" I mean really short, uber short, Gary Coleman short. "

      Title: Aliens vs. Predator 2 by Sierra

      Format: Sci-Fi FPS

      Reviewing Monkey: Dungapult

      The Hype: Aliens was one of the best action / sci-fi flicks of all time. Predator was…Well, cool- anyway. Combine the two and you got a great concept for a first person shooter. This sequel to the original puts you right back in play as either; a space marine, alien, or predator, and lets you duke it out with the other species for universal dominance.

      What This Monkey Thought...

      Graphics: The terms "wow" and "keen" definitely come to mind when Aliens vs. Predators 2 (AvP2) hits your screen. Nice characters, vibrant colors, and smooth animations make the game almost as much fun to watch, as it is to play. My two biggest gripes about it, though, are the relatively small number of actions a given model has (they'll only move, stand, act a small number of ways) and in the Predator's cloaking graphics. Rather than pull a page from the movie and have that neat wash affect over the beast he slowly fades to completely invisible. Now, granted, neither of these are huge deals but it's the little things that make a game endure. Still, it ain't hard on the eyes- however you cut it. 4 out of 5

      Sound: One of the truly great things about making games based on movies is that you can direct sample the effects, and Sierra did that here. Enjoy the high-pitched wine of pulse rifles, the click-click-clicking of Predators, and the bowel-loosening hiss of Aliens as you tear each other to pieces. Awesome. 5 out of 5

      Playability: All in all, AvP2 plays pretty darned solid all the way through. Though the controls can be a bit daunting at times (it sure does take a lot of them) they are customizable and won't take too long for the average gamer to learn. Virtually identical to the original AvP, number 2 tweaks a few strings to make things smoother and to try and balance the set up a bit more. Unfortunately, what they have often done is grossly unbalance certain character classes and weapons, but as that's a discussion for the multiplayer section I'll wait and get into it there. 4 out of 5

      Multiplayer and Replayability: All right, lots to talk about here so I'll start fast. The good is that with 3 single player missions (once through each race) and a ton of multiplayer options the game should keep you going for quite a while. All good news indeed. The bad news is a, unfortunately, a bit more overwhelming. First and foremost are the single player missions: they're kinda cool, and fairly interesting, but they are extremely trite (oh story where art thou?) and incredibly short. I mean really short, uber short, Gary Coleman short. Just long enough that you'll figure out how a race works right about the time you're done playing it. That's strike 1. Strike 2 is in the multiplayer balance. Evidently still reeling from the pounding they took on the toughness of the Predator in the first game, they rocked the pendulum the opposite way and completely unbalanced the races and their gear. Ridiculously ineffective and grossly underpowered, the Predators are the game's universal bitches and aren't to be feared at all. The other races also suffer from some considerable imbalances, but I've got more important things to rant about. And what is that more important thing? Bots. Or, rather, the complete lack there of. Now, granted, the on line community is huge and you won't have any problems finding people to play with…But still, why not go the extra step and add the AI you've already programmed anyway?? Think about it- what would possibly be cooler than getting you and a buddy together to fend off a horde of Aliens in co-op or to hunt down a squad of marines until they're all bloody trophies? It's a gross omission and one they'd best fix with a patch soon. 2 out of 5

      Story/Dramatics: Most games don't have 1 story, so I shouldn't bad mouth a game that comes out with 3. Still, that being said, the stories are obviously written by some programmer in his off time and really should have been contracted out to a writer that could work in a little drama. 4 out of 5

      The Verdict:

All in all, you'll get your money's worth with AvP2…I just wish they would have refined it a bit more.

      The Good: Great concept, fun game play, great graphics.

      The Bad: Short, bland stories, down right shitty balance, and NO BOTS?!?!?

      The Overall Ugly: A good game worth your time to be sure.

      What it's Worth: Market