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ALIENS VS. PREDATOR 2

Turn on all the lights. Open the blinds. Grab the stuffed animal that got you through the nights of older-brother induced terror. And for the love of God go to the bathroom first. Not only has Sierra created a terrific game in the way of single player action with the use of Monolith's LithTech engine, but also the multiplayer brings something that's an incredibly fun variation from the norm of first person shooter run and gun.

In the single player mode you have the option of being a Marine, an Alien, or a Predator. There isn't anything real innovative as far as the plot goes; basically the Predator hunts down humans, the Alien is trying to get back to its queen, and the Marine is trying to survive. Despite the mediocre plot, the first person modes are still worth playing. Some might get frustrated with the lack of guidance as many times you will find yourself wandering through areas you have been through a hundred times, randomly shooting, clawing, or generally just attacking anything and everything in hope of a new door opening or a secret passage appearing that will let you continue. Others might find it as a challenge that makes the game more entertaining.

Just as in the original ALIEN VS. PREDATOR, each character class has advantages and disadvantages. As the Alien, you start off at what seems like a distinct disadvantage in that you have no ranged weapons. The closest thing you have is the pounce feature, which allows you to make a large leap across an area, ripping your target to shreds. Other than that, you use claws as an attack, or your tail to temporarily immobilize a target. The ability that makes up for this lack of range is your ability to walk on any surface. At times when you find that running directly at your target ends with instant-death, you can instead sneak up the wall, over the ceiling and drop down from above. While the control can take some time to get used to while wall climbing, once you get the hang of things it becomes an invaluable skill throughout both the single player and multiplayer games.

As the Predator you find yourself with the coveted cloaking ability. While certain things will disarm your cloak, such as water or shooting any of your ranged weapons, you are virtually invisible to Marines. Aliens have no problem seeing you however, for they have a sort of thermal vision. The Predator also has three different vision modes when he has his mask; the first for detecting Marines, the second for detecting Aliens and the third for detecting other Predators. Although these are extremely valuable at targeting enemies, I found myself getting sick of the completely blue, white or red screen that this creates while they are turned on. It dulls the level detail and gets rather boring to look at. Some of their weapons are incredible, such as the disc that locks onto targets when seen through the thermal modes, but others are just mediocre, such as the netgun, which is easily torn through by the Alien species.

After realizing the abilities of the Predators and Aliens, I immediately thought that the Marines were at a distinct disadvantage. Once I played with them for a little while however, I discovered that they too have gadgets that make up for their seemingly weak character. First of all, Marines have sonar that, while only detecting moving targets, gives you a heads up when enemies are coming from in front of you, whether they are cloaked or walking on the ceiling. They also have a large variety of weapons that help them make up for the lack of thermal vision, such as a smart gun that locks onto moving targets and rocket launchers that have a large enough blast radius to forget about subtleties like aiming.

What puts ALIENS VS PREDATOR 2 above other FPSs is the atmosphere. The majority of the levels have a dark foreboding feeling about them that makes you find yourself hunched close to the screen trying to squint into the darkness, and jumping every time you hear the slightest noise. In my opinion you feel this most in the multiplayer. As the Marine there are many times when you see a blip on your sonar, but there aren't any enemies on the screen in front of you. So after wasting a lot of bullets just spraying the ground in front of you an Alien drops on you from the ceiling. Sometimes I let out a little scream. Ok, they were big screams. But not girly. Ok, a little girly. I WAS SCARED, ALRIGHT?

Moving on, the sound adds to the overall feeling of the game as well. Swells in the music during the single player sometimes can accompany an attack that is about to occur, but other times doesn't signify anything at all, making the player all the more edgy. Every time a Predator kills it lets out a horrid scream straight out of the movies that can send shivers down the spine of the most foolhardy adventurer.

The graphics are nothing short of beautiful, although many times this is lost in the extremely dark levels, which while adding to the atmosphere of the game, can sometimes make finding your way around extremely difficult. Other than the tricky wall climbing, the control is fairly standard.

Don't play this game at night. Really, it's just a bad idea. I mean, unless you have Sigourney Weaver or Arnold Schwarzenegger sitting in the chair next to you with a flamethrower and a smile, you're never going to get to sleep afterwards. Of course, ALIENS VS PREDATOR 2 is entertaining enough that maybe you won't want to sleep. All I'm saying is that you should get Sigourney Weaver to come over to your house, regardless of whether you are playing the game.