Aliens vs Predator chills and thrills

Aliens versus Predator

****

PC

Fox Interactive

$99.95 (MA Restricted 15+)

Reviewer: Peter Eley

You've seen the movie, now play the game.

The marketing brigade is quick to squeeze every drop of blood out of a product, and the result has been some disappointing, quick-buck titles based on box-office hits.

Aliens versus Predator isn't one of them. It's a well-constructed, graphically excellent game that manages to capture the chills and thrills of these two cult horror classics.

It doesn't really reflect the storyline of either movie, but develops a real foreboding of dread which helps to create a totally immersive experience.

Aliens versus Predator is a high-quality first person shooter dressed up with some of the latest graphics technology.

The characters themselves disappoint slightly, but the peripheral effects are superb - featuring rich, pulsing coronas, incandescent lighting, highly detailed shading and realistic explosions.

This rich array of "eye candy" explains a horrifyingly high recommended spec list - a Pentium 111 400mhz, with 128Mb Ram and a Voodoo 2 card, although the minimum requirements are much lower.

The game has three campaigns - one each for the Alien, a United States Marine, and the Predator.

The mixture of characters is a little odd and the game would have been good just as an Aliens-only title.

The Predator level is something of an anomaly and the least enjoyable of the three, although still quite playable.

I enjoyed the Marine campaign most, although it has to be said that the odds are stacked against him.

The Alien attacks very quickly and without warning. Two or three slashes from its claws, or a splash of its acid blood, and it will soon be firing volleys over your coffin.

The game is tough and one factor makes it even tougher - you cannot save during a mission, only at the end.

This means you can complete all the hard tasks, get it almost right but get killed near the end and have to start from scratch.

Good, experienced players may welcome this as it adds to the realism, but many more will be frustrated.

There is also a good deathmatch option, with some low-level cheats such as limited invulnerability, which even up the score.

Required: Pentium 200, 32Mb Ram, 3D accelerator.


Baldur's Gate: Tales of the Sword Coast
****

PC

Forgotten Realms

$59.95


Baldur's Gate is a cornerstone of the Gothic Dungeons and Dragons genre and was voted best game of its kind last year. Tales of the Sword Coast is an add-on mission pack, which continues the story while tweaking some of the gameplay.

Improvements include more sophisticated non-playing characters, more spells and magic items.

Required: The original game, Pentium 166, 16Mb Ram, 2Mb video card.

* Send your comments e-mail to peter_eley@herald.co.nz