Alien vs. Predator (arcade game)
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| Alien vs. Predator | |
|---|---|
 Sales flyer for Alien vs. Predator |
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| Developer(s) | Capcom |
| Publisher(s) | Capcom |
| Distributor(s) | Capcom |
| Platform(s) | Arcade |
| Release date | May 20, 1994 (Worldwide) |
| Genre(s) | Beat 'em up |
| Mode(s) | 1, 2, or 3 players simultaneously, depending on the cabinet. |
| Input methods | 8-way Joystick, 3 buttons |
| Cabinet | Standard |
| Arcade system | CPS-2 - JAMMA |
| CPU | Motorola 68000 (@ 16 MHz) |
| Sound | Q-Sound(@ 4 MHz) |
| Display | Raster, 384 x 224 pixels (Horizontal), 4096 colors |
Alien vs. Predator is a beat 'em up by Capcom on the CPS-2 for the arcade in 1994. The default cabinet for the game allowed for up to three players to play simultaneously, although some smaller cabinets only allowing two-player play were used.
This game has never been "officially" ported to any home consoles or any other systems as of today, by Capcom nor Fox, and it remains exclusively an Arcade game in genuine form. A port for the Sega 32X was announced for a 1995 release, but it was never published[citation needed].
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[edit] Story
San Drad, California has been overrun by Xenomorphs. Two soldiers were caught in the town during the initial alien outbreak and were abandoned by the rest of their team as well as their superiors, and are cornered by a swarm of xenomorph drones. Before they can be killed, two Predators appear and destroy the xenomorphs, saving the soldiers (who are assumed to be humans but are later revealed to be cyborgs judging by their Character's Profile during the game's attract mode). The Predators offer an alliance with the cybernetic humans, in order to stop the Xenomorph infestation. Eventually, it is discovered that the Alien presence on Earth (and the subsequent swarm that overran San Drad) was the result of an experiment headed by an USCM colonel in conjunction with the Weyland-Yutani corporation. In the end, the Alien Hive on Earth is destroyed in a scene similar to that in the ending of the fourth Alien film, Alien: Resurrection - A military ship is set on a course that causes it to crash into San Drad, destroying the Alien threat along with a good portion of the western US, if the explosion in the ending credits is to scale. The story ends with the veteran Predator (Predator Warrior) breaking off his wrist blade and giving the piece to Linn and Dutch. When asked why the Predators helped, they jokingly light their Plasma Cannon sights at them with the leader saying, "They'll know." before departing into space. Indicating their hunting season is over...for now.
[edit] Origin
The game was based on an early draft script for the movie adaptation of the series and was intended to have been a tie-in to the movie. Although the draft script was later rejected in favor of a different script (as well as production problems that delayed the filming of the movie until its completion in 2004), Capcom had already completed the game thinking that the film would be released around the time of the game's completion. The film never transpired and the game was later released as a stand-alone storyline to the series.
[edit] Characters
The game featured four characters: Two Colonial Marines that allied with a pair of Predators. Each character had varying levels of speed, strength, jumping ability and direction, and different attacks.
| Name | Picture | Description | Attract Mode Profile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Predator Hunter |  |
A young Predator hunter, who fights for the glory of the hunt. He fights with a Naginata. Compared to the Warrior, his attacks tend to have less priority and reach but have more damage and combo potential. Predator Hunter's primary weapon, the Naginita cannot be used in the air. | A hunter from beyond. This young warrior seeks to prove himself by hunting the most dangerous creatures known. He will destroy himself rather than be defeated. |
| Predator Warrior |  |
An older Predator warrior, seeking other hunters that have gone missing on Earth. He fights with a Combi-stick, which is an extendable and retractable spear. His attacks are more reliable and effective than the Predator Hunter's. He is the most balanced character in the game according to his stats in the character selection screen, and is the overall best choice for inexperienced players. Unlike Predator Hunter, Predator Warrior can use his Combi-stick in the air; he dives and rams the spear into multiple targets simultaneously. It is overall his most devastating attack against large groups of enemies in his arsenal of special moves. | A warrior from the stars, who lives for combat. He searches the galaxy for worthy game to hunt. Equipped with powerful weapons, his honor will not let him take unfair advantage during a hunt. |
| Lieutenant Linn Kurosawa |  |
Capcom's original character of this game. While her cybernetics may not be readily apparent, the fact the she can face Xenomorphs in hand-to-hand combat and win shows their presence. Fights with a large-caliber pistol and a katana, as well as several martial-arts moves. Linn is fast and agile, but low on stamina, and must stop moving to reload her gun. She also has the largest moveset in the game making her the most complex character to use effectively. Linn cannot grapple enemies, and when she throws the Predator Disc she can hit enemies that are already knocked down and flat on the floor. Additionally, holding the attack button for 2-3 seconds and releasing allows her to perform the 'Soukeiha' attack. | A cyborg who leads the 13th Colonial Marine Corps. She is a master of ancient martial arts which she combines with her super strength for lethal effect. Always equipped with a Japanese Katana, the blade represents her soul. |
| Major Dutch Schaefer |  |
Roughly based on Arnold Schwarzenegger's character in the original Predator. One arm has been replaced with a cybernetic arm mounting a smart gun. Powerful but slow, Schaefer dashes forward instead of jumping, and his jumping powerbomb is extremely powerful when he grabs an enemy and kills it or has massive damage after a devastating slam. When he picks up a Pipe or another player's weapon, rather than throwing it, he can swing it repeatedly at enemies. | A cyborg created to fight extraterrestrials. He lost his right arm in the 2nd Alien War, and has since had it replaced with a smartgun rig. He lives only to avenge himself against the aliens! |
[edit] Controls
Alien vs. Predator features a control setup with an 8-way joystick and three buttons: Attack, Jump, and Shoot. Aside from their hand-to-hand moves, each character also carries a gun. Linn uses a rapid-fire pistol, Schaefer has his built-in smartgun, while the Predators both use their signature shoulder-mounted plasma casters (Shoulder Cannons). Guns have semi-limited ammunition, represented by a meter near the bottom of the screen. When the meter is depleted, the character is unable to fire until it fills back up. Linn's gun refills the fastest, but she is completely defenseless while she reloads her gun. Schaefer and the Predators can still fight while waiting for their guns to cool down.
