Today we saw the release of the long awaited (at least for me) Aliens Vs Predator Demo on Xbox Live, and I must say that I was very impressed.
The demo that was released only features one small part of the multiplayer with a 10 minute, 8 player Death match. The multiplayer mode has the look and feel of your standard first person shooter, however as there is the choice between a Colonial Marine, Alien or Predator the game play can differ dramatically. When you start your search for a player match you are stuck in your own private group till you get grouped in a 8 person team. When you enter the game lobby each person is randomly selected a 'race'. As I could tell there could only be 2 Predators in a game then the rest is split up between the Marines and the Aliens.
Each 'race' has its own benefits and its own drawbacks. While the Marines have a handful of guns with the benefit of long range attacks and are able to use grenades, they are little to no match once an enemy Predator or Alien gets close enough to attack. The standard Pulse Rifle was a nice starting weapon, but things really got good once I found the shotgun and was able to dispatch the other players left and right.
Playing as an Alien allows you to walk on all surfaces using the RT button is transfer onto the wall or ceiling. Also if you have your crosshair pointed to the wall or a overhead beam you can jump and attach yourself right to it. Traveling as Alien though can be quite disorientating as you can often be upside-down or on the wall in the middle of combat and not know what way you are facing.
lastly the Predator, I can see why they only let you have 2 of them during one game. the Predators are pretty powerful. they are able to leap far distances, use a cloaking device to run around undetected, use heat sensors and a gray scale mode to easily detect Aliens and also are able to use Predator Discs and the Predator Cannon.
The demo however wasn't all glitz and glam, I didn't find that the graphics and motion of the other players running around the screen really showcase a great game. I did notice that there were some lag issues, seeing the players skipping across the screen and some points (but i don't think that's the games fault, is it?). The demo map used for the MP is a small to medium sized map it seems and is fairly dark, so to get a good look at how things really look was sometimes a challenge. Another thing that really bothered me about the demo was the animation of the finishing moves, when you were the one being attacked. Sometimes you couldn't even tell what was going on, you just couldn't move anywhere then you see a splatter of blood and realize you were dead. While the finishing moves, look great from the attackers point of view, I really think they could have found some better camera angles to focus on what was really happening to you so you could really get a feel for your character getting sliced to bits.
All of this, either good and or bad, is still just a demo. So I can only imagine that the final product will be just a good and better then this. I'm really looking forward to getting this game when it is released this Feb, and even more then I was before I got to play the demo. This game is looking to have one very unique multiplayer with more then enough modes to find every ones sweet spot. And with 3 different single player story modes this will be one game you wont want to miss out on. I encourage everyone to at least check this demo out and give it a shot.
Please leave any comments, concerns or questions below. Let us know what you felt about the demo and of the review.
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