Difficulty:

Hard

Time Spent:

20 to 40 Hours

The Bottom Line:

"Ambitious"

Aliens vs Predator Extinction is a StarCraft style game pitting the human marines against the classic sci-fi monsters Aliens and Predators. Three separate campaigns await!

There are 7 missions per group, and 20 maps that you explore. Sometimes you are the marines, trying to defend your base against the onslaught of nasties. Sometimes you are the aliens, carefully tending to your nest of eggs and developing a new queen. Each group has its own growth trees, its advancements and goals.

The graphics are good but not excellent. The maps are sometimes quite on the plain side - endless caves, endless jungles. The sound is reasonably good and does give you a spooky feeling sometimes, worrying what might be around the next corner.

None of the groups are easy to play, and the game is definitely not an arcade-style shoot-em-up. You have to lay down a well thought out strategy, using each of your unit types to its best advantage, if you're going to win. Anyone who has seen the movies knows that whatever side you're on, there are usually overwhelming odds stacked up against you that usually leave only one man standing. The game is no exception. Don't expect an easy mow-down-the-enemy game. Whichever side you play, you're going to have to play WELL to move along.

I realize that plots are usually rather transparent in these games, but I do still like them. I was disappointed with the plot and cutscenes in here - you get a brief 'do this' description in the beginning and if you win, you win. I would really have loved some cinematics to show what was happening and to give you a sense of satisfaction when you win the game. To just have it say "OK, campaign done." wasn't very much fun after many hours of playing.

Probably the most disappointing part was the complete lack of multiplay. We often have friends over the house to play games with us, and this one was a sit-and-watch game only. You can't multiplay in the same house. You can't multiplay over XBox Live. And since there are only 7 missions per group, once you finish those missions, the game is completely over. That's rather short for us - we enjoy games that we play for months and months, unlocking new features and missions and playing multiplay. To have a game that just ends after a week of play seems rather short.

A great game for a sci-fi and StarCraft style strategy fan, but be ready to sell it back to the game store for their used shelves when you're done.