They got much of the source material right, but the execution is awful. Predator abominations instead of the original films-the separate Alien and Predator franchises from the 1970s and 80s-and even then was only was half awake when watching it. I got the impression that the developers saw one of the recent cinematic Aliens Vs. Even when you finally get the plasma cannon for the predator, the gun is extremely underpowered and has wonky controls-you might as well forget it. Sure, the alien can climb up predetermined walls and can initiate a stealth kill at times, but that’s pretty much it for the first few hours, as the game is essentially an abysmal brawler. But in this game, the two characters have minimal differences initially. Aliens are supposed to be stealthy, exceptionally quick killing machines, while predators are supposed to be claw wearing, laser-shooting hunters.
This is one of many bugs in the game I also found numerous occasions when the directional guidance led me astray, or I was awarded double kills for seemingly no reason (there was only one enemy in the room, trust me).ĪVP: Evolution leans on this terrible combat mechanic for the first few hours of the game at the expense of any kind of faithfulness to the franchise. If you don’t time your swipe properly-or if the game doesn’t register your swipe-the enemy throws you off, and you then have to hit them and then initiate the finishing move again. The problem is that the swipe controls are inconsistent at best, but walk-away-from-the-game-and-scream-in-a-dark-room infuriating at worst. The game is supposed to work like this: When you see an enemy with a skull over its head, tap that skull to initiate a quick-time event, and the game then tells you which way to swipe your finger. You get the most experience from killing an enemy with a finishing move, and some enemies can seemingly only be defeated using them.
The novelty of initiating a finishing move quickly wears off when you realize that the game practically requires you to do this for every enemy you face. Each character starts with an attack and leap/block button, and you’ll be mashing these repeatedly against a slew of generic marines and androids. While your combat prowess will improve through the hours you pour into the game, the actual combat mechanic is terrible. Unfortunately, the payoffs for playing the game’s boring main mechanics are minimal. For the predator, this translates to new masks, guns, and armor for the alien, this means different body parts that are more durable and deal more damage. As you progress, your character will level up and gain access to new equipment, abilities, and weapons. The developers hope to keep you playing with a combination of role-playing and action elements.