Ok so with the release date getting close and closer I was curious to see what dakka's gaming community had to say about this game from the content that has been released to the public so far.
So how about it?
whats your prediction of the games enjoyment level ?
Are you personally looking forward to it ?
Are you gonna buy it?
I had the first AvP. It wasn't bad. Not that great, but not that bad. I never got to play AvP 2, sadly. Which is unfortunate because I heard the Alien and Marine campaigns were great. looking forward to this one though.
Wolf wrote:Not MW2 yet unfortuinatly, i have pleanty of steam games mind, Dod source, CSS, TF2, l4d1 + 2, dow 2, empire total war.
list goes on.
Mmo wise its Eve just incase you played it
I HAVE EMPIRE: TW! OMGWTFBBQWEHAVETOCONQUERTEHWERLDTERGETHER!
*Ahem*
On that note, are yuo as pissed as I am that Napoleon: Total War is actually being sold as an entirely new game while all they did was add more UUs/change some meshes, Characters, and boundaries? Seriously. THE GAME LOOKS AND PLAYS THE EXACT SAME.
That's like a white T shirt costing $5 while the same white T shirt with a Vans logo on it costs $50.
Apparently as part of this they are rereleasing the original PC game on Steam near the release for a very low price. If you never played the first one it was a good game.
Its basically a remake of the original... which was a friggin AWESOME game. So its hopefully just as good.... too bad Bioshock 2 is gonna have my attention til FFXIII lol
Words can not describe how much i am looking forwards to this game the first two were awesom, so hopefully this will be just as awesome or even better.
Anshal wrote:Words can not describe how much i am looking forwards to this game the first two were awesom, so hopefully this will be just as awesome or even better.
Anshal wrote:Words can not describe how much i am looking forwards to this game the first two were awesom, so hopefully this will be just as awesome or even better.
Im going to be a marine and hide in a tunnel xD
Lulzs then I`m gonna have to come and finde you then wont I I love being a predator in games, epic win againt hiding marines
I'll be predatorthe majority of the time cause i find it the most fun although alien does sound awfully fun too, sneak up above you head and smear your brains across the floor it's all good.
Anshal wrote:Words can not describe how much i am looking forwards to this game the first two were awesom, so hopefully this will be just as awesome or even better.
Im going to be a marine and hide in a tunnel xD
Plz, just grenade spam dark areas and let your paranoia get the best of you, cuz if you shoot enough bullets your bound to hit something. In other words, I'll be the guy with a -20 kill ratio.
Looks great though, I just wonder if a rock-paper-scissor theme can be put into the game or if it already has. Like: Predator beats marine, marine beats alien, and aliens beat predator.
Hahaha, oh wow. Predators fare better than humans do against the Xenomorphs. In AvP: Requiem (as silly as it was), a single veteran Predator slaughtered dozens of aliens without breaking a sweat, and put up a fair fight with the Hybrid.
Hahaha, oh wow. Predators fare better than humans do against the Xenomorphs. In AvP: Requiem (as silly as it was), a single veteran Predator slaughtered dozens of aliens without breaking a sweat, and put up a fair fight with the Hybrid.
That may be in the movies, but in this case the movies are the fluff and the game is the actual tabletop. So in that logic there may be some case of rock-paper-scissors in there, I just don't know how to apply it yet.
For example: Predator has stealth in the form of a cloaking device, while the alien is fast as hell and can climb on the walls and ceiling. The marine, I beieve, will have a flashlight the entire time so really just gives himself away so in lack of stealth they get automatic weapons. The predator then has a long range weapon, which I have not really seen used yet, but it should be slower than the automatic weapons the marines have. While the aliens have nil when it comes to ranged attacks.
So in a chart that I am using to assess supposed strengths/weaknesses I will go with:
Aliens:
Pro: Quick, can climb walls/ceilings, can detect enemies.
Con: No ranged attacks(in terms of ballistics), there may be a lunge attack.
Predator:
Pro: Cloaking device, strong ranged weapons(if included), can detect enemies.
Con: Long Range attack is slow(but may be the strongest in the game)
Marines:
Pro: Automatic weapons/grenades, little melee strength.
Con: Highly visible to enemies, hard to detect enemies.
I'm just putting down guesses about this stuff, don't know what may change from the first AvP game to this one.
Anshal wrote:Words can not describe how much i am looking forwards to this game the first two were awesom, so hopefully this will be just as awesome or even better.
Im going to be a marine and hide in a tunnel xD
Plz, just grenade spam dark areas and let your paranoia get the best of you, cuz if you shoot enough bullets your bound to hit something. In other words, I'll be the guy with a -20 kill ratio.
Looks great though, I just wonder if a rock-paper-scissor theme can be put into the game or if it already has. Like: Predator beats marine, marine beats alien, and aliens beat predator.
Thats why i love playing Marines , they are pretty weak and rely on their almost useless motion tracker and night vision goggles.
Weak but exciting!
Sounds interesting. One thing that pisses me off though is, that I wont be able to download any extra stuff for this game because it won't get released in Germany and so the markertplace stuff is off-limits as well. :(
Wolf wrote:whats your prediction of the games enjoyment level ?
Are you personally looking forward to it ?
Are you gonna buy it?
1) I think that it will be a fairly popular title judging merely by the popularity of its predecessors AvP and AvPII.
2) In a way yes, because I loved the original so much (I still have my copy of AvP Gold).
3) I am waiting on reviews for this. I am no where near as excited for AvP to be released as I am "Aliens: Colonial Marines". That said, I will either wait to hear a ton of reviews or wait for it to hit bargain bins. Though the "Hunter edition" is sorely tempting just for all the goodies included. If you havent seen or heard of that go here: http://kotaku.com/5432534/aliens-vs-predator-the-fancy-edition
Aliens: Colonial Marines on the other hand, I am buying a console specifically so that I can play the game to indicate just how excited I am about that title.
I do hope that the AvP game will be successful so that Aliens: Colonial Marine will be released all that much sooner.
Its hard to say, Luna. The promo pic is obviously an X-box title, but given how much Microsoft loves to pimp out their Windows OS as well, I would guess that the fancy pants version will hit PC as well.
I want it just for the hardbound comic.
It may be worth it to me just for that alone. I still have my very hard won copy I got when I was 17 years old from the comic shop back in '89 where they only received that one copy at release and I had to fight tooth and nail for it.
I am a sad monkey to know that Aliens: Colonial Marine will likely be out 18 months sooner in the UK than it will be for the US. I wonder if I need a UK X-Box to play UK X-Box games or if I can just use an american one to play them....
That depends. There are NTCS games that work on Pal consoles and probably the other way around, but it doesn't work every time-
I was told at Gamestop that they will get a few copies (they finally picked up selling "indizierte" games, thank Gork), I might buy it just because I can.
The game looks interesting but i am not sold, i loved the movies, all alien movies, all predator movies, all AVP movies they all really peaked my interest, i didn't play the first game was it any good i never knew anyone who would give me a review?
The first AvP game is indeed awesome, even to this day even if the graphics are a bit dated.
I dare you to play the game as a marine in a dark room with headphones on and NOT jump out of your seat when an alien drops from the ceiling and eats your face off.
If the new game is anything like the original (and judging by the designers interviews I have seen thats exactly what they are trying to do, just with better graphics), it will indeed be a good selling game.
