|
Overview
I'll
start by giving a basic overview of the game. You can play as one
of three different characters each with their respective strengths
and weaknesses. The colonial marine is pretty much like all other
marines in every 3D shooter you've ever played. His strong points
are his ability to carry many weapons and he would be the one that
most gamers are used to playing as. His one major weakness is his
high level of falling damage. This makes him out to be very human
and it adds to the realism of the game.
The
next character is the predator. This is probably the most balanced
fighter of the three. He has ranged weapons that can lock on to
a marine or alien and he's also very good at melee combat. He has
all his equipment from the movies including all his different view
modes. This is probably the strongest character out of the three
and he becomes even more potent when using his cloaking device.
Most weapons use energy, however, so you need to plan ahead and
conserve your energy for the times when it's crucial to have a good
supply.
The
last character to play as is the alien. The alien has the ability
to crawl over any surface and is extremely quick and agile. Its
weakness is in its lack of any ranged attack. It can however leap
great distances and drop down on its foes to make up for this shortcoming.
Scary
This
is definitely one of those games you'll want to play at night with
all the lights off to get the full effect. I still get scared playing
as the marine with low health and hearing the frightening blip on
my motion sensor that tells me something is moving in the darkness
ahead, and you can bet it's not very friendly.
This
is by far one of the most immersive games ever created. The lights
can be shot out and the engine does a fine job of creating eerie
scenes complete with flickering lights and realistic water. The
sound effects are also another plus. There's nothing quite like
hearing the screech of an alien or the clicking of the predator.
You will want to sleep with the lights on for months. The only bad
thing about the sound effects is the cheesy acting of the marines.
Other than that though, they're flawless.
The graphics are not groundbreaking but they get the job done. The
frame-rate was smooth and all the characters look and move smoothly
through the environments. Another plus to the graphics is when you
shoot off specific body parts the victim will react accordingly.
Tear off a marine's arm and he goes running for help, shoot an aliens
leg off and he falls helplessly to the ground. The alien death scenes
are some of the best I've seen in a game. You also have to watch
for the aliens blood as it is acidic and will hurt you. One thing
done extremely well is how the marines look when they see you as
the predator or alien. I will never forget running up to a marine
as the predator and see a look of absolute terror on the face of
the marine. It's moments like those that draw you into the game
and make you want to play more.
Christian
Sense
It's
obvious. The game is quite violent. As the predator, you are encouraged
to take the heads of your victims as "prizes". Playing
as the alien is equally graphic. To get health you need to bite
off the head of your victim. Blood sprays everywhere and will stain
the walls and floors of every room in the game. The blood disappears
after a few seconds, as do the bodies of the people/aliens/predators
that you kill.
Nevertheless,
if violence is a concern, this game is not a good choice. If some
violence is OK, but graphic violence isn't then this game isn't
going to work for you. If blood spattering everywhere and biting
off the heads of your victims is not an issue with you, then you
might be kidding yourself and should think about the implications
of that for a bit. If you feel you can just ignore the violence
and enjoy the game, make sure you're not kidding yourself.
One
more point that probably makes it even more unsuitable for Christians
is the swearing. If you play as a marine the language is terrible
when your commander comes on the screen and yells at you to get
moving. I didn't hear any swearing playing as the Alien and there
was minimal foul language playing as the predator.
So,
this game was doomed not to get a good CS rating. Take out the violence
and the foul language and you don't have anything positive or negative
with regard to Christian Sense. It's a fantasy game that doesn't
present itself as a reality based simulation. In the end, the graphic
violence and foul language spoil an otherwise delightfully immersive,
suspenseful and scary game experience.
by
Michael Williams
Final
Score
Highlights: Three
characters to choose from. Scary, immersive gameplay. Great sound
FX.
Lowlights:
Terrible
acting, the enemies can be quite dumb,
foul language, excessive violence.
Hints:
TAKE
YOUR TIME!! Rushing through the game with any character will get
you killed. Plan your assaults carefully and conserve your ammo.
Recommendation:
If
you want an immersive game and you have a strong stomach than this
game is for you. I was a bit turned off by the language though and
the gore can get extreme, especially playing as the predator and
sticking peoples heads to the walls with your spear gun. Other than
the violence and the language this game is good for late night gaming
sessions with all the lights off and your headphones plugged in.
If violence, particularly gruesome violence is of concern to you,
don't buy this game. If foul language is a concern, then avoid playing
a marine or perhaps skip this game altogether.
Age Appropriateness:
Teens
17+ (Very scary stuff. Gruesome death, heavy violence)
Christian
Sense (CS): 2.5-
the extreme violence and language bring this one down.
Game Engine
(GE): 4-
The perfect engine for creating a tense and frightening atmosphere.
Lights can be shot out to make levels totally black and the outdoor
areas are quite impressive. The only thing bringing it down is it
looks a bit dated compared to other engines
Game Play
(GP): 3.7-
this game MUST be played at night with headphones or else the tense,
immersive factor is non-existent. Overall, though, the game is a
blast to play through with all 3 of the characters.
Overall:
3.4-
Could have been an acceptable shooter for Christians if it wasn't
for the violence and language
|
