Ah, the trophy kill. It's about time we talked about the Predator's weapons. The one constant are his blades, a pair of which extends from each hand. These are for close-quarter kills. And, more importantly, trophy kills. Get in close, pop the blades and you can shove them up through the chin and out the skull of a Marine. The coup de grace is giving a little tug to pull both head and spine right out of the human's body. It's not just for show (despite being a trophy); you can then use the severed head at retinal scanners to get into otherwise inaccessible areas in military bases.

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Along with the blades, the Predator has a limitless supply of mines. Though you never have to restock, you can only have two mines out at any time. Mines are perhaps the best way to take care of Marines, because it's easy to lure them into an explosive situation and a mine doesn't give away your location.

One thing that will give your location is your powerful plasma caster. When an enemy sees those three red lights pinpoint their chest, they're dead. Usually. The minute those lights lock onto a target, the enemy becomes aware of the impending attack (just like in the movies). You have a split second to fire before they leap out of the way. There's also an empty slot on the HUD for a fourth weapon, which is likely to be filled by a blade boomerang. Rebellion's still working on getting that right, but expect it to make the final cut.



But enough about killing Marines, what about taking down Aliens? That's where the challenge really kicks in. The jungle is full of these creatures. The Predator may be the perfect hunter, but the Alien is the perfect killing machine. Aliens drop down from trees, pop out of "bolt holes" and swarm from every corner of the jungle. If you spot one from a distance, taking it down is not problem at all. One solid blast from the plasma caster and that Alien is in pieces. But get too close and it gets a lot harder, primarily because Aliens bleed acid. Sure, you can cut one in half with your blades, but your body will be bathed in acid. You can get away with this once, but if you have two or three Aliens swarming? Your best bet is to get some distance.

It's too bad the acid is so deadly, because some of the coolest moments we witnessed were when a Predator went toe-to-toe with an Alien. Their limbs and tail can be severed, their heads lopped off too. These are persistent creatures though. Take a leg off and the Alien crawls after you. It's not a big deal if it's just you and him, but if his friends are keeping you distracted, you may not notice him crawling towards you until it's too late. And once he has a hold of you, your only viable option is to blow its head off -- but that just spews acid in your face.




And as if Marines and Aliens weren't enough to keep you busy, there are bigger and badder enemies waiting. Our demo ended with the reveal of the Predalien, a Predator/Alien hybrid possessing the best of both creatures. Consider it the perfect hunter and killer. And, of course, somewhere out there is the Alien Queen waiting for a tussle.

AVP has the makings of a great shooter. Visually it's a knockout (and there's still many more months of polish to come) and the concept is a proven winner. Each section of the campaign is said to have its own feel to it, which falls in line with the original game. Playing as a Marine was a downright frightening experience in Rebellion's first crack at the franchise. We're told to expect that same sort of division, with the Predator being about stealth, Aliens being about speed and constant assault and the Marines feeling more like survival horror. Multiplayer is also going to be a factor, but don't expect to learn much about that for a while. For now we'll just have to be satisfied with a brief look at what playing the Predator entails.