Aliens vs. Predator 2 is made by Monolith and published by the well-known movie/gaming corporation, Fox Interactive. It uses the Lithtech engine (also used in No One Lives Forever).

Graphics

As i said before, this game uses the Lithtech engine. While it isn’t the prettiest of game engine, it is a fairly stable all around engine. It does require a good amount of computer power to run well, though. Monolth uses Lithtech well, despite its minor failings. It has wonderful effects and the lighting and texturing are especially well done.

Gameplay

This is one area that AvP2 excels in. Single-player consists of three player modes. The acid-blooded, head-chomping, chest-bursting Aliens. The normal, realistic, Marines. And the invisible, head-seeking Predators. Each of these races has a deep story that ties together during the story’s evolution. But the Marines’ story is the deepest by far. In the Alien single-play mode, you start out as a facehugger, then turn into a spawnling, and then morph into a drone. As the Predator, you start out with invisibility capabilities and an array of hunting weapons. The Marines have radar and a high-tech machine gun. Multiplayer is also a blast if you have a lot of people willing to share the experience. Having a balance of all three races in one game is real fun. You have Marine fire-power against the Alien’s wall-climbing feat, against the Predator’s invisibility. It can get quite hectic. There are other modes, such as escape, domination-type modes, and team deathmatch.

Control

This plays mostly like a normal FPS, with the exception of the Aliens’ wall climbing ability. It is disorienting at first, but you’ll soon develop a second sense for it. For everything else, it’s all smooth and easy to use. From typing trash to an enemy, to changing the vision filters on the Predator’s mask, it all fits well.

Sound

This section doesn’t have much to it. The game has great sound effects, especially from the Aliens and the Marine’s weaponry (which sound remarkably familiar). The music changes in and out from danger to stealth to traveling…depending on situations.

Value

The single player should hold you off for a long time. You may or may not want to play it again, but still it’s is a good experience. The multiplayer mode is a lot of fun, and a good LAN party game too. Once this game starts to get more and more popular, the amount of game servers at any time should rise quite a bit. But until then, single player and some LAN party games should keep you busy.

Conclusion

Alien vs. Predator 2 is a great game. Unluckily, it’s just released at a bad time. I mean that it was released alongside games such as Max Payne, Return to Castle Wolfenstein, and Civilization 3, which all happen to be great games. While AvP2 is still a good game, it just can’t compare to its superiors at this time. I recommend it for people looking for a good single-player experience and for Alien or Predator movie fans.