Steam has the original game for sale for $5 right now, and are working on the multiplayer patch that will be provided for free when it is complete. You cant beat that price, especially since 'AvP gold edition' was selling recently for quite a good chunk of money of various sites such as amazon and ebay.
AS of tomorrow the AvP team are releasing their official multiplayer demo on all consoles and formats simultaneously, so ps3, pc (steam), xbox live all at once !!
They announced this on the Sega website.
The map will be a deathmatch where all races have advantageous areas to their skills,
i.e predator has high lurking places to hunt from
Alien has dark corners and cielings to pounce from.
Marines have tight corridors to concenrate their fire power.
AS of tomorrow the AvP team are releasing their official multiplayer demo on all consoles and formats simultaneously, so ps3, pc (steam), xbox live all at once !!
Not in Germany it won't.
Wait!
I have an idea! Could on of you kind gentlemen who lives either in England or the US access the Xbox Marketplace over a PC, find the Demo and give me the Link? I have to try something.
Too violent for our rating board. They're pretty picky when it comes to that.
Thanks in advance. I recently dowloaded the Mass Effect 2 DLC which accidently leaked last monday on the US Marketplace. I haven't tried it so far, but I heard it would work, so accessing a Demo over the same channel should work as well.
Everything is smooth , weapons / game play / graphics are all really good.
One thing i dont like are the special kill actions though.
They pretty much "lock" you and the enemy together and you cant really move till its over. In multiplayer i wait for the special kill to activate and i shot gun them at point blank range at their head -_-
Wolf, if you got it on your hard drive it should be available over the marketplace on xbox.com as well. Would you mind checking for and giving me the link for the UK download please.
I hate to say it Anung, but you're not missing much. The MP demo is(while a good demo) too restrictive. All the people who've been playing all day stack the Predator team, the next ones play Xenomorphs, and everyone else gets stuck as Marines.
Cheese Elemental wrote:The demo's available on XBL, and it isn't too big (about 750 mb, I think), but I'll wait until the release, then rent it to try it out.
Problem is Cheese, it's not available over the German marketplace. I hope to avoid that problem by having someone give me the link from the PC Marketplace. It worked with the leaked DLC for Mass Effect 2, so I hope it will work here again.
Cheese Elemental wrote:The demo's available on XBL, and it isn't too big (about 750 mb, I think), but I'll wait until the release, then rent it to try it out.
Problem is Cheese, it's not available over the German marketplace. I hope to avoid that problem by having someone give me the link from the PC Marketplace. It worked with the leaked DLC for Mass Effect 2, so I hope it will work here again.
I wasn't commenting on your problem, I was posting my thoughts.
Cheese Elemental wrote:The demo's available on XBL, and it isn't too big (about 750 mb, I think), but I'll wait until the release, then rent it to try it out.
Problem is Cheese, it's not available over the German marketplace. I hope to avoid that problem by having someone give me the link from the PC Marketplace. It worked with the leaked DLC for Mass Effect 2, so I hope it will work here again.
I wasn't commenting on your problem, I was posting my thoughts.
predator: grab disc, run get up in rafters, grab shoulder cannon, merc anything that moves...quickly recharge..rinse repeat.. people finally realize your room = death? load up on the 'mines' as well... start creepin thru some tunnels drop one every so often to block you from getting flanked... makes you feel so OP after you figure out how to use the weapons lol...
cant get predator?
Alienz are sooooooo fast and fun lol who cares if the predator mercs you everytime you come close? munch on other aliens or pewny humans!
humans? really? no thanks lol although...corridor camping w/ a shotgun is beast lol
Excited about the Campaign(s). After playing the Demo, I hope the Multiplayer gameplay is a bit more balanced, but I've still preordered the Hunter Edition.
This has only improved upon the original in my opinion. I am more than excited to get the retail version! Got it pre-ordered and ready to go.
I can't stop playing the Alien though. It is a bad addiction. I should probably try the other classes but lunging from wall to wall and hiding on ceilings is just too appealing.
I know what you mean, but for me its predator, i cant help but love the fact i have all these gizmos of niceness to use. and each one in some way will impail you split uyou into or explode you lol good times
Played the demo for 5 minutes. Got bored. Deleted from hard drive.
I played the PC game in 1999 and felt that it lacked presentation and polish. I felt the same way about the demo, even with the caveat that it's "just a demo." Maybe I'm spoiled, but I expect a game to look really polished if I'm going to drop $50 or $60 on it.
There are just better games out there now, and coming out soon, to warrant dropping cash on a franchise cash in.
AVP doesnt have fancy gadgets like the newer shooting games because they are sticking very true to what the Aliens , Predators , Marines are. In game they perfectly balanced the essence of what made them what they are while they can still compete with each other.
It's like all game reviewers rama, for example I enjoy the dynasty wariors franchise because its a simple "go beat them up" game and it usually gets horrible reviews. I think that the one game that got the best reviews was 007 Goldeneye for the N64 so that's saying something about new reviews.
AvP comes down to this: if you love the franchise, you'll like the game and ignore any technical errors/gameplay mechanics that don't quite work balanced or correctly.
For everyone else, it's gonna be a "meh" game. Like most Star Wars games that get released. Or Star Trek games. Just another cashing in on a license which will be a flash in the pan, and then people move on to something else. No worries.
Cairnius wrote:AvP comes down to this: if you love the franchise, you'll like the game and ignore any technical errors/gameplay mechanics that don't quite work balanced or correctly.
For everyone else, it's gonna be a "meh" game. Like most Star Wars games that get released. Or Star Trek games. Just another cashing in on a license which will be a flash in the pan, and then people move on to something else. No worries.
Wait.. so you are saying we like the game because its... just a part of the AVP franchize?
Like you never consider there are good reason why we like it in the first place?
What are some technical error and game play mechanic and balance you speak of ?
Technical ? play mechanic errors ? I dont really recall any,
besides I Despise the second AvP movie and only partially enjoy first, (the duels are pretty awesome) and the story line, other than that I dont like it just because it's part fo the Franchise, I think its agreat game too.
I think what some people don't like about this game is that the designers actually took a bit of a realistic approach. They made the Alien, Predator, and Marines exactly what they are suppose to be. The fact is, it's not as forgiving as games like Halo and COD. You make a mistake, you keep your back turned to long, you're going to get an Alien tail through your back. This game looks awesome, and I'll concede that maybe part of it is is biased as I'm a huge AvP fan, but I still think this game looks fantastic as a stand-alone game (without my fanboyism affecting how much I like it).
I still think we need to play the actual game before we knock it. I've never been able to judge a game by the demo alone.
Darth Bob wrote:I think what some people don't like about this game is that the designers actually took a bit of a realistic approach. They made the Alien, Predator, and Marines exactly what they are suppose to be. The fact is, it's not as forgiving as games like Halo and COD. You make a mistake, you keep your back turned to long, you're going to get an Alien tail through your back. This game looks awesome, and I'll concede that maybe part of it is is biased as I'm a huge AvP fan, but I still think this game looks fantastic as a stand-alone game (without my fanboyism affecting how much I like it).
I still think we need to play the actual game before we knock it. I've never been able to judge a game by the demo alone.
The problem is the actual content they give you for the demo.
