Full Review

15 December 2003 - Aliens Vs Predator (AVP) threw you into the world of the classic 20th Century Fox sci-fi horror films and the Dark Horse comic spin-off. A year after its first release it's been repackaged with two new weapons for the Marine, nine new multiplayer maps and a tweak to the proprietary engine to make the game even faster and support a wider range of online gaming clients.

The single-player game remains a fast, scary, merciless but rewarding classic, with three sets of missions from the different species' point of view. Last year's patch, now standard, allows two saves per level but still forces stealthy careful play whichever race you prefer.

However the multiplayer levels give you what was missing last year. The new Marine weapons are freely available in skirmish mode. Hadley's Hope is directly modelled on the famous last stand scene from Aliens, while Compound, Meat Factory and Subway are also excellent. The pistol is best used in dual mode and while it's basic, anything's better than using your empty pulse rifle as a club. The Skeeter resembles Doom's BFG. It's supposed to home in, but firing into the wall or floor has the same effect. There is blood, then again most of it is green and fades away after a few seconds- stand around looking at it and you're inviting Alien attack!

VERDICT
With the walkthroughs on the net to make up for no strategy guide in the budget version, AVP Gold's an excellent package and you can get practicing for the sequel. If you already have it, then now it's not too excessively priced at £5 to buy it again.