8 Reasons Why Aliens Rule AvP

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Just before GamesCOM, we had the chance to head out to UK developer Rebellion.

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Why? To get an advance look at the Alien vs Predator details it'll have at the show, of course.

After previously debuting the Predator and Marine gameplay, now it's the turn of the Alien - and Rebellion have absolutely nailed it. Here are our eight reasons why we're going to be playing it in multiplayer come February.

1 Full Audio
A nice little touch Rebellion have included is that the Alien is the only species of the three that's hearing isn't disrupted by walls or various sound-damping effects, meaning you'll have perfect clarity on incoming footsteps and background clues to were danger is. Not exactly a Spider-sense, but could give you an extra benefit for multiplayer matches and it's a good excuse to get those surround sound headphones, right?

2 Skills For Kills

How'd sir fancy his Marine this evening? Getting a successful kill initiates some of the most violent acts we've clapped eyes on in videogame history, generating a wonderful pay-off for all that skulking you'll be doing in the shadows as you sneak up on your victim. How about skewered through with your tail? There's three separate options just for that. A stealth kill from behind will slam your spiked tail through their back and out their rib-cage, with the reverse occurring if you attack from the front. There's an alternative option wherein you grip the victim and pull them further along your tail as they retch their insides up.

Alternatively you can go for the classic 'tongue meets skull' attack (with the camera flicking to the front of the tongue as it pierces the skull) or claw at their necks from behind, shredding vocal chords and arteries in one gurgled splurge. Lastly (and best in our opinion) simply charge them, claws waving. You ever seen meat dropped into a blender? Nasty.

3 Like Dog, Like Alien
Ever wondered why dogs chase their tails? Rebellion has the answer. Spin quickly enough around and you'll see your tail for a moment before it whips behind you. The affect is hypnotising and leading to you repeatedly turning to try grab it. You never will, but you will gain a better understanding as to why Man's Best Friend does exactly the same thing.

4 Take Out The Lights

Theoretically possible to do with a well aimed pulse rifle round when playing as a Marine- but then why'd you want to plunge about in the darkness and scare yourself even more than you already have? As an Alien you'll learn on entering any room to suss out the light sources are and knock them (or the main generator) out with a well-aimed tail strike. Cue you sitting on the ceiling and cackling as you hear the Marines below having a brown trouser moment.

5 Leaping Cargo Bays In A Single Bound
Like the Predator, interactive spots on the map will be highlighted on the screen. Rest your cross hair on them and tap a button and you leap to that spot. Its amazingly exhilarating hopping through levels at a lightning pace - and for our money the organic look of the Alien's interactive spots (looking no more than ripples in the air) are a lot less intrusive (read: subtle) than the glowing red circles of the Predator's indicators.

6 The Queen Made Me Do It
You'll freak the first time you hear that iconic resounding hiss of the Alien Queen spark up in your lughole. You'll see a ghost-like shimmer as her features appear on the top left of the screen. Its from the Queen that the Alien gets its updated objectives from. More 'hunt' and 'kill' rather than 'come home, you're not answering your mobile and I'm getting worried about you'.

7 Up, Over And At Them

Piles of boxes stacked as a makeshift barricade? Marines have to clamber over them a box at a time, while navigating huge piles of junk with a Predator that's the size of a small tank just looks ungainly. As an Alien all you got to do is point straight ahead and you'll skitter up and over in the blinking of an eye. Who said two legs were better than four?

8 Less is More
You will not interact with other Aliens in the campaign (except from story-relevant points, if that's what we gather from Rebellion's weighted silences on the matter). You've no shield, no long-range firepower. You are mince meat if you get caught in the way of a shotgun barrel or a Predator's weaponry. Seems the chips are stacked against you, right? Yet because of that - do you realise how sweet the feeling is when you decimate an entire room of Marines, or take down a technology-reliant Hunter? Yeah.

Oh, and now imagine that feeling, but multiple it by whatever number of friends are beside you in multiplayer.

OXM Staff