Finally, after 27 unsuccessful experiments, I have finally transformed a pit bull into a predator using the wonders of modern man. Fully equipped with heat scanning eyes, shoulder canon, invisibility, and mandibles, my 100 pound murder dog can finally ravage those pesky toddlers...
Highly overrated. The biggest seller of the Jaguar's line and its 'killer app' which frankly tells you all you need to know about history's most shat upon console. A few decades later you can eek a few more pixels of enjoyment out of it via emulation, allowing you to upscale and increase the fps some.
It just goes to show though that if you strip away the license, all you're left with is a poor consolised Doom-clone. There's nothing to do beyond jerk around the identical-looking levels, searching for keys and shooting the occasional enemy. The main attraction then is the chance to play as the titular Alien or Predator, each with their own abilities and problems. This alone grants it the three star rating, as the cloaking and honour system for the Predator, and incubation respawning life mechanic for the Xenomorph are unique and peverse enough to give you some fairly decent replay value.
The franchise was done far better a few years down the line with Rebellion's second attempt on the PC and its exemplary sequel. So perhaps aim a little higher and play those instead.
It just goes to show though that if you strip away the license, all you're left with is a poor consolised Doom-clone. There's nothing to do beyond jerk around the identical-looking levels, searching for keys and shooting the occasional enemy. The main attraction then is the chance to play as the titular Alien or Predator, each with their own abilities and problems. This alone grants it the three star rating, as the cloaking and honour system for the Predator, and incubation respawning life mechanic for the Xenomorph are unique and peverse enough to give you some fairly decent replay value.
The franchise was done far better a few years down the line with Rebellion's second attempt on the PC and its exemplary sequel. So perhaps aim a little higher and play those instead.
Probably the best pre-DOOM, WOLFENSTEIN 3-D-like anyone ever made, prefiguring games like ... what's that? This came out in 1994? Same month as DOOM II? Oh. Well ... okay.
Anyway, yeah, it's ... primitive, but it's damn good! Takes the very simple grid-based, flat-planes-and-doors FPS framework and does about as much as you possibly can with it, essentially making what might be better classified as a survival horror game. That's in Marine mode, at least. The other two playable races both have distinct mechanics that give very different rhythms to their campaigns - the Alien must use a risky special move on living Marines to cocoon them and earn themselves extra lives/spawn points to eventually wear down the humans with overwhelming numbers (appropriate), and the Predator can run around invisible but must kill uncloaked to earn honor points and unlock the weapons they'll need to take on bigger game. I don't think either is as compelling as the human campaign (which is just a well-structured, surprisingly open FPS world map with a well-designed flow of objectives and areas) but they make for nice add-ons.
The lo-fi look and feel (no music! just ambience!) works great for the subject matter. Despite this thing's limitations and playing it on my laptop in the middle of the day, I couldn't help but find myself riveted and little creeped out. I honestly kind of want to buy a Jaguar now, just to play this on hardware.
Anyway, yeah, it's ... primitive, but it's damn good! Takes the very simple grid-based, flat-planes-and-doors FPS framework and does about as much as you possibly can with it, essentially making what might be better classified as a survival horror game. That's in Marine mode, at least. The other two playable races both have distinct mechanics that give very different rhythms to their campaigns - the Alien must use a risky special move on living Marines to cocoon them and earn themselves extra lives/spawn points to eventually wear down the humans with overwhelming numbers (appropriate), and the Predator can run around invisible but must kill uncloaked to earn honor points and unlock the weapons they'll need to take on bigger game. I don't think either is as compelling as the human campaign (which is just a well-structured, surprisingly open FPS world map with a well-designed flow of objectives and areas) but they make for nice add-ons.
The lo-fi look and feel (no music! just ambience!) works great for the subject matter. Despite this thing's limitations and playing it on my laptop in the middle of the day, I couldn't help but find myself riveted and little creeped out. I honestly kind of want to buy a Jaguar now, just to play this on hardware.
I'm a little conflicted on this one. It could have been amazing. The graphics are nice and clean. The feedback on the weapons feels good as well. On top of all that, it succeeds in capturing the oppressive atmosphere of the Alien films. Played with headphones, it can actually be kinda scary at times.
The problem is everything else. Every floor is a literal maze with no rhyme or reason. Everything looks exactly the same, with no guideposts to speak of. Opening the map tanks the frame rate. You are given absolutely no direction, and with levels this size, that's a problem. Changing floors also resets the map, meaning you have to fill it in again. It would have been all right in the days of Wolfenstein 3D, but Doom 2 was already out by the time this game's release.