It's "Aliens Versus Predator" not "Free For All Deathmatch Between Predators and Aliens( with Marines to Pad Your Score)".
They SHOULD have had Infestation or Team DM at the least.
Games now days focus majorly on multilayer , especially AVP franchize where the whole concept of the game
are 3 species ripping each other's guts out. If the game has something good to offer in that department ( which it does )
then it shouldnt be afraid to show it off ( which most people are very happy with the multiplayer demo )
Marine are not particularly strong no. But they are what most FPS are used to , they point + shoot = enemies dead.
Any experienced alien and predator player can finish off a marine without trouble.
While the Infestation team sounds fun , im curious to how they are supposed to fit the scenarios in for all 3 races effectively.
and for Team DM , that is not a good idea. Too often do people rage quite when their team mate is testing out a new specie , or generally "not using their best char to help team win"
With everyone for themselves , you can choose to play / practice with any specie without consequences or effecting others.
Actually no, you can't choose to play/practice with any species in regards to the demo. There's a set limit of how many of each there can be(8 person match allows for 2 Predators+2 Aliens and up to 4 Marines).
That's the biggest problem. Predators and Xenomorphs have a huge learning curve involved, and you can't get better without ACTUALLY GETTING TO PLAY THEM.
At least with Team Deathmatch you're able to potentially get a slot, and get some experience in playing each race...rather than having to worry about getting shanked by any spanker who feels you 'stole' a weapon from him.
And Infestation isn't meant for all 3 races.
Everything I've seen says it's Marines only.
Because it's a fireteam of 4 Marines facing down endless waves of Xenomorphs, ala Gears of War 2's "Horde" mode.
Species slot I have never had a problem with been able to pick my specie in the lobby. So if others snatch it up before you , do it before they do next round.
Learning curve isnt a problem everything has one , if something is made to be more sophisticated its only a matter of time before mastering it.
Like i said , we are only used to Colonial Marines due to its most similar to your normal FPS.
Wolf wrote:That's a good observation Luna, nicely put.
I still need to pre order my copy. should really get to that ...
Thank you :3
I decided to pre order because i figured , it'll be like 3 months after release if they do lower the price ,
if they do , thats like ... maybe $5 off? So 3 month play time is worth the $5 for me xD
Krilau wrote:I pre-ordered AvP collecter's edition. I should have it on friday, i can't wait
I'm surprised it's not banned in Germany.
Developer Rebellion knew it would never be able to get a 18-rating for this game from the USK, the rating board in Germany, so they didn't even try. It will get banned eventually.
I'm so psyched about this game (what can i say, i'm an alien fanboy lol, even got the cuddly face hugger and chest burster lol) its not out till friday but i'm going to be watching all the alien/avp films and reading the novels (which the games are based on) and from the sounds of things the character types are what they should be. now i've just got to finish my evil ME2 play through before getting hooked on another game lol (and as for painting my IG they've got no chance)(either that or they're going to get their paint scheme changed to colonial marines lol)
I think you'll enjoy the Alien AI alot in the game.
Those sneaky roaches... if they have ANYTHING around them to hide / sneak around in , THEY WILL . You will no longer find them running blindly towards you exposed ( unless the area really have no covers )
I have never had so much fun against enemy AI in FPS ever.
Bought an X-Box just to play this. Come in handy by the time Colonial Marine is released. Ordered both the x box and PC versions.
So far I am loving it. So much so, that nobody will see me for several weeks.
Automatically Appended Next Post: I forgot to mention how much I love the fluid animation for the aliens. While I love AVP gold, this really knocks my socks off.
I recently got my old Panther XL upgraded and I am rocking some serious faces with this set up. Its a shame Madcatz stopped making this joystick because it is the best controller I have ever used, bar none.
As someone who has been doing a ton of research on Colonial Marine tech via the old Colonial Marine technical manual printed in the late 80's, I enjoy how Sega continues to borrow much from this source material for their game, much as they did with the original. The Armat M56A2 smart gun for instance uses an infrared target tracking system for accurate aiming and this is reflected quite brilliantly in the game.
Its a beautiful piece of work and it makes me just shiver with anticipation of what Colonial Marine is going to be like if this game is anything to judge it by.
Marine : " I rely on my motion tracker all the time and it still gets me killed , marine sucks "
Alien: " I suffer from major cases of vertigo and i dont know how to sneak up on my targets because i dont know how to scale walls yet "
Predator " I dont know i can press E to grab my opponents... "
Eventually, you'll learn that the same trick in combat dispatches aliens almost every time: block their attack, smash them with a melee attack, and shoot them when they're down. This doesn't work when there are a lot of them, but it gets the job done more often than not.
He meant to say , if cant shoot the alien's head from range , that he rather melee them as marine. And complain it doesnt work when he is zerged.
some levels feature annoying choke points or give you too little room to maneuver, which makes certain sections feel more cheap than challenging.
He obviously doesnt know part of the game + the movie focuses on play of claustrophobia , having trouble in tight spaces? Welcome to the Marines , as we all know aliens practically "swim" in a small room of Marines , swimming in your blood and body parts that is...
Playing as the alien is all about hit-and-run tactics, speeding close to your prey or ambushing him, and either taking him out with a swipe of your powerful tail or speeding away if the action heats up.
Um yes that is the point of what Aliens are about! thanks for confirming it!
The inconsistencies apply to the AI as well. Enemy humanoids will do incredibly stupid things like take cover on the wrong side of a wall, exposing their backs to you. Sometimes, their ability to notice you even when you're camouflaged borders on the magical; other times, they're all but oblivious to your presence from two inches away.
I hope he realize ... the inconsistency from humanoids are because... THEY ARE ANDROIDS They are supposed to be able to see your cloaked . And they'll have their backs on you because like sentry guns , their guard position
have limited angles!
Civilians even run into the corner and cower with their backs to you in the alien campaign, clearly waiting to be harvested rather than making an authentic attempt to escape. Intelligence just isn't Aliens vs. Predator's strong suit.
Such an ironic thing to say , trying to look the other way + cowering is how humans react in a situation they know its hopeless , awaiting their end if you will.
This is beyond the standard fight or flight reaction where they assume there is still a chance.
I take it you don't agree at all with the review, good to know, i was getting a bit worried after reading the review, thinking i might have wasted 80 euros on a potentially bad game.
I take it you don't agree at all with the review, good to know, i was getting a bit worried after reading the review, thinking i might have wasted 80 euros on a potentially bad game.
Do you allready have the game?
Yes, the video ontop of this page is me playing :3
I'd have to agree with luna on that review it was rather shoddy and didn't look at the game as it was meant to be looked at. all the things he brought up were meant to happen.
OK, playing it now. Having a blast in single-player, and I've tried all three species.
The Predator is kind of hard to play as when you've got a bunch of Xenomorphs beating your arse in melee from all directions.
The Xenomorph isn't very tough at all, even though it regenerates pretty quickly. If you venture out of the dark, you'll take a vicious pounding.
The Marine is pretty fun to play as. The motion tracker's constant ticking adds to the dark and scary atmosphere, and the Xenomorphs use it to feth with your head, especially on the first mission. The dots will appear all around you, they get closer and closer and then... poof! The footsteps go silent and the dots vanish. Very eerie.
