

While the graphical quality isn't quite as pretty as QIII, AvP2 is one of the most beautiful Lithtech games I've ever played. And while each episode is rather short on their own, the combined effort should keep you busy for well over 20 hours.ĪvP2 is built on the Lithtech 2.5 engine, the same engine that powered Fox's No One Lives Forever. Level design is pretty straight-forward and, even though there are a few twists and side routes to find (especially in the Alien scenario), you're pretty much led to your objectives without too much of a break in the action.

Since you have full run of the floors, walls, and ceilings, the Alien scenario can be quite disorienting and even mildly nausea-inducing, and it's hard to get your bearings until you get used to it - definitely something for those of you who get sick playing first-person shooters to consider, because the effect is greatly intensified when you play as the fish-eyed Alien. The Alien campaign is a combination of both stealth - especially early on as you progress from a face hugger to a chest burster to a full-grown drone - and full-on claw and tooth action. The Predator is also very well armed, but it's a much more stealthy game than the Marine campaign as your cloaking ability is very important in the face of overwhelming odds. In the Marine episode you'll rely on your heavy armament of guns, your light amplification goggles, and your hacking device that lets you open doors and hack into various electronic equipment. The Predator and Alien campaigns have their share of chilling moments, but you tend to feel a little safer when you're an armored bug.Īlthough the storylines overlap, each species plays very different. Although you begin the game with your team, you're quickly separated, only adding to the tension and sense of isolation. This is the scariest game I've played since Clive Barker's Undying, and it's a certifiable freak-out.especially during the Marine campaign. Keeping with the feel of the movies, the atmosphere of AvP2 is intense, and literally had me jumping out of my seat on several occasions. However, all of the campaigns play out well, and the cinematic feel of the game makes you feel like you're part of the big screen experience. Of all the campaigns, the Marine story is the most fleshed-out - probably because it's easier to tell a story from the Marine's point of view since everyone involved speaks a human dialect. This gives you a real sense of playing the same story from three different points of view, something that was sorely missing in AvP.

You'll visit many of the same places in each of the three campaigns in AvP2. Although the original AvP had three campaigns, the stories never intersected, and they felt like three very separate experiences. Unlike the first AvP, and luckily for those of you who like a sense of continuity, the three storylines overlap somewhat in AvP2. Since we already detailed the background story for the three races in our earlier preview of the game, I'll jump right into the game itself. One of the biggest draws of AvP2 is that it continues the legacy of the first AvP and lets you play through three separate scenarios - one as a Colonial Marine, another as a Predator, and also as an acid-imbued Alien. Now Fox has enlisted the talents Monolith to once again immerse us in the universe of outer space hunters, slime-dripping monsters, and freaked-out Marines with Aliens vs. Predator, the first-person shooter that used the term "person" very loosely, as you could play from the perspective of three separate races: Human, Predator, and Alien. Back in 1999, Fox and Rebellion teamed up to bring us Aliens vs.
