Aliens vs. Predator 2: Primal Hunt

The good news is that the new weapons are all pretty cool, and yes the double pistols is actually strong enough to hold off a couple of aliens.  The bad news is that with a couple evenings of dedicated three hour sessions of playing, you’ll be finished the expansion and you’ll be back to reading the comic books and playing the game online.  The worst news is that those three hour sessions won’t excite you all that much more than a wet handkerchief and some Vic’s vaporub. 

The plot retreads some of the events of the first instalment of the game.  This time around you get to play as an ancient Predator who is hunting to retrieve an ancient artifact of pilot technology that can control the Aliens.  Also, you play as Dunya, who with a horrible accent, manages to steal the artifact.  And finally, as a Predalien, you can do some viciously powerful attacks.  I thought the original story elements were merely passable at first, and the expansion pack adds to that base level of acceptability while not adding or taking away too much.

The Dunya portion of the game is mildly entertaining, but is arguably the most difficult.  You will likely die the most while playing her campaign.  The Predator portion of the game is probably the most fun, but is also the easiest.  Finally, the Alien campaign is neither here nor there and is definitely not my favourite part of the game although it is quite well done. 

While playing the human and Predator portions of the game, the scripted 

attacks of Aliens are a little too predictable and routine.  You can always tell when enemies are about to appear because the music changes, and then changes back to normal after you have killed them all.  Walking past a certain point triggers the release of Aliens, usually in groups of three.  While playing the Predator, this is the easiest as after dispatching your enemies, you can heal, and recharge your ammo without any pressure. 

The indigenous life forms that you encounter on the planet surface are merely a hindrance at best and offer no real challenge.  Their appearance and method of attack isn’t all that inspired and one has to wonder if the game would have been better off without them.  

The new weapon additions add slightly to the multiplayer experience.  They add a few more toys to play with to spice up the multiplayer community a bit.  The best is the Predator’s self destruct.

All in all, Primal Hunt is a serviceable expansion pack but casual fans need not apply as it can in no way be considered essential to the original. 

- Mark Leung

(September 25, 2002)