, like the Alien, he has an instant kill attack with the same issues. The Predator's greatest strength is his ability to stealth and the three types of vision. While in stealth, you can run around without fear of humans seeing you. However, the Aliens can see a faint red outline. The vision is a treat though as you can relive the movies with all the classic sound effects. You have your standard vision, thermal (for humans), and a monochromatic mode that renders Aliens in bright green. The Predator also has the ability to set up simple traps that go off when another player stumbles by them.
If the game plays as smoothly as the demo, then it should be fantastic. My only complaint was that the demo didn't support two players on the same Xbox. As of yet, I cannot find any information as to how many players the final version supports on a single console. The game comes out February 16, 2010 for NA.
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