The Alien and Predator franchises are two of the most iconic Sci-Fi horror franchises, and have been crossing over for decades. Ever since Dark Horse Comics first brought the two franchises together in the Alien vs. Predator comics, the crossover has since become its own third franchise alongside the other two. While a film did release in 2004, a movie was planned as far back as the early 90’s and with that being the era of licensed video games, Capcom went to work on a new title for the arcades. While the planned movie didn’t work out, the game based on the script did and the result is one of the most iconic beat em ups of all time.
Alien vs Predator gives you a choice of four characters, a Hunter Predator, a Warrior Predator, and two human fighters including Dutch Schaefer from the first Predator film as a cyborg, along with another cyborg character in the form of Lieutenant Linn Kurosawa. Most cabinets allowed three players at a game, but some limited the players to two. The game uses an eight-directional joystick set up with three buttons, for attacking, for jumping and for shooting. one to attack, one to jump, and one to shoot. The result was a polished game that stood out in the arcades.
Alien vs Predator felt different from other beat ’em ups, due to the different direction Capcom went in. The use of projectile weapons had to be managed carefully though, as they used up ammo and you would need to get more. Ammunition is measured by a meter, and once that meter is depleted, you need to wait for it to refill. This affects each character differently as while Linn’s ammunition will refill the quickest , she is defenseless while it reloads. On the flip side, she does have the most shots available while her meter is available. Dutch and the Predators refill slower, but they can also attack and move while they wait. Each character thus played differently and not like a clone of each other, and the action felt like it had a real weight to it.
Alien vs. Predator was made at a time when Capcom was experimenting with putting more story in their brawlers, and there is a fair bit of dialogue and narrative at sections of the game. This never feels intrusive and instead keeps the game’s pace going at a decent flow. The intense wave of Xenomorph aliens, and humans working with the Predators do make me wonder what the movie would have been like, but at least we have this game. The levels may get a bit too intense at times, but I happen to feel that this works to the game’s benefit. You feel like a superhuman cyborg and you feel like the Yautja Predator, and it is a great feeling.
I do want to note that despite claims that this title was available on the SNES, the arcade game never left the arcades until Capcom’s plug in arcade stick system. The confusion has arisen from the fact that there was an Alien vs Predator brawler on the SNES, but that was a separate title from Activision and Jorudan and has nothing to do with Capcom’s arcade game which released a year later. The only system this game was planned for release on in its time was the Sega 32X but that port was cancelled.
I would love to see this game finally see a re-release on home consoles, and Capcom has stated this is the title most requested by fans to receive an HD remaster. Capcom seems to have negotiated rights for a re-release on their arcade stick as mentioned, and they are bringing Capcom Arcade Stadium to Switch as well. Perhaps Alien Vs Predator could see a release as standalone DLC for Capcom Arcade Stadium down the line, and give new players a chance to enjoy the classic again.
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