Will report back when I've played online tomorrow.
Who's playing it on a 360? I want to get more into the multiplayer because I'm planning on writing a review.
So far I've played the first 2 missions for every race. I gotta say, the Motion Tracker is a bit annoying.
Playing as Alien is fun once you get the hang of the wall crawling. I have to say though, it's weird how you're almost invisible when you're playing Aliens but when you're playing Preds the cloaking field is rather useless. Most Marines spot you as sonn as they look in your direction.
Heh. Most Marines spot the Predators because they forget to turn their cloaking field on
Although, I've been having great success as a Marine on my PC, due to the fact that I always nab the smartgun in Mixed Species Team DM.
Best team composition I've seen so far?
1x Marine with Smartgun
3x Predators
4x Xenomorphs
Have the Predators keep the ceilings and pillars near the Marine clear, then wait for the Marine to open up with the smartgun. He'll reveal basically anything that might be in the area to you.
Alternatively, swap the smartgun for the scoped rifle.
I know multiplayer is a big focus, but how's the single player? The videos I've seen have looked pretty cool but I've heard it's fairly short, which seems to be a trend in games nowadays that's pissing me off.
Sell a short length game for $60, then micro-transaction your wallet to death for $15 every extra 2-4 hours afterwards.
The deluge of reviews I have been seeing for this game kind of piss me off.
Granted, I am obviously biased towards the IP, but the only one I have seen of several that were even close to fair was the game trailer review. I still disagree with a lot of what he said, but atleast he makes an attempt to be fair.
The final rating of nearly an 8 seems about right. The subjective score will be lower for those who just want the next ultimate FPS and higher for those who enjoy a well established theme rather than some thinly pasted on theme *coughhalocough*.
This doesnt have to be innovative, or even revolutionary. It has to be Aliens vs. Predator. Same old game updated to match new tech and with some nice new bells and whistles. What the hell do these people expect? Massive overload guns as those found in Halo or Doom?
Personally if I saw such tripe, it would kill the game for me and I am glad Sega didnt not pander to the gametards whose only joy in life is teabagging newbs and cant tell real theme if it climbed out of a air duct above them and chewed their face off.
Again, I am eagerly anticipating Colonial Marine because of this game. Its going to be nice to play a campaign game of AVP with absolutely no mention of predators. God damn they are so damned stupid. At least when combined with the Aliens plot device. [/rant]
If you like the aliens or predator franchise and liked the original AVP game, then this game will not disappoint at all. Run, dont walk to buy this.
There is definatly alot of hate directed towards this game, which is a shame because people dont seem to give it the chance it deserves, but never mind
Hellfury wrote:The deluge of reviews I have been seeing for this game kind of piss me off.
Granted, I am obviously biased towards the IP, but the only one I have seen of several that were even close to fair was the game trailer review. I still disagree with a lot of what he said, but atleast he makes an attempt to be fair.
The final rating of nearly an 8 seems about right. The subjective score will be lower for those who just want the next ultimate FPS and higher for those who enjoy a well established theme rather than some thinly pasted on theme *coughhalocough*.
This doesnt have to be innovative, or even revolutionary. It has to be Aliens vs. Predator. Same old game updated to match new tech and with some nice new bells and whistles. What the hell do these people expect? Massive overload guns as those found in Halo or Doom?
Personally if I saw such tripe, it would kill the game for me and I am glad Sega didnt not pander to the gametards whose only joy in life is teabagging newbs and cant tell real theme if it climbed out of a air duct above them and chewed their face off.
Again, I am eagerly anticipating Colonial Marine because of this game. Its going to be nice to play a campaign game of AVP with absolutely no mention of predators. God damn they are so damned stupid. At least when combined with the Aliens plot device. [/rant]
If you like the aliens or predator franchise and liked the original AVP game, then this game will not disappoint at all. Run, dont walk to buy this.
Playing devil's advocate here:
You had to take a shot at Halo, for shame! And you've not played multiplayer or even very far in the campaign if you think there's no "massive overload gun". Wait till you have to fight Predators as the Marines--especially when you have the Smartgun.
It's completely unfair to the Predators.
I was looking forwards to this game but man was I disappointed. I mean come on! The predators are like wet ragdols, Marines just charge after you guys blazing... Is it just crazy me or were not the Marines in the films/ old games AFRAID of the Aliens? But the positive things about the game was the first and second Ailen lvl, I enjoyed them quite a bit I must say. So over all the game is not bad just did not fit my taste I suppose
Anshal wrote:I was looking forwards to this game but man was I disappointed. I mean come on! The predators are like wet ragdols, Marines just charge after you guys blazing... Is it just crazy me or were not the Marines in the films/ old games AFRAID of the Aliens? But the positive things about the game was the first and second Ailen lvl, I enjoyed them quite a bit I must say. So over all the game is not bad just did not fit my taste I suppose
Marines , both in movies and in every comic or game , starts out over confident in their gears.
They have plasma riffles , smart guns , SADARs , nukes. Its all just a typical bug hunt.
Of course , all it takes is to see one person killed and they'll all get spooked.
Anybody had any experience of the other mulitplayer features? As I thought the deathmatch demo wasn't really a good environment for this game.
One thing I will say about the executions, while they are fun and gory the Predator ones do seem a tad crazy. Predator picking an Alien up by his wrist blades letting acid pour everywhere?
Should pick this up later today. Sold on the sound of the pulse rifle and the motion tracker. That and the "fighting Aliens in a future night club" level.
I would say reviews of this game have been fair so far, in my opinion. It's pure fan service, nothing for the uninitiated.
Ok, rented it last night and I've already finished the campaign on normal.
The Xenomorph is hard to play as when you have to do a lot of transitioning. This isn't so bad in open areas or corridors, but in crowded spaces with lots of boxes and stuff, it drives me nuts. You're about as durable as a wet newspaper and enemies with smartguns will ruin your day if they see you at range.
The Marine's campaign became extremely challenging when I started encountering Xenomorphs in large groups out in the open. If they close the distance and crowd you, you're completely fethed because there's no way you can counter all their attacks with block+melee. The game gets even harder when you start encountering Combat Androids, who are really tough and carry firearms. Oh, and flamethrowers are a lot of fun to use. Be careful though, because flaming Xenomorphs will explode after rolling around for a bit. At least it stops them from attacking you.
The Predator's campaign was a lot of fun. Fighting the big Xenomorphs (Praetorian and the final boss) was a bit too easy because you just have to block and then melee over and over to beat them. Getting into the thick of melee is inadvisable, even though Predators have the most health of any playable species. You have to pick lone Marines off with your distraction ability and manuever around Xenomorphs so you can split them up.
Overall, I'd give the game an 8.5 out of ten. The visuals are lame at times (especially the lava...), the story is a bit weak at times and the Xenomorph is frustrating to play as on the last mission, but it's a lot of fun. Multiplayer matchmaking is still slow, which is a letdown seeing as Halo 3 had a very fast and efficient matchmaking system three years ago.
Kanluwen wrote:You had to take a shot at Halo, for shame! And you've not played multiplayer or even very far in the campaign if you think there's no "massive overload gun". Wait till you have to fight Predators as the Marines--especially when you have the Smartgun.
It's completely unfair to the Predators.
