Written by Jayson
So just recently a report from Siliconera stated that Capcom’s arcade action-RPG-beat ’em, Dungeons & Dragons series (Tower of Doom and Shadow Over Mystara) is coming over to the PSN and Xbox Live (officially announced at PAX East 2013).
Excited? Yes?
Relieved? YES!
Disappointed? Somewhat; since it’s already too long and all my Fighter-based skills have long vanished from my head as well as my tactics as to how I should approach each target to reach the end boss and give him a can of whoop-ass and tea-bagging its sick face (not possible).
Capcom bringing back a classic arcade hit is great and if that’s true (as of this writing it’s not confirmed yet) I’m in. but if there’s one arcade classic Capcom should bring back it has got to be their own beat ‘em up version of ALIEN vs PREDATOR!
Before the movie even came out, there was this hype of these two alien breeds going all out at each other throats. Both sides have long been fantasised to go at it for a long time but things never got on since both sides’ companies can’t see eye-to-eye. We were then left to saviour this fantasy in the form of novels and comics by Dark Horse as well as to see both breeds took on both Superman (Aliens) and Batman (Predator). In obvious fashion, the heroes won and both aliens lost.
So when the movie came out in the 2004 it wasn’t a nice treat for some of us as I left the cinema quickly after the credits starts to roll to find any arcade that has this arcade gem by Capcom but to no avail. The movie was a disaster though it raked in a $172 million at the box office ($60 million budget). The Predators were weak and there wasn’t much aliens to show around for that matter. And the second outing only made the franchise look more worst.
Damn them!
Even into the future the current generation of Aliens and Predator games weren’t hits and I’m not gonna go about at how Gearbox screwed it up with their mismanagement of Aliens Colonial Marines; a game that took six years of development and what did they do? Thanks to them, ‘All Hope is Lost’ for this franchise.
So what better way than to hope that Capcom (if they ever come to this blog of ours) could release this licensed franchise and bring it back to former glory. If they can do that with Dungeons & Dragons, I don’t see why they can’t with this one.
So how does Capcom’s vision of Alien vs Predator look like? Yes it’s a beat ‘em up; where during that generation the beat ‘em up rage is as high as the Heavens and hotter than Hell. Players get to choose from four (yes, FOUR) characters; two Predators (Warrior and Hunter) and two original designed cyborg marines by Capcom; Lt. Linn Kurosawa (the lone female in the game) and Major Dutch Schaefer (though the latter resembles Arnold’s Schwarzenegger’s features from a Predator film he starred in). While most arcades have cabinets for two players, certain arcades have cabinets for three (the game’s actual max-standard).
You go around stages from start to the end bashing bugs to pulp and raking up the kills on the scoreboard. The actions is fast and the enemies are relentless; taking you out in sheer ruthless numbers more faster than Akuma’s Raging Demon and Magneto MVC2 Infinite Combo combined. Either we blame our partners for not looking out on us or mostly the enemies being cheap.
Though repetitive at some point, the game was absolute fun. While I enjoyed playing as a Predator, I later found my calling with Lt. Linn Kurosawa.Though she lacks a grapple unlike her peers, she can do them from the air and is very combo-flashy to watch too! At one point I went and finished the whole game by myself using her with no help! Then only did I realised my ‘performance’ had summoned this crowd watching me play this through the end (it was on a giant-screen cabinet no less!). Damn was I really happy when I saw that; so high by that sight I went around to see if anyone is playing the same game so as to join them as well and finish it again!
If there’s one complain about this game, it will be that it was not released for the home consoles at that time; namely the PlayStation and Saturn era. Nor was it released for the PS2/Xbox era either. Considering how many Aliens and Predator franchises come and go; the one by Capcom is the one many will always say it’s the ULTIMATE BEST. It’s fast and furious, fun to play with buddies on your side and on top of that; IT NEVER SUCK! Destructoid in 2009 called this game ‘An Arcade Classic Still Fondly Remembered By Many today’ and ScrewAttack.com in 2011 included the game’s version of Arnold look-a-like Major Dutch Schaefer as one of their Top Ten Marines.
With Capcom releasing their arcade classic of Dungeons & Dragons series to PS3 and Xbox 360, I really hope that they will also release their version of Alien vs Predator very soon, which not only brings us back in time to show the present day gamers how awesome this game was but to also heal the wounds of the many gamers and fans of the Alien franchise who have their dreams and hopes crushed by Gearbox’s handling of Aliens: Colonial Marines.
And as always to end my blog, April sees justice served for Ninja Gaiden fans who will finally see dismemberment return in Ninja Gaiden 3 Razor’s Edge on their PS3 and Xbox 360 since it’s somewhat disappointing outing last year. Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 will surely delight all Naruto fans out there for whatever ninja reason they can think of. Get set for Dragon’s Dogma – Dark Arisen to expand you adventure with your levelled characters complete with full voice actors and actresses to play the characters in the game. And no matter what, I’ll still stand by Superman’s side in Injustice: Gods Among Us.
Keelah Se’lai gamers!
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are the author’s and do not represent the views of the site, SGamers.org.
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