Aliens vs Predator rather mediocre according to reviews
- Thread starter Nurb
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Had it for a day now, and have already made it through the Prdator campaign, and played a good few of the Xeno and Marine levels. I have to say I actually like it. A lot.
A few of the points made in reviews I have seen seem to have been made either without thinking through what the game is actually trying to do, or as a result of comparing it to other FPS games that really, can't fairly be compared to it. For example, the main criticism levelled at the alien levels is the controls. Yes, it's damn fast and it can get disorienting shifting from surface to surface quickly. Here's the thing though - that's the whole damn point. To get good at playing as the xenomorphs, you will have to get accustomed to being able to do this. And while it is occasionally glitchy with the R2 button, I haven't found it to be a game-killer of an issue. With a bit of practice you do get used to the insane speeds that the xeno's can get up to and timing your press of the attack buttons so that you strike your target as you hit him or her at what feels like 300mph does eventually come with practice.
So there is no auto-aim or iron sights. Big deal. The time it takes to ADS is about the same amount of time it takes a xeno to cover oh, I don't know, about half a fucking mile so it's no great loss, certainly on the early levels. And exactly how frightening would it be being stuck in a dark area with fast moving aliens around you when all you had to do was use the motion tracker to point in roughly the right direction, press the ADS button and get a perfect lock MW2 style every time? Or am I the only one who thinks that being gifted with an almost perfect shot every time might just detract from the whole "They're coming outta the walls. They're coming outta the goddamn walls. Let's book!" part of the experience? Maybe I've just been playing games for too damn long now and can remember a time when games made us work for the win as a matter of course, and not because they were "poorly designed".
The only real gripe I actually had was a feeling when playing as the Predator that I couldn't jump to some places where common sense would seem to dictate that I should be able to. Mildly annoying, but again not a killer issue. On the other hand, I defy anybody to tell me that they did not get a lovely tingly feeling all over the first time they sat up a tree with the IR vision mode on and let rip with the Plasma Caster.
As for the so-called "Fuck You" button - it seems to rely on A) getting close enough to your target to actually use it and B) the target being either unarmed (in which case how difficult a fight is it going to be for a Predator/Alien vs an unarmed human), unaware of your presence (ie "ITS BEHIND YOU!" style moments when you grab em) or reeling from a melee attack (or running away, in which case serves em right for turning their back on something so evidently intent on ripping them to shreds). First person melee combat is difficult enough to do without trying to over complicate things with 100-button Tekken-style combos I reckon. It seem's like a bit of an odd complaint though, given that certain other FPS games give you an instant "Fuck You" just by clicking in R3 within 5 metres of an enemy and the only time that gets moaned about is when people who don't like getting killed by anything get killed by it in MP.
Considering how hard it actually is to do first person melee combat, I reckon this game works pretty well. No, it is not perfect but it really deserve 5-7.5/10? I would say it was worth at least an 8.
The thing is, that to get the most from this game, I found that I had to lose the CoD "point and squeeze" mentality. Since doing so, I have had a great time with this game.
A few of the points made in reviews I have seen seem to have been made either without thinking through what the game is actually trying to do, or as a result of comparing it to other FPS games that really, can't fairly be compared to it. For example, the main criticism levelled at the alien levels is the controls. Yes, it's damn fast and it can get disorienting shifting from surface to surface quickly. Here's the thing though - that's the whole damn point. To get good at playing as the xenomorphs, you will have to get accustomed to being able to do this. And while it is occasionally glitchy with the R2 button, I haven't found it to be a game-killer of an issue. With a bit of practice you do get used to the insane speeds that the xeno's can get up to and timing your press of the attack buttons so that you strike your target as you hit him or her at what feels like 300mph does eventually come with practice.
So there is no auto-aim or iron sights. Big deal. The time it takes to ADS is about the same amount of time it takes a xeno to cover oh, I don't know, about half a fucking mile so it's no great loss, certainly on the early levels. And exactly how frightening would it be being stuck in a dark area with fast moving aliens around you when all you had to do was use the motion tracker to point in roughly the right direction, press the ADS button and get a perfect lock MW2 style every time? Or am I the only one who thinks that being gifted with an almost perfect shot every time might just detract from the whole "They're coming outta the walls. They're coming outta the goddamn walls. Let's book!" part of the experience? Maybe I've just been playing games for too damn long now and can remember a time when games made us work for the win as a matter of course, and not because they were "poorly designed".
The only real gripe I actually had was a feeling when playing as the Predator that I couldn't jump to some places where common sense would seem to dictate that I should be able to. Mildly annoying, but again not a killer issue. On the other hand, I defy anybody to tell me that they did not get a lovely tingly feeling all over the first time they sat up a tree with the IR vision mode on and let rip with the Plasma Caster.
