Gunstar Posted June 12, 2012 Share Posted June 12, 2012 (edited) Alien vs Predator - overrated? In the early 90s it was only slightly overrated. I can't recall a single bad review of it back then, which raised my expectations too high. It was the first Jag game I played, and while I liked it, I didn't think it was the 100%-perfect-most-amazing-thing-ever-created-in-the-history-of-gaming. The coolest thing about it was the concept, playing as either the protagonists or antagonists from the movies, so I figured that was why people raved about it so much -- and I agreed, it was awesome. Not perfect, but pretty damn good. It definitely deserves a place in gaming history. That said, I have no desire to play it today. I don't believe that AVP is in my top 5 FPS titles of the 20th century. Over the last few years I have replayed and enjoyed Battlezone, Star Wars (arcade), Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, Marathon, Descent, and Duke Nukem multiple times -- yet I have only replayed AVP once since 2005 and am not interested in picking it up again in the foreseeable future. To me that means it is currently overrated. It's not overrated if you've never played it before. But I agree that after you have completed all three scenarios there isn't much replayability. I go back to it about once every 5 years, when I've forgotten a lot of it, but it's definately not something I can go back to over and over again like I do with other FPS shooters/simulations. On the other hand, I would absolutely love to see the unfinished sequal to it on the Jag, but I think what ever was developed is long gone. I can say that when I do go back to it after years, the atmosphere still keeps me on the edge of my seat and an alien scream from behind still makes me jump! Edited June 12, 2012 by Gunstar 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akator Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 It's not overrated if you've never played it before. But I agree that after you have completed all three scenarios there isn't much replayability. I go back to it about once every 5 years, when I've forgotten a lot of it, but it's definately not something I can go back to over and over again like I do with other FPS shooters/simulations. On the other hand, I would absolutely love to see the unfinished sequal to it on the Jag, but I think what ever was developed is long gone. I can say that when I do go back to it after years, the atmosphere still keeps me on the edge of my seat and an alien scream from behind still makes me jump! Agreed completely Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunstar Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 (edited) It's been a few years since I played AvP last, so with all this talk about it, I've decided to give it another go. I've got all the lights out, my surround sound volume up high, and for the first time I'm playing on a 150" projector! (I didn't own the projector the last time I played it) Actually 150" is in 16:9 wide screen mode, in 4:3 mode as shown it's a bit less, maybe somewhere between 100-120". Pretty cool, I jumped again when the first alien came up behind me! Below are pics of it on the projector, I know it doesn't help much when reduced to a picture on a monitor, but if you look closely, you can see the AvP box bottome center, left of the gun, for size reference. Sorry about the blurriness, the main reason I don't usually take projector pictures, I just can't seem to get sharp photos! Edited June 13, 2012 by Gunstar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ite Posted June 14, 2012 Share Posted June 14, 2012 Alien vs Predator is not overrated AT ALL. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kid_vidiot Posted January 9, 2013 Share Posted January 9, 2013 I love this game to death, but it would have been so much better, and addressed basically all complaints if your auto-map didn't disappear between levels/ducts and saves. Not having the auto map save actually takes *away* from the awesome exploration-heavy focus of the gameplay, because it makes the effort futile and pointless. I wish someone would make a hack that fixes this...it would make the game 10x more playable and fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
decayedmatter Posted January 10, 2013 Share Posted January 10, 2013 I kinda feel the same as the OP, although I obsessed over the game as a kid, always rereading the reviews in magazines and such. I never owned it till a few years ago. I understand it's supposed to be more slow paced and horror game like (the first PC game was great and made you feel very culnerable). But the game nowadays has many real issues such as terrible framerate and controls. Strafing is straight up annoying cause you have to use the number pad to do it and it's not very responsive. And as other have said, the map system is annoying how it always disappears. I got a few keycards i think but never got much farther than that. Just too much repeating coridoors. I'd rather just replay AvP for the pc. I'm wondering what you old school fans thought of Rebellions newest AvP game? It got blasted in reviews but I thought it was quite good. Just disappointing it wasn't as hard as the original pc game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goochman Posted January 10, 2013 Share Posted January 10, 2013 Automapping wasnt a common feature when this came out - most folks back in the day just pulled out a piece of graph paper and made our own levels - it added to the 'charm' I think 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