Sure did. Quite possibly the saddest piece of back ground to be pasted onto a game. Developers may as well be honest and say "This game is called shoot em up. We are too poor to afford decent background intellectual property to [edit]attach[/edit] to it so this is as generic and unimaginative as it can get". This is not to say a bunch of people lack enjoyment of Halo and its background, but the utter lack of imagination involved in its writing is astounding. As for taking a pot shot at halo, it is actually more of a pot shot at the bucolic hillbillies with electricity and internet service running around thinking that being a total and utter gakker online is a good idea tp have 'fun'. I care not who this offends, because people like that greatly offend me.
Actually I am almost done with the campaign and play tons of multiplayer as thats the main draw for the game. But thanks for assuming anyway. What I was referring to was the BFG from doom or whatever other game that has the same analog. For no other reason than to say "We live in texas and bigger is better. So have a big F%*@ing gun!" Smart guns are hardly analogous to a BFG, but whatever floats your boat.
You want the BFG in AVP? Try using the Phased Plasma Infantry Gun (lovingly known as the M87 PIG).
As for being completely unfair to the predators...cry me a river of twin waterfalls. Play better, simple as that. Use cover and dont sit in front of him when he is pulling the trigger. Of course its not as simple as merely doing that, but why should I have to hold anyone's hand in order for them to stop crying?
I only play as Marines in MP. Far more fun, and once you figure out the best timing to block attacks, it's ridiculously easy to fight the other species. I'm well aware of how obnoxious well-played Predators can be.
The way you were coming off in the "massive overload gun" statement made it seem you were talking about a weapon that is completely unbalancing for the gameplay. The kind of weapon that is *always* camped for on levels, and what people always make a beeline for no matter where they start.
The Dreadnote wrote:Played the human and alien campaigns so far. It's amusingly easy to start thinking of humans as "prey".
Hell yeah.
*An alien looks from an airduct high above*
"Look at that idiot looking around for us superior beings to shoot at. That morsel is so weak, it doesnt even have enough evolution to have enhanced senses. Ahhh...look at that one now. Feebly attempting to flee from the clutches of our bretheren. Futile. Dominating their species will be necessary in order to bring evolution to its proper conclusion... But first...LUNCH!"
Hellfury wrote:As for being completely unfair to the predators...cry me a river of twin waterfalls. Play better, simple as that. Use cover and dont sit in front of him when he is pulling the trigger. Of course its not as simple as merely doing that, but why should I have to hold anyone's hand in order for them to stop crying?
Amen to that! If a predator knows where the smart gunner is located at , the marine will have no chance. And if a predator walks into a marine without knowing ,
than even a pulse riffle is plenty.
Feth, the matchmaking is driving me up the wall. This is totally ridiculous; it takes me about 10 minutes on average to find a game. This needs fixing RIGHT NOW.
I dabbled in this game (360) when my friend brought it over.
However the only thing I didnt like was was as the alien transitions from floor to wall it moves the camera POV without me asking it to. This due to the fact that I am a nub made it hard for me to transition repeatedly and no loose my sense of direction.
But the alien was hell fun. Driving around something thats so althletic to leap and whatnot.. is gorgeous.
The marine was awesome. At the beginning running around with a crappy pistol and a flashlight. I really got a sense of my impending death.
Unlike most people Im not that big a fan of the predator. I mean he is cool. But he is my last choice in who I want to play as.
I also got the sense that this game wasn't for the casuals. It made me feel like a complete noob. Its for the established fans.. I think thats why all the reviews are moaning.. Cause they cant play it as intended.
Last time i went to a match as marine , vs an Alien player...
I just want to say , either that guy is godly or im god awful , i saw what a really good Aliens player is capable of...
He killed me 30 times in a roll in the different matches... i got him just once by chance with sniper riffle guess he was afk and i shot him across the map -_-
Welcome, one and all, to the most dissaponting game of 2010!
Being a huge fan of the original AvP game released many moons ago, I was looking forward to their new revised version of the game. With the potential of todays current gaming platforms and the well documented shortcomings of the related films, I had justifiably high hopes that we would see a project which could bring a fresh dynamic to a crowded FPS genre.
Unfortunately, my optimism was misplaced. I had decided to dismiss the shaky demo released on xbox live, which was an incredibly short sighted release. I fail to see how Rebellion thought it would be a good idea to give eager fans of the genre a game mode which goes against everything covered in past AvP lore. Instead of participating in a classic genocidal clash of the species, here was a messy free-for-all which gave players precious little time to learn the controls, let alone the limitations of their race. Along with a string of other problems, the demo ended any potential interest from my friends. I decided to wait for the full game, which as I duly found out, was a very big mistake.
This game is overwhelmingly flawed. This isn't a rant about how X is overpowered compared to Y. This game is an affront to the genre; the reasons of which are legion. Note that the following list will only concern Multiplayer mode, which I consider the games main selling point. The solo game is a little better, but ultimately a predictable romp filled with little reward and enemies which have about three catchphrases. I'll skip that and head on to what I believe is the meat of the game.
Honestly; it's hard to know where to start, but I'll try.
1. Choosing A Game After signing in to xbox live and heading down to the multiplayer option, you get to attempt a multiplayer session. After choosing Ranked Match, you'll be able to scroll through several game modes. This is the first problem. There is no description on what these modes represent. Team Deathmatch is self explanatory; Infestation is not. This is something that five minutes of market research would have revealed.
2.Getting A Game Like any good lover, I avoid peaking to early, but with the following list of ailments it is impossible. The matchmaking system in this game is a nightmare of staggering proportions. Choosing ''Species Team Deathmatch'', one would be under the impression that you could choose your favourite species and take use them against either one or two of the franchises other denizens. ''I loved the Predator films!* Can't wait to try them out against other players!''
Unfortunately, this is not the case.
The first hurdle that AvP stumbles over in this regard is the deployment of a game. Unlike Modern Warfare 2, the Usain Bolt of FPS games, AvP is a shining beacon of how not to prepare players for a game. Instead of instantly being transported into a waiting lobby, you're confined to gaze at a spinning biopsy of a face hugger, whilst watching the number of potential participants rise or fall.
For everyone reading, here is a typical turn of events when trying to create a game in AvP. The following is absolutely true and anyone who tells you otherwise is a liar.
[PLAYER] I'd like to play Species Team Deathmatch. With 12 people, lets keep it small. Can't wait to try out the Predator!
<AVP> CONNECTING
<AVP> Waiting for 11 more players
[PLAYER] ...
<AVP> Waiting for 10 more players
<AVP> Waiting for 9 more players
<AVP> Waiting for 8 more players
(Another player joins. You can't see them, for reasons only Rebellion know)
<AVP> Waiting for 5 more players
[PLAYER] Come on...
<AVP> Waiting for 0 more players
[PLAYER] ?
At this point, the sound of cockroaches being slowly ground into dust resides and the player finally enters the lobby, to be confronted with two other players. The game has decided that he should play as a Colonial Marine.
[PLAYER] FOR F***S SAKE! FINE, I'LL BE A F*****G MARINE, JUST LET ME PLAY A MATCH
<AVP> BLEEP! The host has left the game.