[edit] Alien morphology
In order to provide a large array of enemies for the players to fight, the game takes some deviations from the established Xenomorph biology. The differences can be explained in their nature as experimental subjects.
[edit] Facehuggers, Chestbursters, and Infectoids
One interesting note about the aliens in the game is the effect of their Facehuggers. Their gestation period is fairly long, but unlike other Xenomorph broods, the victim is often reduced to a zombie-like state (known as Infectoids), and will move around and attack intruders. In addition, in some cases a chestburster will suddenly emerge from an infectoid, killing the host and leaving the smaller (but faster) chestburster alien as a new foe.
[edit] Warrior
The Alien Warriors are typically based on the designs in Aliens, with a humanoid build and ridges along its cranium, and typically a black exoskeleton, although some brown warriors are seen. This breed is also known to spit acid. Its main attack is the stinger on the end of the tail.
[edit] Stalker
These xenomorphs are similar to the creature in Alien³ and are slightly more dangerous than the average Warrior. Of note is that this species does not spit acid while the Warriors do - This is reversed from movie canon, where the Warriors were never observed doing this, while the xenomorph in Alien³ was.
[edit] Royal Guard
Also known as Praetorians, a name popularized in the later Alien vs. Predator PC games. They are almost as large and powerful as the Queen, and are typically encountered more frequently the closer the player gets to the Queen. Royal Guards are capable of spitting acid.
[edit] Chrysalis
A very large Xenomorph with a green exoskeleton and a hard, tan carapace on its head, back, and forearms. It sometimes moves/attacks by rolling itself along the ground in a ball. It gets its name from the chrysalis that it is seen gestating in when it first appears.
This alien is very similar to one that appears in an Aliens arcade game made by Konami. Both Xenomorphs were the first bosses of their respective games.
[edit] Razor Claws
Another large breed with a purple coloration and large, sharp claws on its fingers. It is known for its great speed, making it hard to defeat or even keep up with. It is fond of using that speed to make dashing attacks in which it uses its namesakes to cause massive damage and slice its victims in half. The birth of the Razor Claws was a result of a genetic malfunction in the cocoon process.
[edit] The Queen
Appearing at the fourth level and the last level of the game, the Queen is quite similar to her appearance as well as behavior in the movie Aliens. She possesses long, spindly limbs and a thin body with an extremely large and crested head. The inner mouth displayed by her species is especially long in the game. Much like her role in the movie, she is very large and powerful and quite hard to defeat.
[edit] Other broods
There are several broods in the game about which little is known. These include:
- Defenders -- A bluish brood with an apparently hardened arm carapace and head that can defend itself against most projectiles and hand-to-hand attacks.
- Smashers -- A Green-brown brood that rams enemies with a reinforced skull carapace.
- Arachnoids -- A strong purple and black brood that uses powerful jump attacks.
They are assumed to be special variants of the Warrior and Stalker aliens created through experimentation, much like the Chrysalis and Royal Guard minibosses.
[edit] Other enemies
The player also faces several types of soldiers and in one case, a Predator.
[edit] Power Loader
In one case, the player has to battle a human soldier in a Power Loader, a robotic suit designed to aid humans in moving heavy loads that was first used in the movie Aliens. It has been referred to as a Forklift On Legs and that is basically its purpose. However, the one in this game seems to have been modified for battle purposes.
[edit] Mad Predator
A Predator (or two Predators, if the game is played by two or three players) infected by the altered Facehuggers that produced the Infectoids. Rather than making this Predator zombie-like, the infection seems to have driven him insane. He represents a critical turning point in the plot and is significantly stronger than the Predators that the player can use.
[edit] Weapons
Like similar games, weapons can be found in containers, or taken from fallen enemies. Linn and the Predators will throw most weapons, but Schaefer can use them all.
The various guns and the flamethrower will run out of ammunition after a few short bursts of fire, but picking up another weapon of the same kind provides more ammo.
[edit] Staff
Planner: Kame, Garuda Tetsu, Uda. T
Programmer: Cham Cho Choy, Arikichi, Pon, Hard. Yas, Shinchan
Character Designer: Hayashi, Yus, Shisui, Vlad T., Ban, Kawatori, Shige, Jun 26
Artist: Iwai, Ohnishi. H, Konishi. H, Morisaki Chie, Fukumoyan, Kisa, Angus
Music Composer: Hideki Ok
Sound Designer: Kajino Toshio
Capcom USA Support: David Winstead, Alex Jimenez
Special Thanks: Poo, Akiman, Tom, Capcom All Staff
[edit] Cameos
Linn Kurosawa made a cameo appearance in the background of Ken's stage in Street Fighter Alpha 2 and Ryu's stage in Street Fighter III: New Generation. Sylphie, the shopkeeper from Forgotten Worlds appears in Namco x Capcom, and transforms into Kurosawa to perform her Soukeiha attack as part of a super attack.
[edit] External links
- Alien vs. Predator at Arcade-History
- The Unofficial Linn Kurosawa Fanpage
- Unofficial AvP arcade page
