Aliens Versus Predator 2

Monolith Productions

Industry	Video game development
Products	Aliens Versus Predator 2

Aliens Versus Predator 2 is a science fiction first-person shooter created by Monolith Productions and jointly published by Fox Interactive and Sierra On-Line for Microsoft Windows in October 2001, with a subsequent release for Mac OS X in July 2003. Serving as the follow-up to the 1999 title Aliens Versus Predator, the game incorporates elements from the Alien and Predator universes, as well as the Alien vs. Predator crossover series. The narrative unfolds on the fictional world of LV-1201, where ancient ruins are overrun by Aliens and hunted by a Predator clan.

Players engage with the game through a first-person viewpoint, assuming control of one of three distinct characters in solo play, each offering unique skills and story arcs. The multiplayer component once supported competitive matches among four teams; however, official support has ceased, and access now depends on community-developed patches.

In 2002, an expansion titled Aliens Versus Predator 2: Primal Hunt was launched, followed by a Gold Edition that bundled the original game with its expansion. Although no direct continuation was announced afterward, Rebellion Developments revitalized the series in 2010 with their own Aliens vs. Predator reboot.

Gameplay

In Aliens Versus Predator 2, players select from three species: the Alien, the Predator, or a human Colonial Marine, each featuring specialized missions, abilities, and armaments. The single-player campaigns are designed to highlight the strengths inherent to each character type.

The Alien character excels at navigating environments by climbing walls and ceilings without restriction. It attacks using natural weapons such as claws, tail strikes, and bites rather than firearms. This species tracks opponents through pheromone detection and is the fastest playable character, capable of falling from any height without sustaining damage.

The Predator is equipped with signature armaments including wrist blades, throwable discs, and shoulder-mounted energy cannons. It boasts greater resilience compared to the Alien or Marine and can survive longer falls. Additionally, it utilizes a cloaking device along with various vision modes like infrared and electrical sensing. Unlike in the previous installment, this Predator replenishes energy via a personal device.

The Colonial Marine carries an assortment of firearms to combat both Aliens and Predators. Its gear includes armor protection along with utility items such as an image intensifier, flashlight, and flares to improve visibility in dark environments.

Multiplayer

Multiplayer gameplay supports several modes over internet or LAN connections. Players can join one of four factions: Aliens, Predators, Marines, or corporate mercenaries known as "Iron Bears", each possessing distinct capabilities. Aliens are able to scale walls and ceilings; Predators can activate cloaking; human teams wield powerful weaponry and motion detectors.

Available multiplayer modes comprise:

• Deathmatch: an every-player-for-themselves kill count contest.
• Team Deathmatch: teams compete to achieve the highest kill totals.
• Hunt: a predator-prey scenario where prey may transform into hunters upon securing kills.
• Survivor: defenders face off against mutants who score points by eliminating defenders.
• Overrun: a timed team battle with limited respawns; scoring is based on surviving players.
• Evacuation: attackers attempt to eliminate defenders while defenders seek to reach an evacuation point to win.

Official multiplayer servers were discontinued by Sierra Entertainment in November 2008. Subsequently, dedicated community efforts produced a Master Server Patch that revived online multiplayer functionality, allowing continued gameplay beyond official support termination.

Setting

Taking place in the year 2231, Aliens Versus Predator 2 is set 52 years after the events of Aliens and Alien 3 on the planet LV-1201. The human research outpost consists of the Primary Operations Complex (POC) and Forward Observation Pods, which are scientific installations suspended above a deep canyon. Security is maintained by corporate mercenaries known as the Iron Bears, commanded by General Vassili Rykov, while Dr. Eisenberg oversees the scientific endeavors.

The pivotal incident, referred to as "The Incident," occurred on November 25, 2230, when a confrontation between a Xenomorph and a Predator resulted in the Predator's self-destruction. This catastrophe severely damaged the POC and allowed a Xenomorph infestation to spread. Communications with the colony were lost, leaving survivors isolated within the Pods. Six weeks later, Colonial Marines arrive to investigate. The campaign’s timeline spans from shortly before to several weeks following The Incident.

The expansion pack Primal Hunt uncovers that LV-1201 serves as a hunting ground for Predators, where an unsuccessful hunt triggers a Xenomorph outbreak in Pod 5. The Iron Bears destroy this pod to contain the threat, while a lone Predator ship intercepts a distress signal. The Alien storyline begins approximately five weeks after the disaster.

Plot

In contrast to its predecessor, this installment features three interconnected story arcs—Alien, Marine, and Predator—that intertwine and affect one another.

Alien

Between late 2221 and early 2222, Expedition One investigated a dormant hive on LV-1201 until it became active, resulting in numerous fatalities; Dr. Eisenberg was the only survivor. On November 23, 2230, an alien egg shipment arrives at the facility; during unloading, a Facehugger infects a guard. Subsequently, a chestburster emerges and rapidly develops into an Alien drone within the POC.

On November 25, the Alien breaks loose inside the POC, releasing captive Xenomorph test subjects and fatally wounding a Predator who then initiates self-destruction. This explosion cripples critical systems and facilitates further infestation, prompting deployment of the U.S.S. Verloc.

Six weeks later, Aliens infiltrate the Pods amid a security breach caused by Corporal Harrison. Dr. Eisenberg uses this opportunity to launch Operation Savior—an initiative aimed at capturing the Xenomorph Empress by planting explosives within Hive tunnels. However, the Alien disables these charges while pursuing the Empress.

