Alien vs. Predator (arcade game)

Infobox VG
title=Alien vs. Predator


caption=Sales flyer for "Alien vs. Predator"
developer = Capcom
publisher = Capcom
distributor= Capcom
designer=
version=
released= May 20, 1994
genre = Beat 'em up
modes = Up to 3 players simultaneously; some cabinets allowed for only 2.
ratings=
platforms= Arcade
media=
requirements=
input=8-way Joystick, 3 buttons
cabinet = Standard
arcade system=CPS-2 - JAMMA
cpu= Motorola 68000 (16 MHz)
sound= Q-Sound(4 MHz)
display=Raster, 384 x 224 pixels (horizontal), 4096 colors

"Alien vs. Predator" is an arcade game released in 1994 by Capcom on the CPS-2. It is a "beat 'em up"-style game in which the players take control of human and Predator characters in a battle against Aliens. The default cabinet for the game allows as many as three players to play simultaneously, although some smaller cabinets only accommodate two players.

This game has never been officially ported to any home consoles or any other systems by Capcom or Fox Interactive, remaining exclusively an arcade game. A port for the Sega 32X was announced for a 1995 release, but was never published.Fact|date=March 2008

tory

San Drad, California has been overrun by Aliens, and the cybernetically-enhanced Major Dutch Schaefer and Lieutenant Linn Kurosawa have been abandoned by their superiors and are cornered by a swarm of Alien drones. Before they can be killed, two Predators appear and destroy the Aliens. The Predators offer an alliance with the humans in order to stop the Alien infestation. The players take control of up to three of four characters: Dutch, Linn, a Predator hunter, and a Predator warrior, and battle the Aliens through several environments. In the process the characters discover that the Alien presence on Earth is the result of an experiment headed by a United Systems Colonial Marines colonel in conjunction with the Weyland-Yutani corporation. They destroy the Alien hive by crashing a military ship into San Drad, causing a huge explosion. The Predator warrior then gives his wrist blades to Dutch and Linn in recognition of their skills as warriors, before the Predators depart into space.

Origin

The game was based on an early draft of a script for a film adaptation of the "Alien vs. Predator" comic book series and was intended to have been a tie-in to the movie. Although the draft was later rejected in favor of a different script, Capcom had already completed the game intending for the film to be released around the time of the game's completion. The "Alien vs. Predator" film was not released until 2004 and was based on a very different story, and so the arcade game was released in 1994 as a stand-alone storyline to the series.Fact|date=March 2008

Characters

The game featurs four characters: two Colonial Marines that ally with a pair of Predators. Each character has varying levels of speed, strength, jumping ability and direction, and different attacks.

*Lieutenant Linn Kurosawa — Linn uses a pistol and katana as weapons and can execute several martial arts attacks. She is faster and more agile than Dutch, but has lower stamina and must stop moving to reload her gun. She can execute a number of combination attacks. While she cannot grapple enemies, she can throw them while in the air. She can throw the Predators' disc weapon, hitting enemies that are already knocked down. She also has a special "Soukeiha" attack that is executed by holding the attack button for 2-3 seconds and then releasing it. Linn appears in cameos in the later Capcom games "Street Fighter Alpha 2", "", and "Namco x Capcom".

*Major Dutch Schaefer — Dutch is named after and roughly based on Arnold Schwarzenegger's character in the original "Predator" film. He has a cybernetic arm with a smart gun mounted on it. His attacks are powerful but slow and he dashes forward instead of jumping.

*Predator hunter — The hunter is the younger of the two Predators. His attacks are shorter in range than those of the warrior but deal more damage and can execute more combination attacks. His staff weapon cannot be used while jumping or in the air.

*Predator warrior — The older of the two Predators, his attacks have a longer range than those of the hunter, but deal less damage. He can use his combi-stick weapon while jumping or in the air, diving and ramming it into multiple targets simultaneously.

All four player characters, as well as most of the Alien enemy characters, have been converted for use in the M.U.G.E.N fighting game engine.

Controls

"Alien vs. Predator" uses a control setup with an 8-directional joystick and three buttons: one to attack, one to jump, and one to shoot.

Weapons

Each character is automatically equipped with a standard hand-held weapon. Linn uses a katana while Dutch hits enemies using his cybernetic arm. The Predator hunter uses a staff similar to a Naginata, while the warrior uses an extendable combi-stick with a retractable spear. Other weapons such as pipes can be found in containers or taken from fallen enemies. Linn and the Predators will throw most of these at enemies, but Dutch will hold onto them and swing them repeatedly.

Each character is also equipped with gun for ranged attacks. Linn uses a rapid-firing pistol, Dutch has a mounted smart gun, and the Predators both use shoulder-mounted energy weapons. Ammunition is represented by a meter near the bottom of the screen; when the meter is depleted, the character is unable to fire until it refills. Linn's ammunition refills fastest, but she is completely defenseless while she reloads. Dutch and the Predators can fight while waiting for their ammunition to refill. A flame thrower and several other guns can also be picked up, though these have a finite amount of ammunition.

Enemies

The game deviates from the types of Aliens seen in the previous films, comic books, and video games, adding new varities for the player to fight. Non-Alien enemies include several types of soldiers and a Predator boss.

tandard enemies

*Infectoid — A human with an attached facehugger, the infectoid will move in zombie-like fashion and attack intruders.

*Chestburster — When a chestburster emerges from an infectoid the infectoid dies. The chesburster is smaller and faster than the infectoid.

*Warrior — Resembling the Aliens of "Aliens", warriors have a humanoid shape, ridges along the cranium, and are either black or brown. They attack with the spine on the end of their tail and can also spit acid.

*Stalker — Resembling the Alien of "Alien 3", stalkers do not spit acid.

*Defender — Defenders are blue in color and uses its arm and head carapace to defend itself against most projectiles and hand-to-hand attacks.

*Smasher — Smashers are greenish-brown and ram the player with their skull carapace.

*Arachnoid — Arachnoids are purple and black and use mainly jumping attacks.

*Royal guard — Larger and more powerful, the royal guard Aliens are encountered more frequently as the player draws closer to the Alien queen. They attack by spitting acid. In the later personal computer game "Alien vs. Predator" a similar type was given the name "Praetorian".

Bosses

*Chrysalis — The first "boss" of the game, this Alien emerges from a chrysalis and has a green body with a tan head, back, and forearms. It can attack by rolling itself along the ground in a ball.

*Razor claws — This large Alien has a purple coloration and large claws on its fingers. It is faster than the other Aliens and uses a dash attack to slice the player in half. In the game's story it is created by a genetic malfunction in the cocoon process.

*Mad Predator — This Predator has been infected by facehuggers and is significantly stronger than the player character Predators.

*Alien queen — The Alien queen is encountered in both the fourth and final levels of the game. Its appearance and behavior are similar to its appearance in "Aliens".

Developer credits

*Planning — Kame, Garuda Tetsu, Uda. T

*Programming — Cham Cho Choy, Arikichi, Pon, Hard. Yas, Shinchan

*Character design — Hayashi, Yus, Shisui, Vlad T., Ban, Kawatori, Shige, Jun 26

*Art — Iwai, Ohnishi. H, Konishi. H, Morisaki Chie, Fukumoyan, Kisa, Angus

*Music composition — Hideki Ok

*Sound design — Kajino Toshio

*Capcom USA Support — David Winstead, Alex Jimenez

External links

* [http://www.arcade-history.com/index.php?page=detail&id=62 Alien vs. Predator] at "Arcade-History"