This is where you as the player have to start the entire process again folks! [PLAYER] *puts boot through television*
Believe it or not, this is a very realistic depiction of what constitutes most of your gametime on AvP. I spent fifteen minutes trying to find a game with a decent amount of people, that didn't lag, and that let me play as a Predator. My hopes of forming a Predator clan evaporated within minutes after discovering that the game randomly assigns you a species. When and why was this design decision approved? Maybe there are people out there like me who hate the film Aliens and want to live out there fantasy of slaughtering the cast of the film! Now you're telling me this is impossible?
Fans of the game may respond to this point saying that Mixed Species Team Deathmatch allows you the stellar privelige of choosing any race you want. Great, except that nobody EVER willingly plays as a Marine, unless they are insane or love ramping up the difficulty level. Call me a traditionalist but I can't swallow the notion of Predators and Aliens teaming up to take on all comers. But by this point in the game, farce is depressingly common. Also, should the assigned host of the game quit the entire match ends and you are sent back to the beginning screen.
3. The Game Itself Should you complete the labyrinthian task of getting into a match using your desired species, another bout of flaws become apparent. Instead of being deployed as a team, the developers decided it would be better to sprinkle the players liberally over the chosen arena. In doing this, they successfully abolished the chance of tactics creeping in to the gameplay; instead turning the game into some sort of intergalactic royal rumble**. After meeting a similar desperate soul in need of some structured play, we exchanged friend requests and managed to get into another game. We were cursed to represent the Marines, so decided pre match to dig in to a corner of the map where we could use our range advantage to the fullest. Unfortunately, the previously mentioned spawning mechanic landed us all over a large area of jungle. The white arrows above team members heads helpfully point downwards allowing you no sense of wether they are nearby, or miles away being devoured.
In the end, we managed to find each other and spent the majority of the game hosing Aliens and Predators that ran towards us. We won the match, but the logistics of finding another of your squad had shattered our resolve to attempt intelligent play.
Whilst the graphics are pretty standard, there is an admirable amount of gore here. Unfortunately, to see it you'll need to pull off one of Rebellions endlessly lauded finishing moves, sneak attacks, donkey punches or whatever the hell they call this lame game mechanic. It involves you springing on someone from behind and making a mess of them in a suitably cinematic fashion. Again, like nearly everything in this game, there is a massive downside to this. Showing off to your Aliens mates that you can impale a Preadtor on your tail leaves you open to a suprise coshing too!
Like it should be! No-one is safe with their back turned! Except this makes the sneak kills a total liability! As a marine I watched a conga-line of death develop between four Aliens and three Predators. When playing as one of the viable races (anything without the word ''Marine'' in it), you trumpeted strength of roughly taking someone from behind is an invitation for instant death. At least give the player who has worked himself into a position to pull a flash move survive to see his plan reach fruition by making him immune for its duration.
Playing as... The Alien For fans of The Raptor in Turok 2, disorientation, and ''rubber claw syndrome''.
As an Alien, you spend most of your time zooming about looking for kills. There is no point in camping an area as either (A) you'll be sniped by a Predator who can see you across the map, or (B) any marine will run backwards at the first sign of movement. Also, running up walls would be fun if it wasn't so difficult. Unlike the excellent first title by Rebellion, you're permanently attached to the floor/surface, meaning that you have to wiggle down every step individually. Much better would have to been using RT as a trigger for this ability, but innovation has clearly gone out of the window in AVP. You're restricted to using claws/tail for attacking, which give up slicing enemies in favour of a rough slap. Those who played the first game will know the joy of flicking a Marines head off with a quick swipe; those days are long gone. You'll need to gank people from behind in order to kill them as anything else is normally suicide. It's embarrassing to be killed by a marine because you're glued to the wall, so make sure you're on the ground, by the way.
Playing as... The Predator For fans of Bob Marley, trees, and ''charging like hell to get a Plasma Caster''.
Far from the agile, Apollo Creed pwning villain of old, the Predator is now old and frail. Slow and cumbersome, Predator players tend to get as high as possible (in terms of levitation) in order to avoid surprise donkeypunch syndrome, as well as to switch vision modes in order to track enemies. Unfortunately, you become so paranoid of Aliens (your only real threat) that performing the latter resembles watching some sort of acid house video, only with crap music and a sense of emptiness. Intially devoid of your dreadlocked brethren, you can be sure to see them camping the weapon respawn points. That's right; it's like Goldeneye! Weapons magically appear on the ground and like Ash Ketchum, you gotta catch 'em all! This tactic of floating weapon spawns is so ludicrously dated that I actually laughed when I experienced it. Suffice to say, they're normally high up somewhere and glow red. The only one you'll need is the Plasma Caster as it nails anything it hits. The spear is akin to angrily throwing a brick, and the discus is flash but impractical. Marines can't see you, but your sluggish yeti-like frame will struggle against Aliens head on.
Playing as... The Marine For fans of death, hip firing, and beeping noises.
The Marine is supposed to be meat, and they fulfil their role admirably. Useless up close, the marine is forced to rely on automatic weapons which are used to hose down enemies, preferably from a distance, preferably whilst said enemy is taking a friend roughly from behind. Rebellion abandoned the bizarre notion of looking down the sight of your gun in order to prevent the marine from deploying effective firepower; instead he normally works from midrange where his wild spraying will occassionally take down an enemy. SCHWEET! Imagine playing in character as one of the Stormtroopers chasing Han Solo and you'll be able to gauge your general accuracy. Also, the motion sensor is broken; it only works when something hideous is in your face, as well as being bloody annoying.
I hate the AVP films. But I feel extremely sorry for the people who were genuinely looking forward to this game. Whilst you may find solace in the single player mode, multiplayer is a car crash of game design which deserves to be pulled from the shelves. Aside from the laughable matchmaking system, which you are forced to endure every match, there are numberless problems with the game itself. I will be sending a letter to Rebellion stating many of the above points, along with a torrent of basic improvements that the inevitable follow up needs. It is fair to compare this to a Nintendo 64 game, but what was a delight ten years ago is now pre-school knowledge in the games industry. There is a total lack of innovation in AVP. It follows the same methodology of games such as Turok 2 and expects modern gamers to swallow it. This is not fair on people who spend a days wages on the title, and Rebellion should be ashamed of their apparently finished product. I fail to believe that this game underwent testing. Some of my friends were curious about the title, but I could not reccommend anything about the game. It is a piss poor insult to both fans of the genre and computer games in general.
If anyone has strong feelings on the above, I'll look forward to seeing them. A brief skim of the previous posts suggests general dissapointment; as you might be able to tell, I was livid. People are right to make up thier own minds and take critics opinions with a pinch of salt, but I feel a common average of 5/10 is extremely generous, and should be much lower. If critics were harsher, Rebellion may not make these mistakes.
*In my case, this is not actually true.
** Sounds fun? It isn't.
Anti-mag i think alot of those species issue are because you arnt playing them at their maximum potential.
I agree some of the "issues" do exist , but only to new players. Learning curve i guess is the problem?
For example in Warhammer , woot a normal bolter and chain sword Space Marine are super soldiers!
but they cant out melee vs howling banshees point for point , they cant out shoot dark reapers , they cant out last wraith guards etc etc.