decayedmatter Posted January 10, 2013 Share Posted January 10, 2013 Automapping wasnt a common feature when this came out - most folks back in the day just pulled out a piece of graph paper and made our own levels - it added to the 'charm' I think I see what you are saying. It's kinda like when I just replayed Myst last year. I did the whole thing using a notepad and pencil writing down all the clues and solving it myself. Or the way Star Control 2 is on 3Do with its ridiculously sized universe and brutal difficulty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillyHW Posted January 10, 2013 Share Posted January 10, 2013 Automapping wasnt a common feature when this came out - most folks back in the day just pulled out a piece of graph paper and made our own levels - it added to the 'charm' I think Agreed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kid_vidiot Posted January 10, 2013 Share Posted January 10, 2013 Automapping wasnt a common feature when this came out - most folks back in the day just pulled out a piece of graph paper and made our own levels - it added to the 'charm' I think I heard this on this board before, but I simply don't buy it. Yes, graph paper was a stardard tool for dos-era games and even some 8-bit stuff, but this is the 64 freakin bit jaguar. Give me a break. Immersion is the whole point of a game like AvP, what makes it so cool and compelling. Graph paper is the *complete opposite* of immersion. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ACrystal2011 Posted January 10, 2013 Share Posted January 10, 2013 Well graph paper can add to the immersion in a way since it makes u feel as tho ur really finding ur own way and keeping a map Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaytonaUSA Posted January 10, 2013 Share Posted January 10, 2013 I dont know about anyone else, but I used notebooks to mark progress, write down codes, write down notes, etc all the way through the DC days. Heck, I still do it sometimes for games like Zelda. Old habits die hard, I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariMagic! Posted January 10, 2013 Share Posted January 10, 2013 It was miles ahead technically over the other Jag games of the time, so hardly overrated imho Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunstar Posted January 10, 2013 Share Posted January 10, 2013 (edited) I kinda feel the same as the OP, although I obsessed over the game as a kid, always rereading the reviews in magazines and such. I never owned it till a few years ago. I understand it's supposed to be more slow paced and horror game like (the first PC game was great and made you feel very culnerable). But the game nowadays has many real issues such as terrible framerate and controls. Strafing is straight up annoying cause you have to use the number pad to do it and it's not very responsive. And as other have said, the map system is annoying how it always disappears. I got a few keycards i think but never got much farther than that. Just too much repeating coridoors. I'd rather just replay AvP for the pc. I'm wondering what you old school fans thought of Rebellions newest AvP game? It got blasted in reviews but I thought it was quite good. Just disappointing it wasn't as hard as the original pc game. Strafing works fantastically with a pro-controller's Z&X buttons! JagDoom can use the pro-controllers Shoulder buttons for strafing Edited January 10, 2013 by Gunstar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kid_vidiot Posted January 10, 2013 Share Posted January 10, 2013 (edited) Strafing works fantastically with a pro-controller's Z&X buttons! JagDoom can use the pro-controllers Shoulder buttons for strafing Yeah that would be another thing for the hack...let you strafe using the shoulder buttons! I find strafing even WORSE with the z & x buttons because you only have one thumb near them, which defeats the whole purpose of strafing. At least with the number pad you have both thumbs at the ready for strafing. Edited January 10, 2013 by kid_vidiot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JD6502 Posted January 14, 2013 Share Posted January 14, 2013 I'm going to have to vote "Not over rated". Unless you're a button masher, then you'll hate it. Like others, I find it a unique and immersive experience. I agree that it is too bad this style of game play never caught on. I'm a systematic, detail type player and AvP was right up my alley. I'm sure I spent way more than the 40 hours people have mentioned just making complete detailed scale maps in a quad note book(which I still have). The reason I started mapping is also one of the most vivid gaming memories I have. Late at night, tired and bleary-eyed, hopelessly lost in the training maze - sitting in the dark because I was too involved to stop to turn on the lights - bathed in the creepy nerve jangling ambient sound of the station coming from the surround system, I just wanted to get back to the brig to save the game (I had just found a pulse rifle). Suddenly a voice out of nowhere whispers "Any time!" My heart tries to jump out of my throat as I realize I've encountered my first Predator. And they're fracking INVISIBLE. Crap, crap, crap! It was a total red shirt cannon fodder moment of panic. I wasted several seconds of ammo just blasting at nothing, then ran away like a little girl. The most