Retro Replay Review

Gameplay

Aliens Versus Predator delivers a uniquely segmented gameplay experience by offering three distinct campaigns—Aliens, Marines, and Predators—each tailored to the strengths and weaknesses of its species. As the Alien, you rely on agility, stealth, and feral instincts to ambush unsuspecting foes. Your razor-sharp claws and inner jaw provide brutal close-quarters kills, while wall-climbing and ceiling-crawling movements let you pounce from unexpected angles. This form of gameplay rewards patience, map memorization, and keen use of darkness to spring lethal surprises.

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Switching to the Marine campaign transforms the game into a gritty, survival-horror shooter. You’ll feel the weight of your equipment and the fragility of your soldier as you tread through claustrophobic corridors armed with pulse rifles, SmartGuns, and high-explosive ordnance. Michael Biehn’s voice work as a hardened Lt. Colonel lends authenticity to the missions, which often strand you alone in forsaken facilities. The Marine experience hinges on resource management—ammo is precious, and your only real defense in a face-to-face Alien encounter is well-placed firepower or a desperate melee stun baton strike.

Playing as the Predator brings a stealth-action flavor to the franchise, emphasizing patience and precision. You can switch between thermal, electromagnetic, and “Pred-Tech” vision modes to track Marines and Aliens, then clad your warrior in an iconic cloaking device to melt into the environment. The Predator’s arsenal—plasma casters, wrist blades, and smart discs—favors long-range takedowns and lethal one-on-one duels. Survivor-style tension builds as you choose the optimal vantage points for sniping and stalking, making each silent kill feel immensely satisfying.

Beyond single-player, the multiplayer modes add tremendous replay value. You can face off as Human, Alien, or Predator in arena-style deathmatches, each role featuring asymmetric abilities that keep matches fresh. There’s also a cooperative survival mode, pitting players against waves of AI-controlled enemies—including experimental robotic Xenomorphs and devastating Predalien hybrids. The balance can feel challenging, but that’s part of the appeal: every match tests your mastery of species-specific tactics and encourages team coordination or cunning solo play.

Graphics

For its era, Aliens Versus Predator showcased impressive attention to atmospheric detail. The environments—ranging from industrial Colonial Marine outposts to dimly lit Alien hives—are rendered with moody lighting and realistic textures. Blood splatters, biomechanical walls, and flickering emergency lights create a pervasive sense of dread that complements the game’s horror elements. Even on lower-end hardware, the art direction shines through.

The character models for each species capture iconic design cues from the films. Aliens move with eerily smooth animations, their sinewy frames and dripping saliva rendered in unsettling motion. Predators boast intricate armor plating and fluid cloak effects, while Marines look and feel like rugged soldiers, complete with scratches and battle scars on their stasis suits. Weapon models and particle effects—muzzle flashes, plasma bursts, and acid blood splatters—elevate the visceral thrill of combat.

Animation quality varies slightly between campaigns, but key finishing moves and environmental interactions stand out. The Alien’s insta-kill inner-jaw strike, which cracks skulls open in slow-motion gore, is as horrifying as it is memorable. Predator stealth kills feel weighty, and the marine reload animations lend a tactile grip on your arsenal. Although polygon counts have aged since release, the stylized gore and shadow work ensure that AVP’s visuals remain impactful even today.

Some technical limitations are noticeable—occasional texture pop-in, rigid facial expressions, and sparse draw distances in large areas. However, a healthy modding community has since introduced fan-made patches, high-resolution textures, and improved shaders. These modern enhancements help preserve the game’s original atmosphere while ironing out graphical quirks, making Aliens Versus Predator still worth playing on contemporary systems.

Story

Aliens Versus Predator weaves three separate but thematically linked narratives that explore the perspectives of each species. The Alien storyline follows a newly hatched Xenomorph seeking to expand its hive, slaughtering human scientists and marines alike. Without dialogue, it relies on environmental storytelling—crumbling lab notes, gutted corpse piles, and evolving hive chambers—to convey the menace of the Xenomorph life cycle.

The Marine campaign places you in the boots of Lt. Lisa Grier, a hardened Colonial Marine who must unravel corporate conspiracies while fending off swarms of Aliens. Michael Biehn’s reprisal lends cinematic weight, and the branching mission objectives keep the plot engaging. As you push deeper into the facility, the narrative tension ramps up, revealing sinister experiments and corporate cover-ups that tie directly into the broader Alien canon.

Predator’s story, told from the viewpoint of a tribal hunter seeking ritualistic honor, provides the most lore-rich thread. Through monologue logs and holographic archives, you discover why humans and Xenomorphs serve as worthy prey for the Yautja species. The Predator campaign ties loose ends from the films, showcasing alien technology reverse-engineered by humans and alluding to the Predalien hybrid experiments you’ll later face in multiplayer survival waves.

While none of the campaigns break new ground in storytelling, the intersecting arcs and varied perspectives reward committed players. The game doesn’t spoon-feed exposition; instead, it trusts you to piece together motives from scattered audio logs, mission briefings, and environmental clues. This approach deepens immersion and invites multiple playthroughs to fully appreciate the unfolding drama between the three species.

Overall Experience

Aliens Versus Predator stands out as a trailblazing FPS that successfully marries three different playstyles into one cohesive package. Whether you crave the stealthy lethality of the Predator, the feral speed of the Alien, or the high-intensity survival horror of the Marine, the game delivers. Each campaign feels polished, with unique level designs and mission objectives that play to the species’ core strengths.

The multiplayer component extends the game’s lifespan significantly. Asymmetrical balance ensures that no single species dominates, and the variety of modes—from classic deathmatch to cooperative survival—caters to solo players and groups alike. The steep learning curve is part of the charm, pushing players to refine their tactics and knowledge of maps over dozens of heated sessions.

Technically, the game shows its age in certain areas, but its art direction, sound design, and sheer adrenaline of its set pieces still hold up. The moody score, ambient hisses of the Xenomorph hive, and the Predator’s clicking mask sound all reinforce the tense atmosphere. Even veteran gamers who know these franchises well will find fresh thrills in mastering each species’ playstyle.

For fans of sci-fi action and horror, Aliens Versus Predator remains a memorable and engaging experience that offers high replayability. Its combination of intense single-player campaigns and dynamic multiplayer modes ensures that it’s more than just a nostalgic relic—it’s a testament to inventive design that continues to influence asymmetric shooters today. Potential buyers seeking a challenging FPS with atmospheric world-building and multiple perspectives should look no further.

Retro Replay Score

8.1/10