Here’s an abridged history of Aliens vs Predator series. The original Alien vs Predator appeared on the Jaguar, (created by Rebellion). It was very successful on that platform and was pioneering for its time, putting you in control of three very unique characters and demonstrating some interesting features (laying eggs inside humans to act as your ‘respawn’ point for example). Aliens versus Predator, by the same team, appeared in 1999. It took the action into full 3D, allowing the aliens to hang from ceilings, as well as introducing a strong multiplayer element. It’s a classic. The third game, AVP2, was handled by a different team (Monolith) yet was at least as good as the first one.
Then the films happened…
2007 saw Rebellion back on the scene with the very poorly received Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem, although that shouldn’t really count… It was the first of the series to be directly based on a movie. A truly terrible movie (the first movie Denki’s own Mr. Kronberg has walked out of, in fact).
This Friday sees Rebellion return to the series proper, with the imaginatively titled Aliens vs. Predator. With all of the advances in network gaming, the multiplayer boom and a DirectX11 toybox at their fingertips, will they manage to recapture the flare of their original titles?
I really hope so.
Out on DVD and Blu Ray this week is Pixar’s Up, the off-the wall tale of an old man who tries to drag his house to south America, in order to fulfil his dead wife’s wish, by attaching thousands of helium balloons to it.
If you haven’t seen it yet, we can’t recommend it highly enough.
Finally, in cinemas this week is Shutter Island, Martin Scorsese’s latest project with long time collaborator Leonardo DiCaprio. It’s a psychological thriller about two agents investigating an escape from a lunatic asylum on a remote island, who start to doubt their own sanity.
– Stew (@Chicknstu)