--Planet AvP | Articles | Aliens vs. Predator vs. Fanboy 2

Aliens vs. Predator vs. Fanboy 2 I’m sure that by now most of you have heard about Aliens vs. Predator: Extinction. Needless to say, diehard Aliens & Predator fans are a wee bit angry over the whole thing. This game is definitely oriented towards "fanboys", as they’re called, and casual followers of the AvP series. I take it that Planet AvP’s readers are nearly all sincere AvP fans who want to see an Extinction that is true to the series that they became so enthralled by after seeing the movies. This article is how I think AvP: Extinction, or any other AvP strategy game for that matter, can and should be done to please the devout crowd. Why should any AvP strategy game be aimed towards hard-core Aliens & Predator followers? Well it’s quite simple, because there’s so many of them, perhaps almost as many as there are casual fans. The Aliens and Predator films have surmounted a wealth of loyal followers over recent years, and they are a force to be reckoned with. These supporters of the movies, games, comics, books, etc. are the people who will keep the series alive and thriving. Some dumb schmuck who picks up Extinction because it has nifty box-art or because it’s a Warcraft-like strategy game is not going to make more money for Fox in the long-term, or even make the general series more successful. The diehard AvP fan, the gamer that picks up something new from this series so he/she can experience the suspense of a solitary blip on a motion tracker or splatter an alien’s guts all over a swarming hive will benefit Fox and EA more. That’s why any and all strategy games based on this license should be geared towards the hard-core crowd. Next question is how to please the dedicated multitude of AvP gamers. This is answered relatively easy; keep the game true to the Alien and Predator sagas/series. I know this isn’t always a painless effort because the two can often conflict with each other, but in the past these tribulations have been solved by leaning towards the Alien license because it is often more engrossing and better-favored. Here’s an example: scenery. When making both Aliens vs. Predator games the developers had to decide which movies they would follow surroundings-wise. This predicament was solved effortlessly; both developers made the decision to lean towards the scenery from the Aliens movies because it would be more riveting and horrifying for the player to battle through dark corridors, overrun compounds, and terrifying hives ridden with aliens. Advertisement From the screenshots of AvP: Extinction that have been released, there’s been no dilemma in seeing that the game is rather unrealistic. For example: most pictures show 5 humans teaming up against a single alien in an outside area. Although I’m glad that entire armies of the two aren’t fighting, you would almost never see this type of scenario arise in the movies. Aliens prefer to stay indoors and underground in their hive, basically places where they can have the advantages of surprise and choosing when/where to fight. Also, battling aliens inside infested buildings is a hell-of-a-lot more frightening than fighting them outside. I do know that many Alien and Predator buffs have expressed their utmost disapproval over this and other screenshots/info that have been released so far. I applaud the developers for not making "armies" of Predators and Aliens (well, so far I haven’t seen any of this). EA probably wanted to make the game similar to the Warcraft-Starcraft series to avoid something like Empire Earth, where massive forces of 300+ units clash with one another. It’s quite an awesome spectacle to see and play, but it’s not the Aliens or Predator's style. Quite frankly, I’m glad they haven’t made the game a standard RTS, such as Command & Conquer, or Age of Empires/Mythology. With all of the above being said, it’s important to keep the game fun. I am 100% faithful that Electronic Arts knew what it was doing when it chose the developer that it did. I’m sure the goods will in fact be delivered and that the game will attract many people. Take a look at some of Electronic Arts’ work on the PS2 and elsewhere, and then you will understand why I know this. They have created quality games in every genre they’ve strayed into, they’re professionals with years of experience, and they almost never fail to please. With Electronic Arts heading this project I’m very hopeful that AvP: Extinction will be a high-quality game, if not a game that will remain true to the original series that it claims lineage from. The Warcraft-strategy approach was smart, but something that would be even more clever is a Commandos-tactical approach. Having small squadrons of colonial marines fight off numbers of aliens and lone predators in turn-based fashion would be both realistic and fun. The player could choose, alter, and command various troops/aliens/predators. Your groups of around six could, say, contain 2 runners, 3 drones, and a praetorian; or if you favor the Colonial Marines your group could consist of, maybe 2 specialists, 1 heavy weapons, 1 sniper, and 2 demolition classes. As for the Predators, you could choose a single class that suits your style from the get go and stick with it throughout the entire game. Your fighter/s could be fully customizable; prefer to have an extra pistol instead of the marine’s K-Bar knife? No problem. Would you rather bring extra medical supplies instead of extra ammo for a mission? Fine. RPG elements could also be thrown in such as experience points/honor points/instinct points gained by fighting/collecting trophies/living longer. The lone predator approach could be more similar to Arcanum than a traditional turn-based strategy game; but the player could still customize arsenals and attributes just like they would with Humans. Aliens would have preselected traits depending upon which classes the player chose. Their variety would come in the sheer difference of play you would get from using them rather than more traditional species found in this genre (Humans). Tactics would vary greatly between the different races, with Humans using teamwork and professional maneuvers, Aliens using teamwork and instinctual tactics, and Predators using pure skill and the drive for honor. Most tactical-type games give the player a maximum of 4-8 characters to use at a given time, and this is fine for Humans and Aliens, but when playing as a lone Predator, the player would have to innovate in his/her tactics very much so to win. Although most ! gamers aren’t too familiar with turn-based strategies, let alone the time-unit gameplay that goes along with them, (the player has a max of time-units that are used for actions and he/she gives the computer a turn once these time-units are gone) I’m sure that many AvP fans would greet this fresh approach with open arms. I can’t go on and on in an incredibly detailed fashion, but I do basically think that a tactical approach like Commandos 2, Fallout Tactics, or X-Com: UFO Defense (for those of you who are old enough to remember it) would work better than the current Warcraft-Starcraft type game that is being developed. Want to play a classic turn-based strategy game? Download an X-Com: UFO Defense demo to see what I described above for your own eyes. What I’ve presented her are mere suggestions and opinions on what I believe can be done to make any strategy-tactical AvP game successful, all the while remaining both fun and true to the series. But whatever happens with AvP: Extinction and future strategy games, I anticipate this series to live on and win new prosperity (live long and prosper!). But since most fans cannot affect the decisions of Fox, EA, etc., we’ll just have to hope that Extinction will deliver some acid-spraying, banshee-screaming, shotgun-pumping fun! I’m very interested in hearing your opinions on what you thought about this article. So please E-mail me if you can! By ::GenoDice:: Comments? Flames? Praise? Mail feedback!