14 DAY TRIAL // One way or another, Rebellion's upcoming Aliens vs Predator is already part of gaming history. The title scored the incredible feat of changing the mind of the Australian Rating Board, and finally receiving a rating approval after it was initially banned. Australia is known for banning a large number of games, mainly because there is no M18+ rating for video titles and because one cannot be sold without first being rated.
Just yesterday, we saw that the studio was getting ready to release a demo for the game, and now, while talking to CVG, Rebellion's Co-founder, Jason Kingsley, teases us with further details regarding the game's multiplayer, outlining the very unique, three-way species battle royale. When asked if anything could stand in the way of AvP, Kingsley has answered that, "Not as such – the three species interaction in AvP is completely unique. You normally have good guys or bad guys; in Halo you have humanity and your other creatures. But that's two sides. Out game has three – and the third side adds an interesting dimension, especially in multiplayer."
And he is right. Most games tend to make a very clear, black-and-white distinction between the sides, and, even if you can join both teams in the conflicts, you do so knowing very well that you're either the hero or the villain. Even so, some of the best multiplayer experiences of the title are the more cinematic, single-point oriented ones. Kingsley describes two of the special game modes, and, even if they're the ones that do feature the binary choice, they seem to be the most fun.
"Predator Hunt is just marines vs. Predators with no Aliens around. Another good one is Infestation, which has you starting off with one Alien surrounded by a load of marines," Rebellion's co-founder says. "However, as soon as a marine gets killed, he turns into an Alien. That one's great fun from a social perspective. Eventually, there's just one marine running around screaming amongst all these Aliens."
The game modes also feature a lot of social interaction, as the Zombie Panic-like mode offers some very interesting moral choices. "It also flips – you have to play the bad guy once you're dead, and it gives you the chance to settle grudges with the person who killed you in the first place. You're not just red or blue in this game; there's more social judgment involved."