As for the so-called "Fuck You" button - it seems to rely on A) getting close enough to your target to actually use it and B) the target being either unarmed (in which case how difficult a fight is it going to be for a Predator/Alien vs an unarmed human), unaware of your presence (ie "ITS BEHIND YOU!" style moments when you grab em) or reeling from a melee attack (or running away, in which case serves em right for turning their back on something so evidently intent on ripping them to shreds). First person melee combat is difficult enough to do without trying to over complicate things with 100-button Tekken-style combos I reckon. It seem's like a bit of an odd complaint though, given that certain other FPS games give you an instant "Fuck You" just by clicking in R3 within 5 metres of an enemy and the only time that gets moaned about is when people who don't like getting killed by anything get killed by it in MP.
Considering how hard it actually is to do first person melee combat, I reckon this game works pretty well. No, it is not perfect but it really deserve 5-7.5/10? I would say it was worth at least an 8.
The thing is, that to get the most from this game, I found that I had to lose the CoD "point and squeeze" mentality. Since doing so, I have had a great time with this game.
I really like it. I've beaten the Alien and Predator campaigns and have played most gametypes online and I really think the reviewers have been unfair on it. The complaints of disorientation when playing as the alien are ridiculous. What do they expect from something that crawls on the wall and moves incredibly fast? Yes there is a learning curve, but after about 10 mnutes with each race I never have any problems with the controls. It deserves at least a 7 or 8.
Judging from the beta as well. I thought it was all atmospheric and shit, right until that fucking motion sensor thing started beeping. I get pissed at beeping noises, and I spent so much effort trying not to punch the wall that I didn't nitice the alien running at me. Bam, dead.
My next life, I saw two Aliens fighting each other, one killed the other one, and I thought that I had myself an easy kill. Pulling the trigger, nothing happened. About a second before I was mauled to death I discovered it was the r2 button, which is the worst trigger in the history of triggers. Later on, I found a shotgun, which took about three shots to kill one enemy. I was so happy I started to reload, at which point, I was mauled to death. Yay.
My next life, I saw two Aliens fighting each other, one killed the other one, and I thought that I had myself an easy kill. Pulling the trigger, nothing happened. About a second before I was mauled to death I discovered it was the r2 button, which is the worst trigger in the history of triggers. Later on, I found a shotgun, which took about three shots to kill one enemy. I was so happy I started to reload, at which point, I was mauled to death. Yay.
I played the 360 demo. The map was bad, the game in general was imbalanced. I'm not all that surprised that it's got such mediocre reviews. I didn't really find it a letdown, as I don't hype up games any more. Too much disappointment.
I totally agree with post #23. The only complaint I have is the online component. I think it was GameTrailers' review that best described the ridiculous "killtrains" made possible by the stealth kill button. Also, if you have a favorite class it can be a bit annoying when the auto-balancing sticks you with a marine when you really want to play as a Predator. Other than that, this is a very solid game and (arguably) a must have for any AvP fan.
The melee combat is sloppy and is basically the opposite of a good time, especially the alien, whose "quick" attack fires off once a second and whose "heavy" attack takes two seconds to charge up. If that doesn't seem unreasonable to you, you never played the original or AvP2 (my personal favorite). Also, the alien has a block button. What the hell? It's also worth mentioning that you don't even see a predator during the alien campaign until the very, very end. And that the entire Alien campaign can be completed in under two hours. The alien in general just feels slower and less fun. And the darkness mechanic is retarded.
The predator loses some vision modes which were really what made the class fun for me in the last one. He has weapons that aren't the wristblades, but how much energy they use basically ensures that you're going to be a mostly melee class. The predator also has an ability called "distract", which basically makes the single player no fun at all, just tedious.
I didn't play the marine campaign, but I have a decent idea what to expect there since I've played one online, and if I'm right, that would make marine the best of the lot, which is tragic when you think about it.
The game itself has passable graphics, but nothing to write home about. What is noteworthy (on PC anyway) is the frequent graphical slowdown and frame skipping. I suspect the game has a memory leak somewhere, but I can't prove it yet. It also has a tendancy to lock up occasionally. Oh, and one more thing: both of the extraterrestrial classes are practically defined by the "grab" move that acts as a 5-second finisher. They did make several different grab animations, but nevertheless, it doesn't take too long to see them all, and after you have, both the alien and the predator become a game of:
1) Move to a solitary area
2) Hiss/distract
3) Wait for one marine to walk up
4) Do the grab move
5) Repeat
The predator gets a slight break from this when the aliens show up. Those fights are the aforementioned clumsy melee combat system, and become an interplay of "use quick attack when they use heavy, use block when they use quick, use heavy when they block".
