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Review: 'Aliens vs. Predator: Extinction'

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A team of humans try to take out one of the alien hordes.

First, I must plead ignorance to the subject at hand, as I haven't seen Aliens, Predator, or any combination of the two. That being said, I still found it easy to understand Aliens vs. Predator: Extinction on level one.

Everything about this game is simple, which leads to good gaming for starters, but soon seems a little to shallow for a strategy game. AvP can draw in a crowd, yet simultaneously shoot itself in the foot, as the game's biggest draw and weakest flaw is one in the same: simplicity.

AvP is a strategy game which allows the player to choose the side of human, predator, or alien, whose sole purpose is to lay waste to the other two. Each race has its specialties, like the Predator's ability to cloak or the Human's long range rocket attacks.

Sadly, no multiplayer here, making your exploits in space a solo affair.

alien vs. predator

Aliens vs. Predator: Extinction

Platforms: Sony Playstation 2, Microsoft Xbox

Developer: Zono, Inc.

Publisher: Electronic Art, Fox Interactive

Controlling your units is straightforward - intuitive button placement and scrolling options means you can see all and do all. And if you do need additional help on the specifics, a friendly tutorial will have you blasting away at anything that moves in minutes. Though I still prefer a keyboard and a mouse to a controller, EA does it's best to give you a comfortable fit using joysticks and shoulder buttons.

Your command skills are never really set to their limits, though, as missions rarely deviate from "You've got guns. You've got aliens. Have fun." I would argue that most stages could be completed by simply wandering aimlessly through each level - eventually you'll destroy that hive, eliminate the pack, or find that charm bracelet the sergeant was looking for.

The music adds a little variety, with some Hollywood-style orchestral tracks livening up each level. Sound effects are passable, with the standard issue grunts and replies of solder, alien, and predator alike. The soundtrack could use a little better timing, though, for the game alternates between silence and full-on orchestra at random. When I told my mechanic to take a look at a faulty power converter, the music made it seem like the coming of the apocalypse. It was a bit melodramatic.

The graphics aren't up to snuff with some of the other real-time strategy games on the market. AvP's characters are blocky and levels seem to utilize the same four objects and textures over and over. This does allow animations to run silky smooth, and load times between levels were more than acceptable.

There were a few problems with the gameplay. Enemies that should have been in my visual range appear out of nowhere. This makes planning an attack difficult, as you have little ability to size up a situation. I found the best strategy was to make one large group out of available units and start hiking. This leaves little room for any sort of strategy to take place.

AvP is a fair strategy game whose true fault is a lack of depth. If you're looking for an real-time strategy game, and you don't have the computer to run the latest version of Warcraft, Aliens vs. Predator: Extinction might be worth the rental.

Mat Montgomery is a video game reporter for the Web Devil. You can reach him at mathew.montgomery@asu.edu.


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