So the game has no level design to speak of, and even then, you can be punished for making a wrong move. When an Alien dies, they leave a pool of acid that doesn't go away. That means you take damage when you step in it. Normally that isn't a problem, just go around the acid. But in certain areas, particularly in the air vents, you can't just go around, so you wind up taking unavoidable damage. You also have no recourse if you run out of ammo. You have no melee attack as the marine. This is absolutely inexcusable. Wolfenstein gave you a knife, Doom gave you a knuckleduster. Some people have argued that if you play it like a survival horror it makes sense. These people are wrong. System Shock also came out in 1994, and you could pick up melee weapons lying about. Resident Evil 1 started you with a knife. Even the progenitor of survival horror, Alone in the Dark, let you punch and kick enemies if you had no other recourse.
All in all, it's a great concept let down by numerous fundamental design flaws. Unavoidable damage, crappy level design, and blatantly unfair gameplay make this a relic best left in the past. Critics at the time loved it, and some people like it still. This is all cope for the fact that they purchased an Atari Jaguar. Fortunately, Rebellion Entertainment had another shot with the franchise, learned from their mistakes, and made a much better Aliens vs. Predator game on PC in 1999. Play that instead of this dinosaur of a game.
The problem is everything else. Every floor is a literal maze with no rhyme or reason. Everything looks exactly the same, with no guideposts to speak of. Opening the map tanks the frame rate. You are given absolutely no direction, and with levels this size, that's a problem. Changing floors also resets the map, meaning you have to fill it in again. It would have been all right in the days of Wolfenstein 3D, but Doom 2 was already out by the time this game's release.
So the game has no level design to speak of, and even then, you can be punished for making a wrong move. When an Alien dies, they leave a pool of acid that doesn't go away. That means you take damage when you step in it. Normally that isn't a problem, just go around the acid. But in certain areas, particularly in the air vents, you can't just go around, so you wind up taking unavoidable damage. You also have no recourse if you run out of ammo. You have no melee attack as the marine. This is absolutely inexcusable. Wolfenstein gave you a knife, Doom gave you a knuckleduster. Some people have argued that if you play it like a survival horror it makes sense. These people are wrong. System Shock also came out in 1994, and you could pick up melee weapons lying about. Resident Evil 1 started you with a knife. Even the progenitor of survival horror, Alone in the Dark, let you punch and kick enemies if you had no other recourse.
All in all, it's a great concept let down by numerous fundamental design flaws. Unavoidable damage, crappy level design, and blatantly unfair gameplay make this a relic best left in the past. Critics at the time loved it, and some people like it still. This is all cope for the fact that they purchased an Atari Jaguar. Fortunately, Rebellion Entertainment had another shot with the franchise, learned from their mistakes, and made a much better Aliens vs. Predator game on PC in 1999. Play that instead of this dinosaur of a game.
why do they look like they're gonna kiss on the title screen
Jank, slow, trash and unimpressive. Welcome to Atari.
I played this game when it came out on a friend’s Jaguar (he had a history of picking bad consoles). It was one of the few worthwhile games on the system.
I never finished it, as my friend got rid of his Jaguar before then buying a Saturn.
He knew how to pick ‘em.
He ended up giving me the Saturn when none of the trade-in places would take it and no one he knew wanted it lol
Good times, good times.
But the Jaguar AvP is challenging and fun.
In some ways, it’s better than the later AvP shooter from 1999. Which actually uses ideas that came up for a possible Jaguar sequel lol
I never finished it, as my friend got rid of his Jaguar before then buying a Saturn.
He knew how to pick ‘em.
He ended up giving me the Saturn when none of the trade-in places would take it and no one he knew wanted it lol
Good times, good times.
But the Jaguar AvP is challenging and fun.
In some ways, it’s better than the later AvP shooter from 1999. Which actually uses ideas that came up for a possible Jaguar sequel lol
There is a definite Cool factor in Alien vs Predator for the Atari Jaguar. Playing as a Xenomorph, a Predator, or a Colonial Marine in brooding atmospheres that really set the tone.
Unfortunately the gameplay really isn't anything particularly unique despite the character options - and the most boring sounding (Marine) is the one that seems to offer my favorite gameplay.
Unfortunately the gameplay really isn't anything particularly unique despite the character options - and the most boring sounding (Marine) is the one that seems to offer my favorite gameplay.