compelling aspect of the game for me emerges when you've played for a while as all three characters. When you play as a marine you start to think like a marine. Watch your six, clear an area carefully, then move on. As an alien you have only melee weapons, you start thinking like an alien. Strike fast, keep moving, use air ducts. The predator hunts. You stalk your prey, wait for a moment of vulnerability. De-cloak, strike, cloak. I didn't find one character more difficult than the others, they just require different tactics. Most run and gun, enemies around every corner FPSes don't have the mind warping nuance that AvP did. When I was playing the first time through I remember turning a corner at work and having a flash of knot in the stomach anticipation of what I might confront. A whiff of PTSD I've never had from any other game. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sh3-rg Posted January 14, 2013 Share Posted January 14, 2013 Andrew Whittaker on AvP from an interview by STS about 10 years ago: I studied the movies solid for many months before coming up with a game design. My aim was simple, to recreate the feeling and atmosphere of the "Alien" movie. I wanted people jumping, feeling claustrophobic and have the fear of being hunted in an unknown environment. ...Doom and Quake are very much shooting gallery games whereby you are the hunter. I think and hope that AvP turns that on its head where the player feels that he is the hunted rather than hunter. As such, to play the game properly, AvP forces careful actions and stealth on the part of the player in order to survive. I deliberately had the Predator taunting the player at regular intervals to remind the player that they are the prey fighting for their survival rather than a gung-ho hero with guns blazing. ...In Avp the creatures are alive all the time and tracking you throughout the maze, working solely and cooperatively. There is a lot of cooperative actions with the creatures that you do not see in other games. Even so called "dumb" aliens in certain rooms are usually there to lure you into a trap where there may be a pack lurking nearby. They use many many tricks to try and bring you to an early demise, in fact over 256 strategies for each type of creature in the game! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunstar Posted January 14, 2013 Share Posted January 14, 2013 Nice quote from Whittaker Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAYAman Posted January 14, 2013 Share Posted January 14, 2013 Sorry but if you think AVP is overrated you're nuts, and being devils advocate internet guy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vintagebreed Posted January 15, 2013 Share Posted January 15, 2013 I didnt think that AvP was overrated at all for the time it was a great survival horror type simulation game.I remember back in the day loving how you could get the information from the computer terminals and all.I think it was on the fifth floor were in the labs you could use the terminals to replinish energy and such if it was under 50%.Also i liked how you could read all the other creature Bio's that the marine scientists have came into contact with made the whole AvP universe come together a bit.All in all i think for its time of debut that this game definatly earned a spot in history and should be considered one of a kind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJ Posted January 16, 2013 Share Posted January 16, 2013 A neat little Easter Egg- in the medlabs where you can read up on those various alien species, one of the star systems is named after a programmer or someone involved behind the scenes. & the Marine himself is named Lance Lewis, who was involved in many Jaguar games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtshark7 Posted January 16, 2013 Share Posted January 16, 2013 I don't find AVP overrated. I always wanted it from reading reviews in gamepro and other magazines back in the day. I remember reading how it's the scariest game ever. Once I finally bought one and started playing it I realized what made it soo scary. I never actually beat the game and always wanted to, I hate how the save feature is useless since once you load up a save all the aliens are there to greet you and then you die. Once nice feature about the game is that enemies don't respawn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kid_vidiot Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 I don't find AVP overrated. I always wanted it from reading reviews in gamepro and other magazines back in the day. I remember reading how it's the scariest game ever. Once I finally bought one and started playing it I realized what made it soo scary. I never actually beat the game and always wanted to, I hate how the save feature is useless since once you load up a save all the aliens are there to greet you and then you die. Once nice feature about the game is that enemies don't respawn. that's why you save in the elevators. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtshark7 Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 kid_vidiot: Yea but when you exit the elevator won't there be ton's of aliens waiting to greet you? I think I tried that before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
high voltage Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 Mario 64 was overrated Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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