Alien vs Predator (Atari Jaguar)
This game IS the reason I bought a Jaguar – Check out why.
Alien vs Predator might be the single best reason to own an Atari Jaguar. It’s a first-person shooter loaded with three different species to play as, with seperate missions weapons and play styles. Developed by Rebellion in 1994, it’s hard to ignore the legacy this game started. Rebellion would go on to develop Alien versus Predator games for the PC and Mac (1999), AvP Requim for the Playstation Portable (2007) and AvP again for home consoles and PC (2010).
Alien vs. Predator stands out for two reasons. It’s an existing franchise (not a new IP) and it’s a Jaguar exclusive. If you were looking to emulate the game, it does run but there’s a few graphical glitches. The Atari Jaguar is still the only way to really experience the game in all it’s glory.
For a system like the Jaguar, billed as the first 64-Bit system with graphics to match, Alien vs Predator at least starts to show off what the system was capable of; Not to the same extent as Doom and Skyhammer, but it’s a seriously polished game for the Jaguar, great production values and it really builds up the atmosphere (depending on which character you choose).
The Marine campaign has you slowly progressing through the ship with the goal to reach the self-destruct mechanism and then escape. The tension builds as you face up against both types of enemies, the Aliens who appear everywhere and swarm you and the Predators who can appear anywhere and take you down quickly.
Playing as a Predator, the goal is to reach the Alien Queen’s chamber buried deep within the Alien infested section of the ship. Unlike the Marine campaign, you ‘earn’ new weapons by performing ethical kills (i.e. not being cloaked, not attacking from behind). You also have different ways to interpret your surroundings, with either infrared and heat signal vision as well as the opportunity to avoid fighting altogether by cloaking yourself.
Finally the Alien campaign is also the shortest. Being the fastest character, It is possible to run most of the way to your goal; freeing the Alien Queen from the Predator ship. You’ve got two ways to attack, the famous Alien ‘bite’ and tail whip. Performing combination on a Marine will allow you to cocoon them, providing you with a checkpoint (once the baby Alien reaches a certain maturity/timespan).
There’s a lot of ways Rebellion have been able to inject personality into Alien vs Predator and even though the game doesn’t offer flashy graphics, blistering fast gameplay and intense action scenario’s the atmosphere and difference between the campaigns really makes up for it. I’d consider this a must own for Atari Jaguar owners and I’d recommend if you enjoyed the game, check out the unreleased Rebellion game Skyhammer for the Atari Jaguar. Another title that pushes the Atari Jaguar’s hardware.