1. Introduction
Aliens vs. Predator (2010) gives you three separate campaigns: Alien, Marine, and Predator. And honestly, that’s the game’s biggest strength. Each faction feels completely different, with its own gameplay style, atmosphere, and pacing. Even today, the game still manages to create that classic sci-fi horror feeling from the old movies.
2. Alien Campaign
The Alien campaign was probably one of the most fun parts of the game for me. Movement feels incredibly fast and aggressive. You jump between walls and ceilings with almost no effort, stalk enemies from above, and then drop directly behind them to tear them apart. The execution animations are brutal in the best possible way — ripping people apart, cutting heads off, attacking from the shadows — everything feels very faithful to the atmosphere of Ridley Scott’s Alien universe.
The controls are surprisingly simple, but every mechanic actually matters. You can instantly climb onto ceilings, leap onto enemies, and chain attacks smoothly. One detail I liked is that if you trigger an execution animation from behind, enemies can still shoot you during it. That’s both frustrating and fair, because otherwise the entire game would turn into one giant cutscene of free kills.
A lot of the Alien campaign takes place in dark tunnels and industrial corridors, which perfectly fits the setting. The bosses near the end are especially memorable when playing as the Xenomorph.
3. Marine Campaign
The Marine campaign is probably the most authentic in terms of atmosphere. The sound design is fantastic — pulse rifles, motion trackers, alarms — everything screams classic Aliens. But this campaign also has the biggest gameplay problems.
First, it feels too long. Several times I genuinely thought I had reached the final boss, only for the game to continue for another hour or two.
Second, the combat mechanics feel strange. There’s no cover system, which would be fine for an old-school shooter, but then why can’t you even crouch? Marines simply cannot crouch in this game.
The melee system against Xenomorphs also removes a lot of tension. When an Alien rushes at you, you can block, hit it with your rifle butt, knock it onto its back, and finish it point-blank. You can repeat this over and over. Because of that, fights against Xenomorphs sometimes stop feeling like survival horror and start feeling like a boomer shooter where you just backpedal and farm enemies. Maybe higher difficulties improve this, but I played mostly for nostalgia rather than hardcore challenge.
The android enemies were actually more interesting. Even after blowing their heads off, they continue chasing you, which creates some genuinely creepy moments.
4. Predator Campaign
The Predator campaign was my personal favorite. Playing as the Predator feels powerful without becoming boring. The melee combat is brutal, and jumping across rooftops gives you a real sense of being a hunter. You constantly move between elevated positions, scout enemies, and strike from invisibility.
One mechanic I really liked is that invisibility does not constantly drain your energy, meaning you can remain cloaked for as long as you want if you play carefully.
The Predator weapons are all fun to use:
the classic shoulder plasma cannon,
mines,
the smart disc,
and the spear.
The spear became my favorite weapon immediately. Throwing it from stealth and instantly killing almost anything feels incredibly satisfying. Anything that survives usually gets finished off with claws to the face.
The mines are also surprisingly useful, especially during the final boss fight. Putting mines near the red explosive columns melts the boss very quickly.
In some ways, the Predator gameplay even reminded me a little of Crysis, especially the stealth approach and the feeling of observing enemies before striking.
5. Graphics & Atmosphere
Graphically, the game still holds up much better than I expected. It supports DirectX 11, the lighting still looks good, and the environmental design remains atmospheric. Some people may call it outdated, but personally I never felt uncomfortable playing it in 2026. The sound design, creature animations, and environments are still excellent.
6. Problems & Frustrations
Of course, the game has annoying moments. The flamethrower for the Marines felt almost useless. You can walk into a room full of Alien eggs, burn everything with fire, watch the eggs explode — and somehow the facehuggers still survive and jump straight at you anyway. Moments like that can become frustrating.
I also didn’t touch the multiplayer. I came back to this game purely for the campaign experience and nostalgia.
7. Final Verdict
Overall, Aliens vs. Predator (2010) is still absolutely worth trying if you can grab it on sale. The Alien and Predator campaigns alone make the game memorable, and despite some outdated mechanics and frustrating moments, the atmosphere carries the experience from start to finish.
If you grew up with the Alien or Predator movies, or simply miss old-school sci-fi shooters with personality, this game delivers exactly the kind of nostalgic experience you want.
Thumbs up from me. 👍
