Title: Alien vs. Predator
Platform: Arcade (CPS-2)
Release Date: May 20th, 1994
Genre: Beat-em-up
One of the genres that Capcom developed the secret sauce for was the arcade beat-em-up. I would dare say, too, that this title replaces the Simpsons and the X-Men arcade game as the king of licensed beat-em-ups for the arcades (Turtles in Time is still the undisputed champ of licensed console beat-em-ups). Alien vs. Predator is a really good beat-em-up, and it really does the source material of both of the franchises it pulls from justice. What is even crazier is that it does it long before the idea of "alien" versus "predator" even became a film idea. Both the Alien and the Predator franchise were/are owned by 20th Century Fox (whoa I just realized that means these are both Disney properties now...), so it wouldn't seem like a stretch for a crossover of two science fiction properties, but this was way before such a thing was common. Crossover events were most common in comic books at this time: Marvel had a big crossover with DC in the 90s known as "Amalgam" comics (really weird event where they literally made hybrids of characters like Wonder Woman and Wolverine), but this was exceedingly rare in film and television, much less video games.
That is why this game is actually based off of the Alien vs. Predator comic series, which was mildly popular in the 90's (this also had weird crossover events, like Predator vs. Batman). This is what makes this game such a novelty for its time.
Wait who vs. who?
Now, many of you chilluns nowadays might know the Xenomorphs and the Predators from their terrible attempts to cash in on their respective franchises' legacies. These franchises, though, started out as pretty damn awesome.
The xenomorphs or "Aliens" come from the 1979 movie Alien and the 1986 movie Aliens (this game, in particular, pulls from the latter). The xenomorphs are fierce and aggressive creatures who were designed by the Swiss artist H.R. Giger. They have a wide arrange of abilities, but the basic gist is this: the alien "Queen" lays eggs, which in turn hatch "facehuggers," which in turn grab some poor suspecting rube and shove their proboscis down the guy's throat and lay eggs in his tum-tum. A short time later, the baby xenomorph will erupt from the person's chest and quickly grow into a human hunting xenomorph. Fully grown, these things have sharp claws, a spike on the end of a tail, move incredibly stealthily, have super strength, and seem to kill for the sake of killing. Oh yeah, they also bleed a very corrosive acid. The original movie starred Sigourney Weaver as Ellen Ripley, and the movie capitalized on the very sexual penetrative violence of the aliens, and the cramped and claustrophobic quarters of the spaceship. Both of these movies: classic.
The Predators, also known as Yuajta to the super nerds, are a race of intergalactic trophy hunters. They enjoy going to remote planets and hunting their native species for sport. They first appeared in the 1987 movie Predator, which starred Arnold Schwarzenegger. This is a brilliant movie which starts as a typical "Arhnuld" action flick and then quickly pivots into survival-action horror, as Arnold and his elite group of commandos start getting hunted by the eponymous Predator. The Predators have enhanced speed and strength, and superior technology such as a cloaking device, a shoulder mounted cannon, and a fun little disk/boomerang that effortlessly cuts through stuff. The best part is that they like to mimic human speech and the Predator makes a funny laugh before blowing himself up at the end (yeah they like to self destruct if they get defeated). Overall, it is a really fun movie, and has some glorious one liners.
Story
The game is a weird mix of the first two Aliens movies and the first two Predator movies. The xenomorphs (the aliens from the Aliens franchise) have invaded California in the near future, and two cybernetically enhanced marines team up with two Predators to take down the xenomorphs. The first goal of your team is to take out the Alien Queen so she will stop hatching eggs, and the second goal is to stop the evil Weyland-Yutani corporation (the evil corporation from the Aliens franchise) from harvesting alien remains/eggs for their own nefarious purposes.
The Fighters
1. Predator (Warrior): The Predator Warrior is a Predator who starts with a nice little poking stick as his main weapon. He also has the shoulder mounted cannon from the movie.