Sorry Anung; you always seem to get caught in the blast radius
Yeah, I love computer games. If I get the chance with a new game that I think is worth reviewing here I'll post it up for sure. Thanks for the encouragement with the letter too; if I get a reply I'll show it here. I can't believe that the people who are making these massive releases, in a industry which makes billions, can be so far removed from the quality of their final product. Of course I understand that they are working with limitations in terms of time, money and technology, but in this case I would have expected someone to stand up and make issue of the obvious faults. I can't imagine that Rebellion would be happy to put out a game that gets meagre reviews; like any company they will/should seek to get a solid reputation.
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LunaHound wrote:Anti-mag i think alot of those species issue are because you arnt playing them at their maximum potential.
I agree some of the "issues" do exist , but only to new players. Learning curve i guess is the problem?
For example in Warhammer , woot a normal bolter and chain sword Space Marine are super soldiers!
but they cant out melee vs howling banshees point for point , they cant out shoot dark reapers , they cant out last wraith guards etc etc.
The species are all about balanced with finesse.
Possibly, but as a long term FPS player I found it quite backward in many different ways. I don't think that players should have to adapt to a game because it is handicapped through poor design; the system for AVP is clumsy at best. For those players new to FPS, I can only imagine how hard it must be. With time, dedicated AVP players will of course maximise the potential of the seperate classes, and may gain more enjoyment when that happens, but I think their perseverence will based more on love of the franchise than a belief that the game is a quality title.
Anti-Mag wrote:With time, dedicated AVP players will of course maximise the potential of the seperate classes, and may gain more enjoyment when that happens, but I think their perseverence will based more on love of the franchise than a belief that the game is a quality title.
But maybe that's just the thing. I played a lot of licence games in the last few years and sometimes you can overlook the flaws if you're a fan of the franchise in question. I like the Alien and Predator movies and quite enjoyed the single-player campaigns because of that.
Anti-Mag wrote:With time, dedicated AVP players will of course maximise the potential of the seperate classes, and may gain more enjoyment when that happens, but I think their perseverence will based more on love of the franchise than a belief that the game is a quality title.
But maybe that's just the thing. I played a lot of licence games in the last few years and sometimes you can overlook the flaws if you're a fan of the franchise in question. I like the Alien and Predator movies and quite enjoyed the single-player campaigns because of that.
I think that's an excellent point. I think the success of Dawn Of War was that it was released on GW fans after starving them of a good game. Personally, I think Dawn Of War is a very average game, but all the bells and whilstles that come from seeing your normally static units whizz about and talk creates a perfectly rose tinted experience. Had Dawn Of War not been a Warhammer game, it might not have had a sequel. Of course, their are limits, as even the most dedicated GW fan struggled to find a compliment for Fire Warrior. I actually entered a local store to buy it, but the employee who served me begged me not to waste my money, stating that it was full of bugs, etc. In the end I bought Supreme Commander and was a happy man.
Concerning AVP; whilst fans of the franchise will enjoy being able to use thier xenomorph heroes, a more neutral player cannot help but compare AVP to the most successful FPS's currently available, such as Modern Warfare, Halo, and more recently Battlefield BC2. I think it strange that Rebellion would overlook the selling points of these hugely popular games. AVP was marketed as a worthy contender for peoples time in the face of contemporary titles, yet has been dismissed by many players who were indifferent to the franchise, used to better games, or a combination of the two. It falls very short of what the majority of modern gamers expect.
Rebellion will really need to pull out the stops in the next installment of the game, assuming it gets the go ahead. This shouldn't be a niche game like Flight Simulator or Silent Hunter. They have an unique license and are obliged to honour that, no matter how sloppy the related films were.
You know what I have a sneaking suspicion that the game started out as Colonial Marine and then it evolved into Aliens Vs Predator as the tuther faded into obscurity.....
Anti-Mag wrote:I can't believe that the people who are making these massive releases, in a industry which makes billions, can be so far removed from the quality of their final product.
Why is this so hard to believe? You clearly understand the psychology of franchise games from your posts in this thread. It's totally believeable that Rebellion wouldn't really care about the final quality, because they knew it was going to sell before it hit the stores. They're already talking sequel.
Aliens versus Predator is a franchise game. It doesn't have to work that hard. If you go online and read comments about the game in response to negative reviews, you will see a lot of variations on this theme:
"The game wasn't great, and if it wasn't Aliens versus Predator I wouldn't play it...but I love AvP, and so I love this game."
People will turn their back to solid gameplay mechanics if they get the franchise tie-in they wanted, like you've observed. Rebellion knows this.
Anti-Mag wrote:With time, dedicated AVP players will of course maximise the potential of the seperate classes, and may gain more enjoyment when that happens, but I think their perseverence will based more on love of the franchise than a belief that the game is a quality title.
Like I said, you get it.
Demonslayer82 wrote:You know what I have a sneaking suspicion that the game started out as Colonial Marine and then it evolved into Aliens Vs Predator as the tuther faded into obscurity.....
I may be wrong but hey.....
Yes, you are wrong. Two totally different titles, two totally different developers. Colonial Marines is being developed by Gearbox, who made Borderlands. Now that they've done most of the work for Borderlands they are moving back into Colonial Marines:
There you go again carinius , ALWAYS with the "you'll only like this game because you are fan boi fan gurl "
I love AVP as the FPS it is , and it has nothing to do with the franchise.
Well w/e thats how you always call things.
Yes we get it , you have reason to dislike it ,
but you know what , there are tons of elements to why i like it , and it has nothing to do with the franchise.
In other words , everyone have different taste , and dont tell me that the only
reason its worth playing is because we like the franchise.
LunaHound wrote:In other words , everyone have different taste , and dont tell me that the only
reason its worth playing is because we like the franchise.
Even if that's the case, that's not really a bad thing.
Cairnius wrote:Just curious: how many First Person Shooters do you play on a regular basis? How about the five most recent preceding Aliens versus Predator?
LunaHound wrote:Something that doesn't make sense + ignores question
Had you answered the question I imagine it would have been something along the lines of "I don't know," or "I don't really play shooters that much." Perhaps you understood where I was going with this and thus chose not to answer.
Anti-Mag is clearly someone who has played a lot of shooters. So have I. Pretty much every meaningful shooter ever made other than the Half-Life series, which I have done enough reading on to understand why it was so important to the genre and what made it great. Someday I'll pick up The Orange Box to experience the sequel, and I have played Portal.
"What is fun" and "what is good from a technical, comparative perspective" are entirely different things, Luna. If you haven't played many, many shooters, and understand what makes a good shooter in terms of design methodology, physics engines, and the other key ingredients, then you lack the perspective that Anti-Mag and I, among others, have.
So you may not understand the difference between "fun" and "well-constructed FPS," and that's fine - but that's what Anti-Mag and I are talking about. Aliens versus Predator may be "fun," but when you aggregate the people who actually write about video games for a living, they gave it a C- :
Read the reviews. The franchise appeal of this game will tie into almost every positive observation a reviewer makes. "If you like the Alien / Predator movies - you will love this game" comes out of the mouths of commenters on a regular basis across all the sites.
The only reason I got the game was Steam had it on sale, early on, and to play the Marine campaign. That's done, and I feel disappointed that I ended up fighting damned Predators and Androids for the majority of the game.
Anti-Mag wrote:I can't believe that the people who are making these massive releases, in a industry which makes billions, can be so far removed from the quality of their final product.