Following her capture, the Alien chases Eisenberg and others through an archaeological site toward a dropship landing zone, killing two Predators and sabotaging the pad. Eisenberg attacks but is subdued and eventually transformed into a synthetic being; subtle clues imply his father’s prosthetic research influenced this drastic transformation.

Marine

In January 2231 aboard the understaffed USS Verloc, Colonial Marines are dispatched to LV-1201 after losing contact with the research station. After landing outside the POC amid storm damage, Corporal Harrison takes charge of restoring power and activating defenses but inadvertently awakens Aliens.

Separated from his squad due to structural collapse and radio failure, Harrison independently restarts generators before rejoining his team. He attempts to rescue Sergeant Hall but discovers she has already been impregnated by a chestburster and subsequently dies.

Marines attempt to access the Pods through tunnels but encounter blockades; Harrison opens doors ahead for APCs but temporarily disables security systems, which allows Alien attacks that result in six Iron Bears being killed before marine reinforcements arrive.

After being captured and imprisoned by Iron Bears disguised as convicts within the Pods, Harrison escapes with assistance from a distorted female voice named Tomiko. He frees a Predator from stasis and recovers a CD containing proof of Tomiko’s brother’s murder on LV-1201.

Harrison reunites with members of White Team who are killed by Aliens and Predators before he kills one Predator himself and reaches an extraction dropship. Using coordinates provided by Tomiko, he pursues stranded marines equipped with Exosuit armor but continues on foot after sustaining damage.

He finds his team near fossilized remains of Space Jockeys; together they fend off an attack by an Alien Empress and escape via dropship that destroys her with missile strikes. Tomiko sacrifices herself by overloading fusion reactors in the Pods to ensure marine survival. Major McCain advises abandoning further operations on LV-1201 as they return to Earth.

Predator

In July 2211 on the planet Korari, a young Marine named Rykov survives an encounter with a Predator but sustains injuries that lead to his discharge. By November 2230 on LV-1201, multiple Predators arrive for a hunting expedition. One Predator self-destructs following defeat by an Alien ("the Incident"), while two others are captured by the Iron Bears.

The Predator controlled by the player is apprehended after its equipment is disabled by EMP grenades. Rykov keeps this Predator in stasis for over five weeks; it was responsible for his wounds and becomes the focus of his vendetta.

After Harrison inadvertently frees the Predator, it recovers its gear and chases Rykov through Alien-infested tunnels beneath the Pods. Using human technology to send a signal, it calls for reinforcements who arrive to rearm it for the final showdown.

Deep within the Hive, the Predator confronts Rykov encased in an Exosuit, defeats him, and claims his spine as a trophy after nearly two decades of pursuit. It then leaves LV-1201 to pursue the U.S.S. Verloc.

Development

The game was created over a period of 20 months by the core development team.

Reception

Critics responded positively to the game, which holds an 85/100 rating on Metacritic. It received nominations at the 5th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards for PC Action/Adventure and Online Gameplay categories but lost both awards to Return to Castle Wolfenstein. Additionally, Computer Games Magazine nominated it as best action game of 2001, though that distinction went to Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis.

Aliens Versus Predator 2: Primal Hunt

Released in August 2002 by Third Law Interactive and published by Sierra Entertainment, Primal Hunt is an expansion pack included in the Gold Edition bundle of May 2003. It introduces new weapons, multiplayer maps, and interconnected single-player campaigns set during the original game’s timeline on LV-1201.

Gameplay

Players assume control of Human, Alien, or Predator characters, each possessing unique skills, navigating through overlapping storylines that run parallel to those in Aliens Versus Predator 2.

Plot

Taking place on LV-1201 across various time frames—ranging from 500 years before up to September 2230—the expansion revisits Forward Observation Pods and sheds light on the events leading to Pod 5’s destruction.

Corporate

Major Dunya of Weyland-Yutani’s Iron Bears receives orders from General Rykov to secure an artifact located at "Zeta Site," which contains elements from a Xenomorph hive along with Space Jockey and Predator technology. After fighting Xenomorphs and retrieving the item, Aliens infiltrate Pod 5. Amidst evacuation chaos, a Predator steals the artifact. In response, Rykov destroys Pod 5 by cutting its support structures.

Predator

Set in Earth’s early 18th century—500 years prior—Predators first encounter LV-1201; one hunts Aliens after detecting their presence. The Predator activates an artifact that temporarily repels Aliens but fails eight months later when they overrun its camp. While repairing stasis fields around eggs, this Predator is attacked by a facehugger and becomes trapped in stasis for five centuries until reawakened when Dunya deactivates the artifact.

Upon awakening, the Predator tracks Dunya to the Forward Observation Pods; its forced entry into Pod 5 inadvertently allows Aliens inside. After recovering the artifact and signaling its clan for reinforcements scheduled nine weeks away, this Predator is ultimately killed by an Alien embryo bursting forth.

Predalien

Set five centuries before the establishment of the Predator camp at Zeta Site, players assume the role of a facehugger navigating Alien nests and encampments in search of hosts, ultimately becoming trapped in stasis alongside a Predator.

Fast forward 500 years, players embody the Alien/Predator hybrid known as the "Predalien," who initially hunts for sustenance before confronting human security forces aiming to retrieve an artifact. During this conflict, Pod supports are destroyed by Rykov. The Predalien manages to break free from Pod 5 amid battles against androids equipped with exoskeleton suits, eventually plummeting into the valley below.

Reception

The expansion garnered a range of responses, reflected in its Metacritic rating of 55/100. Reviewers criticized its repetitive gameplay and unclear objectives; GameSpot labeled it "boring," while IGN described it as "stale," suggesting it detracted from the overall franchise reputation.