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ALIENS VS. PREDATOR
review | XBOX 360
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Publisher: SEGA.
Developer: Rebellion Developments. Released: February 2010. Genre: FPS. Other versions: PS3; PC. Posted 6th July 2025. By Shane Battams © 2025 |
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A homecoming of sorts for Oxford-based developer Rebellion, Aliens vs Predator’s 2010 rebirth marked the third game of the same title from the studio. Their 1994 Atari Jaguar game proved a standout amongst an uneven library, while the 1999 follow-up for home computers also enjoyed praise. While a big seller for the United Kingdom in particular, this reboot was met with a mixed reaction, leaving many fans disappointed. You can see where they’d find fault: plenty of parts of this game can feel either dated or unwieldy. However, dive below the surface and there’s a lot to enjoy here for fans of the license, though the unfamiliar will be less enamoured.
As with prior games, AVP focuses on a trio of factions with the Aliens, Predators and marines getting caught up in an interweaving story. As Weyland Yutani activate a pyramid holding ancient technology on the Planet BG-386, the marines and Predators answer the call while a xenomorph infestation also breaks out on the colony. Thus follows a tale that jumps frequently around in time, as events play out from different perspectives. Interestingly, the campaigns can be played in any order, and while you follow events in chronological order, following the default menu adds an intriguing, dramatic irony to later campaigns, resulting in a curious structure. Otherwise, there are a lot of tropes familiar to the series: cheesy dialogue, gruesome deaths and hoo-rah marine voice acting.
AvP offers three very different ways of reliving this finely-balanced hunter-prey dynamic
As you’d expect, the three campaigns play quite differently. The marine side is probably the most traditional, seeing you progress through relatively linear levels while blasting any xenomorphs that stand in the way. The controls feel a touch slow compared to its contemporaries, and the odd button mapping compounds this. The Predator campaign offers a hybrid of melee, long-range and stealth as you are gifted more open spaces to plan a strategy of attack. Along with the iconic cloaking, you can also use the shoulder-mounted plasma caster, mines and staff. There’s also a fun Focus Jump where you can leap to higher ledges or across, and though it can be a touch finicky to line up, it’s really satisfying. Lastly, the Alien campaign also offers melee/stealth, though focused more on the latter as marines can chop you up sharpish. Being able to climb over walls and leap is fun, though the rapid movement can be hard to keep up with at times.
As you can see, each section has its woes to deal with. But they can also be a lot of fun for fans of the source material. The marine campaign offers plentiful moments of tension and some well-timed jump scares to keep you on your toes. Facing off waves of xenos can be tough, especially with their trademark acid blood, but getting to use the likes of the Pulse rifle and Smart gun remains a treat. The Predator campaign is perhaps the highlight of the three, as it succeeds as either being the hunter or fending off xenomorph melees with a well-timed counter. This also appears in the marine campaign, but feels a bit out of place. The alien campaign offers some unsettling satisfaction as gruesome kills can be mixed with harvesting civilians which entails feeding them to facehuggers. The open swamp environment proves great fun for both the Alien and Predator sides, offering a spacious playground for bloodshed.
As you can see, each section has its woes to deal with. But they can also be a lot of fun for fans of the source material. The marine campaign offers plentiful moments of tension and some well-timed jump scares to keep you on your toes. Facing off waves of xenos can be tough, especially with their trademark acid blood, but getting to use the likes of the Pulse rifle and Smart gun remains a treat. The Predator campaign is perhaps the highlight of the three, as it succeeds as either being the hunter or fending off xenomorph melees with a well-timed counter. This also appears in the marine campaign, but feels a bit out of place. The alien campaign offers some unsettling satisfaction as gruesome kills can be mixed with harvesting civilians which entails feeding them to facehuggers. The open swamp environment proves great fun for both the Alien and Predator sides, offering a spacious playground for bloodshed.
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It’s just a shame the game is so brief. The marine campaign lasts around four hours, while the Predator and Alien ones offer just over, and just under, two hours respectively. The latter leaves you wanting much more, as it ends before you really feel the taste of Xeno power. There is some incentive to return through a plethora of collectables across each story and four difficulties. The Nightmare mode, which sees you often one-shot killed and barred from checkpoints, is for true masochists. The multiplayer side also offered intriguing fun, as it allowed you to play as all three species across deathmatch, capture and VIP-esque modes which saw a group of marines fending off one monster. There’s also Survivor, a horde mode which can be played solo and for four players as you fend off waves of xenomorphs. It definitely favours the social side of things, but there’s a fair bit here to enjoy for all.
The presentation is equal parts faithful and dated. The visuals suffer from weak texture work, some unsightly animations and an overall displeasing colour palette. On the plus side, effective lighting often paints a prettier picture, the raft of models for the trio of species is solid and performance is mostly steady outside of a few moments. However, Rebellion were clearly fans of the license, as their attention to detail is top-notch. Whether it’s the Predator’s cloak disabling in water, the iconic screeches of the monsters recreated perfectly or being able to dismember xenomorphs with targeted gunfire, it overcomes underwhelming visuals to deliver good fan service. The music is also a part of this, as the score deftly switches between tension-building, action and terror with ease. It could easily sit next to that of Aliens.
The presentation is equal parts faithful and dated. The visuals suffer from weak texture work, some unsightly animations and an overall displeasing colour palette. On the plus side, effective lighting often paints a prettier picture, the raft of models for the trio of species is solid and performance is mostly steady outside of a few moments. However, Rebellion were clearly fans of the license, as their attention to detail is top-notch. Whether it’s the Predator’s cloak disabling in water, the iconic screeches of the monsters recreated perfectly or being able to dismember xenomorphs with targeted gunfire, it overcomes underwhelming visuals to deliver good fan service. The music is also a part of this, as the score deftly switches between tension-building, action and terror with ease. It could easily sit next to that of Aliens.
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It's far from perfect, but AvP will please fans with its strong attention-to-detail and excellent music
Is Aliens vs. Predator a perfect game? Absolutely not. It’s easy to see why mainstream critics didn’t enjoy it: it’s dated next to its contemporaries, sometimes overly punishing and clunky to control. However, patient fans of the source material can look past these issues, adjust to the quirks and enjoy three solid campaigns of survival as a marine, or enjoy the power trips afforded from playing as two of sci-fi’s most iconic monsters. Coupled with enjoyable multiplayer modes and challenging difficulties for hardcore players, there’s plenty to enjoy here. Newcomers might be disuaded by the flaws, but fans of the license who skipped it in 2010 should perhaps take another look.
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VERDICT"While it can feel dated, overly punishing and clunky, Aliens vs. Predator captures the spirit of the license across three solid campaigns, as well as supplying enjoyable multiplayer modes and challenging difficulties for hardcore players." OVERALL: 6/10 |
OTHER SHOOTERS SET IN THE ALIENS UNIVERSE REVIEWED
Aliens: Thanatos Encounter (2001, Game Boy Color)
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Aliens: Colonial Marines (2013, Xbox 360)
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