2. Predator (Hunter): Honestly just a palette swap of the warrior. He has the shoulder cannon also, but he has a swallow (think Serge's weapon from Chrono Cross) as his weapon of choice.
3. Leiutenant Linn Kurosawa: a female ninja/cybernetically enhanced warrior who wields an automatic pistol and a katana. She is the fastest, but deals the least amount of damage and has to manually reload her pistol, meaning that she is a sitting duck while this happens. Makes a very good player 2, but is very tough to use for a solo run-through.
4. Major Dutch Schaefer: You may say, "hey, that name sounds familiar." Well, that is because it is supposed to be Arnold's character from the first Predator film. In this alternate future, Dutch has had his right arm replaced with a cyberprosthetic and rail gun. Dutch does not come with a default weapon, but oddly enough he is the easiest character to use. He is incredibly powerful, can handle large crowds of enemies at once, and he is able to attack while his gun "cools down." He also makes "Ahrnuld" noises the entire game, i.e. whenever he beats a stage he beats his chest and gives the Arnold scream a la Total Recall. I played with everyone a little bit, but I stuck with Dutch for most of the game.
Gameplay
The game is a traditional three-player brawler. The goal of each of the seven stages is to make it to the end, fighting through hordes of enemies, and then to defeat the boss. Along the way, there are health refills and weapons to help, and you can continue playing as long as you keep putting in quarters. When your character loses all their lives, you go to a "Game Over" screen until a credit is added to the game.
Is it a good brawler, though? Yes! Actually this game is a superb brawler. The sprites are detailed and large, and the amount of enemies on the screen at one time is very impressive. The levels are varied enough that it doesn't get old, and the game wisely pivots from xenomorphs to human enemies halfway through so that it doesn't get too repetitive. There is one level that is "on rails" where you ride on a truck and blast xenomorphs as they chase your ATV, but this level literally is about 30 minutes long.
My one complaint is that most of the enemies are variants of the same xenomorph design, which makes the enemy variety rather stale, but I will say the game captures that Aliens feel of being overwhelmed by an unstoppable xenomorph horde. The enemies, too, have this weird stop motion quality to them which is kind of unsettling; they accomplish this by making them have less frames of animation. While some reviews make this seem like a demerit, I think it actually adds to their "otherworldly" quality, making them seem more insect-like rather than familiar. This can be further evidenced when the human enemies are all fully animated, and not as rigid in their movements.
The bosses, by and large, are really good. You fight the Alien Queen twice (once with egg sack attached and one with it separated), the "Loader" bot from Aliens, a rogue Weyland-Yutanized Predator, and a bunch of xenomorph mutants. Strangely enough, the game has a chief antagonist (a Weyland-Yutani executive) who you pursue but actually do not fight. This stooge is the man harvesting alien eggs in hopes of making a profit, but you never get a chance to fight the guy. Instead, he is gored by the Alien Queen in a really fun animation before you fight the final boss.
The game ends with an ominous set-up for a sequel, which Dutch and Kurosawa wondering if the next time they encounter the Predators it will be as friends or foes?
Final Thoughts
I highly recommend playing this game. Not only is it a great brawler, but it honestly is the best thing to use the AvP brand. The game does a great job of incorporating elements from the films without beating the player over the head with them. Here is a quick list of great examples...
1. One of the weapons is the Predator boomerang discus. It effortlessly eviscerates enemies.
2. If you are a player who has chosen the Predator, and he runs out of lives, the "Game Over" screen is the Predator hitting the self-destruct buttons on his arm and laughing.
3. Dutch quips a bunch of "Arnold" lines, including "I'll be back."
4. The Predators gift an antique blade to Dutch and Kurosawa at the end, which matches what they do in Predator 2 to humans whom prove themselves to be adept warriors.
This is a really fun Capcom game, and one that is missing (due to copyright issues) from the recent Capcom Beat-em-up Collection. I highly recommend playing it if you can find it/get the chance. It is a forgotten classic.
Media and Art
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