It's a terrible game.
- J
The predator loses some vision modes which were really what made the class fun for me in the last one. He has weapons that aren't the wristblades, but how much energy they use basically ensures that you're going to be a mostly melee class. The predator also has an ability called "distract", which basically makes the single player no fun at all, just tedious.
I didn't play the marine campaign, but I have a decent idea what to expect there since I've played one online, and if I'm right, that would make marine the best of the lot, which is tragic when you think about it.
The game itself has passable graphics, but nothing to write home about. What is noteworthy (on PC anyway) is the frequent graphical slowdown and frame skipping. I suspect the game has a memory leak somewhere, but I can't prove it yet. It also has a tendancy to lock up occasionally. Oh, and one more thing: both of the extraterrestrial classes are practically defined by the "grab" move that acts as a 5-second finisher. They did make several different grab animations, but nevertheless, it doesn't take too long to see them all, and after you have, both the alien and the predator become a game of:
1) Move to a solitary area
2) Hiss/distract
3) Wait for one marine to walk up
4) Do the grab move
5) Repeat
The predator gets a slight break from this when the aliens show up. Those fights are the aforementioned clumsy melee combat system, and become an interplay of "use quick attack when they use heavy, use block when they use quick, use heavy when they block".
It's a terrible game.
- J
can the movie-to-game thing be used in this game? it isn't following the movies, its game but in that universe =S which means it can have its own story and expand a little.
i played the demo and loved it ^_^ cant wait to buy it =D
only i will have for console =) where buy the sounds of it seems the better option once again =)
i played the demo and loved it ^_^ cant wait to buy it =D
only i will have for console =) where buy the sounds of it seems the better option once again =)
From playing the demo only I can already tell that it would piss off every fan of the original two PC games, they screwed it up big time. For those who never played them I can imagine it might seem OK, generally speaking series are not supposed to get worse they are supposed to improve.
My main gripes:
Aliens are all about button mashing attacks to be effective.
Marines can melee away Aliens and Predators (as if).
Predators cannot equip weapons, rather they have to select the weapon each time they wish to use it as it goes back to the wrist blades after every attack with another weapon.
For some bizarre reason they changed every single aspect of it except the species and their default weapons.
My main gripes:
Aliens are all about button mashing attacks to be effective.
Marines can melee away Aliens and Predators (as if).
Predators cannot equip weapons, rather they have to select the weapon each time they wish to use it as it goes back to the wrist blades after every attack with another weapon.
I'm not sure if you understand the phrase 'cookie-cutter'. AvP has a completely unique premise compared to other FPS's. You have three completely different characters to play that work nothing alike and each have their own campaign. Name one other FPS that does that.BlindMessiah94 said:
Nurb said:
Same here. That's exactly what I said to my friends when they said I should get it. The PC games had it down perfectly, all they would have needed to have done is upgrade the graphics/physics, made up a new story and stuck in some new MP maps for it to be great.Antiparticle said:
For some bizarre reason they changed every single aspect of it except the species and their default weapons.
Yes! Goddammit yes. Polish up the graphics, throw in some new maps and modes, and voila, AvP3, GOTY. But noooooo, they had to totally cock it up. First DOOM 3, and now this. I wish they would just let the great old games rest cause they obviously don't know what to do with them anymore.Machines said:
I've got to ask about the concept of aiming down sights in an Aliens game...
Does anyone aim in any of the Aliens or Predator movies? Even if they do and I've forgotten it, do they get stabbed in the back by a tail before they've actually got the sights in line with their eyes?
On the topic of the reviews, I stopped reading the Gamespot one when they complained about the Marine having a beeping motion tracker, and as for the IGN one, they clearly just sucked at it if they had problems controlling the Alien, who requires a little thing called practice, and anyone who expected the Predator to be able to take a Pulse Rifle to the face is a moron.
Seriously, these games make you feel like you're in the movies, they're not just cookie-cutter FPSs (and I will yell at the next person that tells me the Marine campaign is "cookie cutter")
Does anyone aim in any of the Aliens or Predator movies? Even if they do and I've forgotten it, do they get stabbed in the back by a tail before they've actually got the sights in line with their eyes?
On the topic of the reviews, I stopped reading the Gamespot one when they complained about the Marine having a beeping motion tracker, and as for the IGN one, they clearly just sucked at it if they had problems controlling the Alien, who requires a little thing called practice, and anyone who expected the Predator to be able to take a Pulse Rifle to the face is a moron.
Seriously, these games make you feel like you're in the movies, they're not just cookie-cutter FPSs (and I will yell at the next person that tells me the Marine campaign is "cookie cutter")