Alien vs. Predator

Overview

Alien Vs. Predator is a arcade beat em up by Capcom that plays much like their earlier action games such as Final Fight. It runs on the CPS-2 hardware. Some cabinets released for the game allowed up to three players to play simultaneously, but smaller versions were released which only allowed two player gameplay.

Characters

The game is a traditional beat em up in the sense that players are faced with waves of foes and must defeat them before moving on (usually to the right). There are four characters to choose from, each with their own attributes that make them unique.

Linn Kurosawa

The stereotypical fast-but-weak female character that is in present in many Capcom beat em ups, Linn has high attack speed and large combos, but has low health compared to the other characters. With air attacks, she can bounce off enemies which opens up extensive air combo abilities. Unusual for the genre, she has a charge attack which is activated by holding down the attack button for a few seconds. While she may not look like it, she is in actuality a cyborg.

Major Dutch Schaefer
	Dutch is the typical Heavy character of AvP. He is slow, but exceptionally powerful with high health and short combos. He is named after the character that Arnold Schwarzeneggar played in the first movie, though he doesn't look anything like him, and lives centuries after the real Dutch would have died. His arm acts as a gun, and he is also a cyborg like Linn.

Predator Warrior
	The Warrior is a well-balanced character. He uses a Combistick as his primary weapon and his strength, combos, and health are all average in respects. In the opening of the game, there is actually three Predators, but only two of them are present during the game's storyline.

Predator Hunter
	The Hunter is much like the Warrior. His combo is nearly the same length, he is as strong, and has the same special attacks. His weapon, the Nagatina, grants a bit more reach than the Warrior's Combistick. The game's intro depicts him as having his mask off, but throughout the game he keeps it on.

Gameplay

The game is played with an eight-way joystick, and has three buttons-one for attacking, one for jumping, and one for shooting. Dutch and Linn both use their pistols (or, in Dutch's case, his arm), which must be reloaded after a clip. While reloading, Linn cannot move but Dutch can. Several rounds are fired, which are weak individually but do significant damage together. The Predator's, meanwhile, use their Plasma Caster (shoulder-cannon) as a ranged attack. This can fire two or three times, and does good damage with a explosion that can hit multiple targets. It will overheat after shots are fired, however, the player can move while the weapon cools down.

Throughout the game, there are various weapons that can be picked up and used by the player. These range from guns (Assault rifles, plasma rifles, flamethrowers, and grenade launchers) to melee weapons (pipes, knives, other character's weapons. All of these can only be thrown), to even the Predator's signiture Smart Disc. There is a powerup in the game that allows the players to fire their guns continuously for ten seconds without having to overheat or reload.

While many of the basic elements of gameplay are the same with Capcom's other beat em ups (and beat em ups in general), the game is much faster than many games in the genre. Enemies are numerous in presence, with over a dozen standard Aliens often on screen at once. The player's characters are exceptionally agile, and can air-juggle enemies if the player is skilled enough. Enemies can be grabbed, thrown, slammed, or given a flurry of punches. Aside from Dutch, each character carries a weapon with them that has a combo. If the player is knocked down, then the weapon flies out of the character's hands (a timer counts down until the weapon disappears). While weaker, the character then has a completely different combo, which, depending on the player, could be found more useful or not. There are seven stages, each with a boss at the end.

Stages

Streets (City of Despair): The first stage of the game. The player is attacked by a neverending wave of enemies. Retreating into a warehouse, the player in confronted with the first level boss, the Chrysalis.

Sewers (War In The Underpass): Seeking a way out of the city, the player enters the sewers and fights their way through the Aliens. After battling a large Royal Guard species, the player encounters the second level boss, the Razorclaws.

APC Attack (Forced Assault): Aiming to destroy the Queen, the player drives a armored APC through the army of Aliens in the way, and defends it from the third level boss, the Arachnoid.

Hive (Assault On A Queen): Arriving at the hive, the player fights their way through both numerous Aliens and infected humans. Arriving in the egg chamber, the player has a duel with the Alien Queen, and defeats it, cutting off the flow of the monsters.

Forest (Secrets): Leaving the nest and entering a forest, the player watches a ship crash. After being attacked by human soldiers, the player fights their way to the crash site to see that a company named Weyland Yutani is harvesting Aliens. The man responsible, the General, flees, and the player battles the fifth level boss, the Power Loader.

Weyland Yutani (Nightmare In A Lab): The player follows the General to his base of operations, where hundreds of Aliens are being kept in cryo tanks. The player fights through soldiers until the Aliens awaken and begin wreaking havoc. As the battle goes on, the player goes up a elevator and encounters the sixth level boss, the Mad Predator (for Final Fight players, this battle is very familiar).

Spaceship: After defeating the rogue Predator (which was, in fact, infected by an alien), the player follows the General onto a ship which is carrying Aliens into orbit. The player battles wave after wave of Aliens, from simple drones to Royal Guards, until confronting the General, who is promptly killed by the Alien Queen. In a final battle, the player defeats the monster, and sets the ship to crash into the infected portion of the US, which kills all Aliens on Earth. Narrowly escaping, the Predators leave the planet, saying that they will return.

Enemies

There are a multitude of enemies in the game, although many of the standard ones are simple variations of a Alien drone. Also to fight are infected humans, human soldiers, chestbursters, and facehuggers.

Alien
	The standard Alien which the player will encounter throughout the entire game. Comes in many variations, but is generally a weak enemy that is easy to defeat. Their danger comes in numbers, as they will often swarm the player. Occasionally, they might take off their head or rip open their chest with a finishing blow. Look out for their pounce!

Arachnoid
	A sub-species of Alien that is abnormally agile. It is the boss of the third level, but throughout the rest of the game it is a standard enemy.

Soldier
	The next most often fought enemy in the game. Almost always carries some sort of weapon, from knives and pipes to machine guns. Is most threatening at range with a gun, but up close is weak and easy to dispatch. Watch out for grenades!

Chrysalis
	The first level boss, which later becomes a mini-boss. While slow to attack, it will call other Aliens to help it in battle. Jumps around often to avoid attacks, and will roll up into a ball to block and smash the player. A more challenging but still threatening enemy.

Royal Guard
	A mid-boss fought in the second level, and will return with another Guard in the final stage. It will call other Aliens to help, and has plenty of health as well as damaging attacks. Careful to avoid to acid spit!

Razor Claws
	The second level boss, which attacks the player after slaughtering a squad of human soldiers. Very fast and agile, and has long range and powerful attacks, but low health. It has a habid of using dashing strikes. For a easier defeat, use the plasma rifle found in the crates.

Power Loader
	The boss of the fifth stage. Has very long range and significant power, as well as large range and defense. It is very slow however. Get too close, and it will use its flamethrowers on the player. The Power Loader appeared at the end of Aliens, where it was wielded by Ripley to defeat the Alien Queen.

Evil Predator
	The boss of the sixth level. It is a very dangerous opponent, with all the abilities of the playable Predators, only stronger and faster. It can cloak itself, launch several Plasma Caster shots, and will engage in hand to hand combat. This battle will be very familiar to people who have played Final Fight, as the boss is based off of Rolento.

Alien Queen

Both the final enemy in the game as well as the boss of the fourth level, the Alien Queen is possibly the most challenging opponent in Alien Vs. Predator. Will summon numerous enemies to attack, has practically infinite range, and can nearly kill the player with one attack. The boss is much easier in the fourth stage, as she is kept still by her egg sack. In the final battle, she is no longer restrained and has free reign over the battle area. Look out for her tail!