Alien vs Predator (Atari Jaguar video game)

When playing as a Predator, the main objective is to reach and kill the Alien queen to claim her skull. The Predator can use elevators to travel between sublevels but cannot travel through air ducts. The Predator can use a cloaking device to become invisible from Marines but not the xenomorphs. The scoring and weapon systems are based on how the player kills enemies; the Predator is initially equipped with a wrist blade but killing enemies while visible result in an increase of "honor" points, allowing access to extra arsenal such as a close-range combi stick, a smart disc, and a shoulder cannon. Conversely, killing enemies while invisible results in a loss of points and lose access to weapons. The player can lose health by stepping over the Alien's acid blood after being killed and can get attacked by Facehuggers. The player carries a health pak, which is refilled by collecting food and medical kits, and use it later to regain health.[1]^[2][3]

When playing as private Lance J. Lewis of the Colonial Marines, the player's main objective is to escape from Golgotha, which has been invaded by Aliens and Predators, activate the base's self-destruct mechanism and exit the area in an escape pod. Lewis awakes in the base's brig after a cryosentence for strike offence at an officer and has no weapons, security clearance, or motion tracker. The player must find weapons from deceased Marines like a shotgun, a pulse rifle, a flamethrower, and a smart gun in order to fend off enemies. The player can traverse sublevels through elevators and air ducts, and must also find security cards from deceased personnel to access other areas within the base's sublevels. Lewis can also collect food and medical kits scattered across the base to recover health, but cannot store them unlike the Predator.^[1][2][3]

The player must also conserve as much ammo as possible in order to defend themselves, as Lewis cannot carry ammunition found on the base as well. Lewis can use computer terminals around the sublevels and medical laboratories to learn about the backstory of the base and recover health respectively, but the final amount of health possible depends on which security card the player possesses.^[1][2][3] Like the Predator, Lewis can lose health by stepping on acid blood and get attacked by Facehuggers. Once a character's health is depleted, the game is over.^[2] Progress is manually saved into one of three save slots, while high scores and other settings are kept via the game's internal EEPROM. However, killed enemies are revived and item placement is randomly determined each time the player resumes progress.^[1][2][3]

Alien vs Predator was created by

Work on the project restarted as Atari was ramping up production of games for the Jaguar, initially intended to be a port of the beat 'em up

Lewis claimed its gameplay was initially similar to Doom but Hampton felt each playthrough could be more dynamic, handing the level design reins to him and designers at Atari; Andrew Keim, Dan McNamee, Hank Cappa, Hans Jacobsen, and Sean Patten served as co-level designers.[2]^{[17][21][22][23]} They came up with the plot and object placement as well as directing the game's flow.^[22] Lewis also acted as co-writer along with Chris Hudak.^[2] Lewis recalled the Atari staff were given freedom and strived to portray a non-linear feel, designing each level for all three campaigns to allow the player finish the game in various ways.^[22] The Colonial Marine is named after Lewis.^[22][24][25] The staff was also encouraged to watch the movies for reference.^[12] The game runs between 10 and 15 frames per second, with in-game visuals being displayed at a 16-bit color format, while cutscenes and static screens are rendered at a 24-bit color format.^[10][9][18] The Jaguar's Blitter and GPU processors are used to draw surfaces and handle calculations respectively.^[10] The Alien's AI, dubbed "Alien Chess", was written by Whittaker and its function is to activate enemies when the player approached them.^[12]

Alien vs Predator initially made use of hand-drawn graphics but were deemed not realistic enough by the Kingsley brothers, opting instead to use tile panels for the texture-mapped graphics and model figures for sprites.^{[4][10][12][14][9]} The idea of photographing built models came from both Wilson and Harrison-Banfield.^{[16][19][26][27][28]} Jeffrey Gatrall, and Keoni Los Baños were also responsible for the artwork.^[2][17] Characters and tiles began with a series of production sketches drawn by Rebellion's art team, using the drawings as a starting basis to create models and tiles.^[10][16][26] Walls, ceilings, and floors were made from scratch using 5x5 inch tiles made up from various materials such as latex, wax, and resin, with one particular tile created for the kitchen areas having drinking straws as pipes running across, while the details were then airbrushed. The tiles were later photographed and digitized using a 35mm camera.^{[10][9][16][26][28]}

This process was also applied to character models, using the same materials as the titles but created as a mix of custom-made models and off-the-shelf kits from a local shop.^{[10][9][16][26]} Each animation were then filmed using the models through the process of stop motion and digitization.^[12][19] Patten built replicas of the movies' costumes and props due to being a fan of the franchise. Patten was then digitized using the costume for the Colonial Marine's animations, while the character's HUD portrait is from his likeness.^{[12][15][9][19]} All the graphics were compressed using "JagPEG", an adaptation of the JPEG format by Atari, which compresses art assets into approximately an 8:1 ratio without loss of the picture's quality.^[10][18][19] Both the cover art for packaging and the title screen were rendered in LightWave 3D by freelance artist Andrew H. Denton.^[2][29]

