Game On: Aliens Vs Marine Is AVP In CryEngine 3

Colonial Marines isn’t due until February and that’s a long wait for the next attempt to capture the horror of man versus the ultimate murderer. The best parts of Rebellion’s first (and the best) AvP game are the marine levels, at least in single player. Horror games often take away weapons or severely limit ammunition in order to increase tension, but even if you’re armed to the teeth, aliens are deadly and terrifying. Beefjack spot oldschool.Dave’s work on a recreation of the game’s marine campaign, all built in Cryengine 3. Video of the opening scuttling in the air ducts down below. I remember the opening almost perfectly, even though I haven’t played it for ten years or so.

Video 1:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvaXsiIl_fg&feature=related

Video 2:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgF2X4iSIDA&feature=plcp

It’s early days but here’s hoping AvM isn’t ceasing and desisting anytime soon. At present it’s planned as a mod for Crysis 2 but a standalone application is a possibility.

Aliens vs. Marines mod recasts AVP into Crysis 2

If a sound epitomized Rebellion’s 1999 FPS classic Aliens vs. Predator, it’s the terror-inducing ping of a motion tracker. Eyeballing your demise creeping closer upon a sensor screen occurred most often during the Marine campaign, and the same weighty pressure of panic from being hunted by something quite evolved into efficiently snuffing out life appears in Aliens vs. Marines, a recreation of AVP’s Marine missions glittering with acid-droplet-like beauty on CryEngine 3.

Author oldschool.Dave’s efforts so far look astounding: explosions deform around objects, injuries don’t magically heal themselves, alien encounters won’t be scripted, and quicksaving heads out the airlock. From the work-in-progress video, the mod perfectly captures the opening moments of a Marine barreling haphazardly down metallic corridors, shooting egg sacs, and flipping over chairs. And, of course, it’s exquisitely atmospheric.

Planned as a Crysis 2 mod for now, Aliens vs. Marines might sprout into a standalone release in the future. And yes, it’s exceptionally tough thinking up an egg-laying pun without tossing everyone’s cookies, so I won’t bother.

Tags: "It's reading right man. Look!", "That can't be...that's inside the room!", Aliens vs Predator, Aliens vs. Marines, Crysis 2, Mod, oldschool.Dave