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To date (Winter 2004) there have been two Aliens versus Predator games released for the PC and Mac. Both have been published by Sierra, but have different developers, Rebellion for the original (AvP (1999)) and Monolith for its sequel (AvP2 (2001)). Rebellion released the source code to the first game in 2001, which made an unofficial port to Linux possible. The games themselves are both first person shooters (FPS), but differ from most other FPS in that the player can choose the perspective to play from : Alien, Predator or Human (Colonial Marine or Corporate). These different perspectives afford distinct capabilities and weapons. In the most conventional case, playing as a human is the most similar to other FPS, and players are able to access a wide array of weaponry (mostly that from the films). As a Predator, players make use of Predator weapons such as the Plasmacaster, Disc and Wristblades. Predators are also somewhat more athletic than humans, and have a range of different vision modes to aid them in hunting the other species. Playing as an Alien is the most significantly different perspective. Players are able to range freely over any surface regardless of its inclination. This allows wall-walking and completely novel means of attack. As an Alien, however, weaponry is restricted to claws, tail and jaws (for the infamous head-bite), though these themselves reward the player with a fairly unusual experience in FPS combat. In the single player mode, both games present a conventional series of levels to progress through. However, because of the differing abilities of the three species, the levels themselves are not always conventional in structure - Alien levels, for instance, often involve climbing through convoluted buildings. In AvP, the levels are loosely structured, with progression sometimes a little arbitrary (e.g. Predator players find themselves, for a single level only, on the prison planet Fury 161 from the film Alien³). In AvP2, the storyline is considerably more developed and much tighter, with each level following sensibly on from the last. The three plotlines interleave with each other, making it impossible to learn the entire story without playing all three campaigns to conclusion. And, at one point in AvP2, the three strands (Alien, Predator and human) are brought together at a particular location. One particularly notable extension in AvP2 is that Alien players begin the game as a facehugger, then develop into a chestburster before finally reaching adulthood as a drone. In both games, the storylines put the player in situations familiar to those who have seen the films. In 2002 an expansion pack, Primal Hunt, was released to extend AvP2 (developed by Third Law Entertainment). The pack included several new weapons (dual pistols and sentry guns for human players; energy flechette for Predator players), new indigenous wildlife and new multiplayer maps. Its single player campaign also tied up several loose ends in the story of AvP2 (including the identity and nature of the artifact sought by the corporates in AvP2). However, factors such as the shortness of the single player campaign, and the sometimes clumsy nature of the pack's additions (for instance the near-cartoon extra wildlife), limited its appeal. ScreenshotsThe following are images from the original Aliens versus Predator.
See also
nl:Aliens versus Predator (computerspel)
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