Why is this so hard to believe? You clearly understand the psychology of franchise games from your posts in this thread. It's totally believeable that Rebellion wouldn't really care about the final quality, because they knew it was going to sell before it hit the stores. They're already talking sequel.
Aliens versus Predator is a franchise game. It doesn't have to work that hard. If you go online and read comments about the game in response to negative reviews, you will see a lot of variations on this theme:
"The game wasn't great, and if it wasn't Aliens versus Predator I wouldn't play it...but I love AvP, and so I love this game."
People will turn their back to solid gameplay mechanics if they get the franchise tie-in they wanted, like you've observed. Rebellion knows this.
Anti-Mag wrote:With time, dedicated AVP players will of course maximise the potential of the seperate classes, and may gain more enjoyment when that happens, but I think their perseverence will based more on love of the franchise than a belief that the game is a quality title.
Like I said, you get it.
Demonslayer82 wrote:You know what I have a sneaking suspicion that the game started out as Colonial Marine and then it evolved into Aliens Vs Predator as the tuther faded into obscurity.....
I may be wrong but hey.....
Yes, you are wrong. Two totally different titles, two totally different developers. Colonial Marines is being developed by Gearbox, who made Borderlands. Now that they've done most of the work for Borderlands they are moving back into Colonial Marines:
1. I loved AVP 1.
2. I hated AVP 2.
3. And as you can tell I was extremely underwhelmed with the latest offering.
I see comments like ''hey heard the game kinda sucks but I love the films so I'll definitely be getting it''. When did people become sheep? If anything, ragaing fanboys of a franchise should demand more out of a game aimed at them. Shame on Rebellion for releasing an unfinished game. And no, it doesn't make sense from a business point of view. Excuse the pun, but how many people who bought this game have now become alienated with Rebellion? When the next AVP game hits the shelves you bet your pulse rifle that people who hated this game wont give it a second glance. Rebellion had the chance to make a real impact here. The timing was great; MW2 fatigue had begun to set in, it was a quieter time for games. But they totally blew it. If Rebellion had tested the game for five minutes they could have seen the faults that drip from this game. They could have gone back to the drawing board and made a truly unique title that would have put them in good stead for future releases and gained a solid fanbase to build upon. Instead they were deservedly greeted with a resounding meh by both neutrals and fans alike. Rebellion are not a major studio when compared to Infinity Ward, etc, which makes their sloppy bid for attention all the more bizarre.
For another example of how trusting to blind devotion can backfire, you only have to look at the threads on Dakka regarding the new Ultramarines film.
Many hardcore AVP fans will know of all of the great storylines which the comics covered. I am sure that they were the ones hit hardest by this weak offering. Rebellion deserve all of the citicism they get, as they have failed thousands of customers with an average title that was heavily implied to be something different.
Oh, and if you're going to release a 'special edition' of a game, make it special. A happy meal facehugger in a cardboard box does not count as 'special'!
As a last point, this weekend I will be drafting my letter to Rebellion. This thread has been a great help; both opinions for and against the game and/or my review of it have all been dignified and considered, so whatever your viewpoint, a round of applause all round for intelligence and sportsmanship
Now you're just whining. Writing to Rebellion? Is it so hard to comprehend that some people will like a game just because it's part of a major franchise? True fans can look past a game's flaws and enjoy it.
Cheese Elemental wrote:Now you're just whining. Writing to Rebellion? Is it so hard to comprehend that some people will like a game just because it's part of a major franchise? True fans can look past a game's flaws and enjoy it.
I don't believe that. I also don't believe that my past comments, which I feel are structured and justified, should be labelled as 'whining'. I don't see as how writing to Rebellion can hurt? If they make a better game as a result of customer feedback then yourselves and other slaves to a franchise will be happy. Even the biggest fans of AVP have admitted problems with this game; you think they want to be sold another limp product in a years time? I'm advocating progression.
Cheese Elemental wrote:True fans can look past a game's flaws and enjoy it.
The farmer called, he's looking for his cattle.
So because I like a game simply for being part of a franchise, I'm a sheep?
Real pathetic, Brook. There's more to games than mechanics or story. I like the AvP franchise simply because the idea of a human/alien/Predator free-for-all is cool. So how about you drop the pathetic personal attacks?
Anti-Mag: I may have come across as a bit harsh there, I apologise. I agree, AvP is not a well-constructed FPS, but Rebellion still succeeded in making a good game in terms of fanservice. It's just more of a niche game than anything else.
I support Anti-Mags idea to write feedback directly to the developer. I did this myself a few times and I prefer to do it per mail than to dive into the swamps that are the offical Forums.
On topic of licence games: I'm currently playing the last Spider-Man game and I enjoy it. The camera's dumb, the controls are a mess, but I still enjoy it, because I haven't played a Spider-Man game in years. It's shame they never re-used the almost perfect swining controls from Spider-Man 2, but it's still a nice game. For fans.
Cheese Elemental wrote:There's more to games than mechanics or story. I like the AvP franchise simply because the idea of a human/alien/Predator free-for-all is cool.
Well, yes. There's mechanics, story, graphics, and sound design if we wanted to make a more complete, yet basic, list.
But you're not talking about games. You're talking about the Aliens versus Predator franchise. Franchise is concept. It's "idea." You like the idea of humans and Aliens and Predators running around killing each other, and the idea is enough for you on its own. Therefore, even a poorly-realized version of that idea is also good enough for you because, psychologically, you're satisfied with the idea without any physical realization of it in the form of a video game.
The game is just gravy for you. For those of us who are more concerned with the game, it's not enough. We actually want a good game in terms of mechanics, story, graphics, and sound design.
This is pretty much the mentality that most franchise offerings depend on, and is responsible for why most franchise offerings suck. The developers of the franchise offerings know that this is precisely how franchise fans think, and so they don't have to push themselves very hard.
I don't know if anyone was paying attention to the Game Developers Conference this past week, but Sid Meier gave a great speech about player psychology which was fascinating, if not merely a statement of truths. I would love to hear a developer discuss franchise player psychology at some point.
ON EDIT:
Check it out, a new Predator movie...from Robert Rodriguez??
Cheese Elemental wrote:True fans can look past a game's flaws and enjoy it.
The farmer called, he's looking for his cattle.
So because I like a game simply for being part of a franchise, I'm a sheep?
Real pathetic, Brook. There's more to games than mechanics or story. I like the AvP franchise simply because the idea of a human/alien/Predator free-for-all is cool. So how about you drop the pathetic personal attacks?
Anti-Mag: I may have come across as a bit harsh there, I apologise. I agree, AvP is not a well-constructed FPS, but Rebellion still succeeded in making a good game in terms of fanservice. It's just more of a niche game than anything else.
Except while they may have done a good fanservice and a niche...they promised sheer gold. They promised that it would "revolutionize online gaming".
It failed to deliver on all counts except for the campaign.
My bad, I'm just annoyed that I was stupid enough to buy it now, instead of downloading it or waiting until it hit the bin. I'll go sit in a corner now.
the first two were awesom, so hopefully this will be just as awesome or even better.
Play better, simple as that. Use cover and dont sit in front of him when he is pulling the trigger. Of course its not as simple as merely doing that, but why should I have to hold anyone's hand in order for them to stop crying?
that and Assassins Creed 2 white edition with figurine 
