Game Shame: Mistakes Have Been Made...

Welcome to Game Shame, a place where we take look at the more murky side of gaming! Where we uncover the criminally bad, the irritating broken and the down right silly! But it's not just the games that shame us, oh no, sometimes it's developers, governments and even Joe public that cast a dark shadow over our beloved electronic worlds. So settle in, grab a snack and prepare to be forewarned of the Shameful side of games...

Welcome intrepid gamer. I see from the worried look in your eye that you are here to explore the world as it is when things go wrong? You wish to know of the folly of man and perhaps a little folly of your own? Well you've come to the right place for it is here that I shall record crimes against gaming and you..you will be my assistant. Listen well...

The first lesson to learn at Game Shame is that nobody is innocent. Not even you or I. "But Drew, how can that be? For myself, I know I am a sinner but you? Not you?" Your fear is understandable for Drew is indeed great but unfortunately even I have made mistakes in the pitiless world of games. It is these that I would like to address in this first issue of Game Shame.

My first mistake dear apprentice is the game Alien vs Predator the demo of which I reviewed for this very site not long ago. As you should recall, I insisted that this game would be worth the wait, anyone who has been following the game will know it was in development for ages and in many ways it was. However, it tricked me. It tricked me good.

You see much, if not all, of what I said about the game was true and held true. It is a lot of fun, the game play is solid enough with all three races well represented and the online will require several new pairs of pants (UK or U.S. pants -I don't mind which). So what's wrong? Well...I paid 50 Pound Sterling (around 75 Dollars) for it! That's bloody what. I thought "Hell, I loved the demo and I love the Alien franchise so how could this go wrong?

The problems arose when I found out how short the game is, a weekend is more then enough time to get through the single player and in all honesty, the single player is average at best. In a game with three very different races to play as you'd expect to encounter some innovation by really it's the same Jaguar/PC experience. My biggest let down was facing the alien queen as the marine which is essentially, kill the guards and shoot the large boxes marked "Bang!" I was quietly livid, I was expecting a massive ruck but it was all over in a minute. Shameful. I would confidently say that the queen encounters in Alien Trilogy are better then the one featured in AVP.

The kicker though was that after paying all that cash-money for the special edition of the game all I got was a shiny tin and a small map pack -a map pack that is now available for download and is cheaper when added to the cost of the standard game then buying the limited edition! That left me feeling more violated then a face-hugger victim.

So what can we learn from this? Learn this; it is sometimes better to wait. I jumped right in expecting the world and got, probably the southern part of England. It's nice enough but just lacks anything to make it great. AVP is polished but not really any better then the PC games that preceded it, it's certainly worth a look in just make sure you don't pay top dollar for it.

Now my apprentice, as Drew is far too great to punish himself I want to go and attack a polar bear to make up for this debacle.

-Drew-

BTP 4: A Message From Weyland-Yutani

The Wayland-Yutani Corporation would like to advise readers of our takeover of Beside The Point and all corresponding creative elements. Please also be advised to exercise caution regarding recent xeanomorph activity in this area. We would like to remind readers that in space no one can hear you scream, nobody can save you and no one in their right mind goes out there without reading Beside The Point.


I'm just going to come right out and say it. I love the Alien's franchise. I'm also rather fond of the Predator franchise but I love those banana-headed xeanos. As their name suggests there is something totally alien about Scott's creation and I've been hooked on the Aliens universe for as long as I can remember. So imagine my delight when a demo of the (seriously) long awaited Alien Verse Predator game appeared on the Playstation store. I just had to have a look, however, with the AVP movies being luck luster at best there was bound to be some trepidation over the upcoming game. But lets not forget that if Atari's humble Jaguar console and PC's can produce classic additions to the franchise surely our modern day consoles can deliver a game that matches this lineage? From what I can tell fans of the series have nothing to worry about...

I've always thought you can tell a lot about a game from it's menus (With the exception of Fox Interactive's Independence Day game which sported impressive looking and sounding menus but disappointing and ugly game play). Rebellion's latest outing into the world of AVP opens with what could be a Weyland-Yutani terminal screen that goes along way to capturing the feel of the Aliens universe. I've always being a fan of the satirical portrayal of corporations employed in Aliens and it's always a pleasure to see that Weyland logo. But fortunately the real fun of the game seems to come from it's game play.

Being a demo we only get to see online death-matches so no hint into the single player campaign but I'm willing to stake that this game is worth checking out for it's online modes alone. Despite having to wait for an abhorred amount of time to find games (PS3 owners know what I'm talking about) when the action does get underway it is both atmospheric and frantic. The pace can change from silently stalking alien runways to frenetic kill-fests with bloodcurdling quickness. This is a game where once combat is engaged it ends quickly.

My first impression was that of the three races available to play as (I.E. Marine, Predator or Alien.) it was the Marine who had the immediate advantage. Obviously being the human protagonist the Marine is the most familiar and hence easy to get to grips with but oh are the joys of sticking to the more exotic races. In previous incarnations of the game I found the Alien to be a real devil to plays as. All that wall climbing and quickness made it far less straight forward then the point and shoot ethics of it's human counterpart. But those who (literally) hang in there are rewarded with an ability to "see" through walls making stalking deadly and the bone chilling glee of that first stealth kill. Believe me when I say there is nothing more satisfying the managing to sneak up on a Predator and "grab" it for an instant and unavoidable kill. The other worriers are no less potent however, as a good burst from a pulse rifle will kill just about anything it hits and as long as you remember that the Predator is strong but not invincible you'll have no trouble collecting a few trophies to show mom and pops.

All in all the AVP demo is a lot of fun, much more so then the recent M.A.G beta and given a choice between the two I'd say go for the xeano. That doesn't just go for Aliens fans but also for gamers. I honestly think AVP will be worth the wait.

-Drew-

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M.A.G is in stores now while AVP will debut on the 19th February this year.

Linkage: http://www.sega.co.uk/games/aliens-vs-predator/

Drew has being smuggaling "Face Huggers" since 1985.