Aliens vs Predator- Final Thoughts

OK, so I'm pretty much at the end of the Predator missions, halfway through the Marine storyline and about a quarter of the way through the Alien route. I think this grants me enough knowledge to draw fairly accurate conclusions on the game.

I am dissappointed.

We can talk about the technical shit until the cows come home if you want. The auto-aim being terrible, the monster closets, the level layouts being poor, boring environments and poor control scheme. But that's not the point. The Darkness had it's problems, but did that stop anyone loving it? No. The point here is the game, and the source material on which it should be based.

Wouldn't it be amazing if the game was actually based on the films? Following the storylines, putting into virtual glory the cultural touchstones the films hit on upon us. Imagine an ensemble-cast survival-horror/action game. Imagine BEING Arnie, and watching your team disappearing around you, as you have encounters with the Alien, whilst fighting the Colombians in the jungle. Doesn't that just sound like the absolute BALLS? Running around, with a team, and watching them slowly meet their grizzly fate. Or Imagine being the Predator in the jungle, picking off a team one-by-one.

I think my main problem with games of this nature is the gap between the source material, and the game. The source material bases itself on the nature of horror, and of tenseness, and that whole survival instinct. The fact that conflict isn't wanted, but escape is.

The games have never replicated this. They've turned them into mass-murder gorefests, with no emphasis or emotions in the deaths. Racking up kills isn't what the franchises are about, at all. It baffles me that Rebellion have decided to take this approach. Over-powered Marines, under-powered Predator. This is a game which is resting clearly on it's laurels. A game that doesn't need to overperform, because of the franchise it's sitting on.

As so many other sites have said, so much potential, just not enough execution. Ah well.