As I mentioned earlier, I had a bit of a hard time getting a match going in the AvP demo that launched on Thursday. I tried throughout the weekend at random times, and was unable to get another match going. Today I tried again, and I finally got into a match. I basically set it up and while it searched for a match, I walked into the other room and played around on the computer. After about six minutes, I began to hear other people on their head sets, which meant that I had finally gotten into a game.
First off, I must correct a previous statement. In my other post, I complained that you were unable to choose your character in the demo, and that both times I was assigned to be a Marine. That is only half true. You are able to choose your own character, but you have to be quick. For some reason, the developers didnt want an 8-Alien or Predator battle royale going down, so once the first few Aliens or Predators are selected (I do not know the exact number), the remaining players are automatically assigned to be Marines.
So upon getting into the demo, I quickly realized that I was able to choose an Alien, and did so. The Alien’s controls are off the hook. The Alien is very quick, and not only that, but you are able to jump onto walls and ceilings. As it was my first time playing as an Alien, I quickly feeling disoriented by running all over the place. Eventually I got the hang of it and realized what was going on. The Aliens two main attacks are melee, either with its tail or claws. There is also an option to grapple other players, but I was unable to figure out how. While there is a control scheme displayed while the match loads, it was impossible to read on my standard def. TV (yet another reason for me to get my hands on an HDTV.) The Alien could also “hiss”, but I couldnt figure out what its purpose was. I thought that maybe it was how the Alien regained health, but that was not the case. The other neat feature of the Alien is that it has some kind of heat-vision, where it can see other players through walls. Seeing how the Aliens have this and the Marines have the motion sensing equipment, I can only assume that the Predator has something similar.
Overall, I had fun playing around with the Alien, but I will admit I am no expert. There are a lot of unique controls which must be mastered in order to be successful as the xenomorph, and I am far from grasping it all. Still, it was fun, and definitely offers a unique twist and play style/strategy for a FPS competitive death match. I’ll feel better about it once I get some more hands-on time, which will be next week when I get the game in from Gamefly. Hopefully the final game will be more smooth and have less hassle than the demo had…