Alex Quarmby, James Grunke, Michael Stevens, Nathan Brenholdt, Paul Foster, Tom Gillen, and Will Davis were in charge of the game's music and sound effects.^[2][17] Many of the sound effects and voices samples in Alien vs Predator were provided by Atari's audio department, in addition to films from the Alien and Predator franchises.^[14][15][25] The sound when an Alien cocoons a Colonial Marine was done by McNamee, who took a bite out of an apple.^[21][23] The Colonial Marine's voiceovers were performed by Grunke, who was head of Atari's audio department.^[15][25] The voice heard in the game's computer terminals was recorded by Sandra Miller, wife of former Atari vicepresident and VM Labs founder Richard Miller.^[12] The Alien screams were recorded from Richard Miller's then-newborn child.^[25]

Alien vs Predator was first showcased to the public during a 1993 press conference hosted by

Alien vs Predator was one of the most high-profile and eagerly awaited Atari Jaguar titles after several delays,^[66][69] garnering generally favorable reception from critics and being regarded as the system's killer app.^{[58][59][61][77][78]} Internal documentation from Atari showed that the game had sold 52,223 copies by April 1, 1995, though a July 1995 supplement issue by Edge magazine tells that over 85,000 copies were sold worldwide.^[79][80] GamesMaster's Marcus Hawkins applauded the game's atmospheric visuals, sound effects, playability, and replay value of the three campaigns.^[64] Computer and Video Games' Mark Patterson and Rik Skews gave very high marks to the graphics and gameplay, but found the game's audio as its most disappointing aspect.^[44] Digital Press' Edward Villapando lauded its sound design and replay value, but noted that the game initially seemed long and difficult.^[67]

Conversely, Edge compared it unfavorably with Doom (1993).^[58] Electronic Games' Steven L. Kent also noted similarities with Doom and Wolfenstein 3D due to the game's engine. Kent praised its gameplay, presentation, and realistic depiction of the Aliens and their speed, but criticized the low resolution of characters and objects when approached closely as well as the control layout.^[68] Electronic Gaming Monthly's four reviewers commended the ability to play with three characters but they felt the game did not captured the same elements that made Doom and Wolfenstein 3D popular, criticizing its controls as well as the "choppy" animations and frame rate.^[59] Games World's four reviewers gave positive remarks to the texture-mapped visuals, choice of three characters, and sound but were ultimately unimpressed and disappointed with the game, faulting its "empty" gameplay and slow pacing.^[70]

In contrast,

ST Review's Nial Grimes applauded the overall audiovisual presentation, movie-style atmosphere and tension, and gameplay. Nevertheless, Grimes saw the harmful acid blood pool left by Aliens and the Predator campaign to be the game's negative points.^[71] Next Generation commented that playing as the Marine felt movie-like and found the Predator scenario as the easier of the three campaigns, but negatively noted the slow loading times and cumbersome controls.^[65] Game Zero Magazine's two reviewers echoed similar opinions as most reviewers, lauding the digitized backgrounds and character models, and gameplay. They noted the slow movement of both the Marine and Predator, and lack of in-game music, which they felt it added to the game's suspense.^[69]

Game Players named Alien vs Predator as "Best Jaguar Game" of 1994.[74] GameFan named it "Best Action/Adventure" game on the Jaguar in their third Megawards edition.^[75] VideoGames also named it "Best Jaguar Game" of 1994, over Doom and Tempest 2000.^[76] Flux magazine ranked the game 60th on their "Top 100 Video Games."^[81] In 1996, ST Format regarded it as one of the ten best games for the Jaguar.^[82] GamesTM regarded it as one of the six best games for the Jaguar.^[83] Retro Gamer also deemed it one of the ten best games for Jaguar.^[84] HobbyConsolas identified it as one of the twenty best games for the platform.^[85] GameTrailers named Alien vs Predator as one of the "Top Ten Scariest Games". They noted that while creepy on its own, the early hardware of the Jaguar did not allow the player to notice an enemy sneaking up on them, and with little other noise to warn the player.^[86] Prima Games also ranked the game 29th on their "50 Scariest Video Games of All Time" feature.^[87] In 2023, Time Extension listed it as one of the best games on Jaguar.^[88]

Retrospective commentary for Alien vs Predator on Atari Jaguar has been equally favorable.