What can i say, the alien films and predator films are the old legends of the horror genre, and are some of my favorite films of all time. When they combined both of these nasty creatures in one big epic film it seemed only fitting that game manufacturers should attempt to profit from such popular films, and attempt they did with countless numbers of alien and predator games alike, but in my honest opinion not one ever stood up to the might that was the films, not even one could barely hope to match the triumph that was and still are these amazing films....... until now.

Without a shadow of a doubt Sega have achieved something that 20 years of gaming history hasn't, a brilliant representation of all three of the races in the futuristic world of alien vs predator. I know that 20 years ago 8 byte games were the future of gaming but even the latest ones in 2001-2004 were extremely poor in comparison to other games on the market and were never given the care and attention that was needed for such a game to be successful. Now though with this latest game i can say respectfully that this game honors the films with a modern depiction of the classics.

So lets dive into this game, and lets start with a few downsides and we can build our way up to what makes this game amazing. Well to start although it gives us the ability to play as those mean, nasty aliens we've come to love the campaign for them in incredible short, in fact i think this makes halo 3's pitiful campaign length feel like a endless struggle it really is short as hell, i think it took me little of a hour to complete on normal. It is also rather undeveloped and towards the end you kind of lose track to the point of it and just end up letting marines live to see if they actually know what the hell is going on. That aside, playing as the Alien itself is beyond awesome, the speed of gameplay always keeps you on your toes as you are slightly weaker than the other two races, but far more deadly as you can hide in the shadows invisible and await your next pray, predator or marine alike. It does however take a element of skill to get used to the macanics of using the alien properly and effectively but after quick strole through the campaign and a few goes online you'll be as ready as any to take on the elites online.

The marine campaign i have a slight problem with as well, its length although a lot longer is pretty generic for a shooter of this day and age, you press a button, you kill a alien, you fight a boss or two it does get repetitive. Again though only a mild issue as there is nothing more satisfying than standing alone with a smart gun against hordes of aliens bent on your destruction. Filled with twisty corridors and pitch blackness the horror is definatly in this game, and you'll feel your heart pound when your left with a pistol in a dark ass room and your heart beat monitor shows thousands of enemies you can't see. As a marine you have a host of weapons at your disposal from flamethrowers to sniper rifles you've got it all, but at times even thats not enough to save you as you go online you'll need all the help you can get as the aliens and predators really have the advantage when it comes to kicking your sorry ass into a early grave.  

Where do are start now, the predator campaign is without doubt flawless. I mean it is amazing, you start off as a youngling just beginning his training to become a great hunter, but you can still kick some ass as you are built to kill. As a predator you use hundred of tactics at your disposal as its more about how you kill your enemy not how many. Given a combination of close combat and ranged weapons you recieve the satisfying decision on whats the most interesting way to bring the quickest or slowest death to the enemies your confronted with. As you progress so does your weapon choice as it quite cleverly gives you more sacred weapons as your skill progresses. The smart disk, proximity mines and combi stick are all ranged and deadly weapons all designed to bring a quick and efficient death to your foes. You begin with a heat vision sensor so you can see humans, but the aliens still appear as blackness in the night as they present no heat signature, other tactics or just plain brute force is needed to defeat the arch enemies of the predators.

Online is brilliant as you put your life in the trust of your allys if you play as a marine because safty in numbers and a big ass gun is your only line of defense against these foes. The predator can work alone but personally i believe a good pair of hunters, with a good team mate you are nigh unstoppable even against overwhelming odds. Attack in packs or pick of individuals alone its really your own choice for alien gameplay, the options are endless its what makes this game so brilliant. It also brings the personalized special kills that you can use in the campaign as the alien and the predator online as well so you don't lose the epicness of a good trophy kill.

This game really made this year for me and is well worth buying if your looking for some brilliant fun and gore, and is currently rather cheap, so get buying, you'ed be foolish not to. "In space no one can here you scream......"