Alone in the dark

The torch beam cuts through the gloom, offering brief glimpses of carnage and destruction. Your ammo counter is flashing a warning - less than twenty shots left. Somewhere in this hastily abandoned off-world colony, amid the bodies, is the terminal that will bring you one step closer to safety, if only you can find it.

Then it happens. Faint at first, the ping of the motion tracker is enough to make you freeze. Something's coming. It could be a survivor, of course, but you know there's nobody left alive. No, it's something else. Something dark, fast and ruthless. And now it's less than 20 metres away. You're alone, vulnerable and this thing has your scent. Can you guess who's coming to dinner?

"You're alone, vulnerable and this thing has your scent. "

Prey for mercy

Yes, Aliens vs Predator is a scary game. At least, it is when you're playing as a soft, delicious Colonial Marine. Up against xenomorphs that can tear you to pieces in an instant, not to mention a technologically advanced Predator stomping around looking for trophies, it's by far the toughest of the three single player campaigns. It's also the most familiar, given that space marines, spooky corridors and slavering aliens have been mainstays of the first-person shooter genre for over ten years.

Playing as a Predator takes you through the same locations, but tweaks the gameplay to favour a stealthier approach. Your aim is to prevent pesky humans from defiling a sacred Predator training ground, and as you carve your way through their ranks you accumulate an arsenal of other-wordly weaponry drawn from the movies. You want the flying disc that slices people into bits? You got it. How about that extendable spear, for instant death skewering? Yep, that's yours as well, along with the ability to turn invisible and distract enemies with a spot of gravel-throated ventriloquism.

Wall crawlers

Playing as an Alien is even stranger. Receiving psychic orders from an imprisoned Queen, you must break out of captivity and disrupt the colony's research into your species. Your weapons are your claws and barbed tail, backed up with no small amount of speed and surprise. Capable of scuttling up walls, across ceilings and into air vents, it's a dizzying experience but also a fantastically satisfying one. Stalking your prey, dropping on them from above and then delivering a wet, squelchy skull-chomp is gruesome fun that every movie fan will relish.

In terms of atmosphere and attention to detail, there's little to complain about, regardless of which species you prefer. All the sound effects are drawn from the movies, so every shot, scream or squeal pulls you further in. It's just a shame some of the human characters aren't more convincing, both in appearance and behaviour, but this is a game that's all about the monsters. The title stars are both well served by their iconic design, and the carefully prescribed stories make sure to offer lots of opportunities to see them at their best. Witness the moment where your Alien shadow looms over a cowering colonist as you prepare them for a facehugger, or the snarling, drooling view you get when a Predator grapples with a xenomorph up close. It's blatant fan service, but no less effective for its shameless pandering.

"Everything you'd want from a massive monster mash-up."

Acid house party

Sadly, there's no getting away from the fact that with three very different story modes to accommodate, the single player game feels rather small. Each campaign is over far too soon, and once you've got past the atmospherics of creeping around, it's fair to say that they can sometimes be a bit uneventful as well. Both Alien and Predator are also rather hampered by twitchy control schemes that get in the way of the thrill of controlling such infamous creatures. The Predator's leaps are a cumbersome fiddle, while the Alien has a habit of getting snagged or stuck while wall-crawling. It's one thing to fudge the perfect stealth kill by tripping over the controls, but when faced with a boss fight where two hits can mean death it becomes even more problematic.

These issues persist in the generous multiplayer menu, but at least everyone is on an even playing field. What is impressive is just how many different modes the game boasts, and how well they've been tweaked to make the most of the three-way mayhem the versus concept can offer. There are standard Deathmatch options, but it's more fun to opt for the more unique game types. Infestation, for example, pits marines against a single player-controlled Alien. Each player killed comes back as another Alien, worsening the odds against their former teammates. Predator Hunt turns the tables, and puts the Alien on the run, pursued by a team of Predators. Survivor, meanwhile, recalls Left 4 Dead and Gears of War's Horde mode, trapping a small group of human players in a relentless battle with Alien swarms.

Clash of the terror titans

For anyone who shivered and thrilled to the titular creature's movie exploits the minor control problems will be a small obstacle, easily overcome.Aliens vs Predator is a fine update of the old PC shooter series, and one that goes out of its way to deliver everything you'd want from a massive monster mash-up.

With three different solo modes, and a fantastic multiplayer selection, it's a game to sink your teeth into.

Red Meat
+ Looks and sounds just like the movies.
+ Great multiplayer modes.
+ Three different ways to play.

Dead Meat
- Single player campaigns are short.
- Controls can be frustrating.
- Awkward difficulty spikes.