I'm pleased to see Rebellion putting so much work into the story mode for Aliens vs. Predator. While I love the multiplayer concept of three diverse factions fighting against each other, I wouldn't want to miss the thrill of being a lone space marine caught in the crossfire between two vicious alien species. The fact that Lance Henriksen's fatherly serial killer voice will be accompanying me on the journey is the blood-spattered icing on the cake.

His voice makes me want to curl up with a hot cup of cocoa and then choke on it.

Though the house that rebooted the Fallout franchise is best known for blasting mutated baddies with Fat Boys and, more recently, their blades-and-bullets-fueled WET, they—with the aid of developer Rebellion— have also been quietly working on a title closer to Tom Clancy territory than post-apocalyptic or pulp-film worlds. Loosely based on the life of real-deal Navy SEAL Richard Marcinko, Rogue Warrior was originally being developed by Zombie Studios until Bethesda turned the reins over to Rebellion, who reworked everything from the story and setting, to the tech and gameplay.

The final product offers a messy mix of cool concepts and unfulfilled potential that'll likely only appeal to Marcinko's most faithful following or shooter fans whose trigger fingers are still itching even after spending countless hours on Modern Warfare 2's front lines.

Loved
Non-fiction Fisher: Richard "Demo Dick" Marcinko is the real world's answer to Sam Fisher; from heading a SEAL Counter-Terrorist Team to forming Red Cell, a government-appointed unit tasked with testing the Navy's vulnerability to terror attacks, this guy makes Jack Bauer look about as bad-ass as a yellow neckerchief-sporting Cub Scout. Rogue Warrior does a decent job of capitalizing on its non-fiction hero, setting its story in an engaging Cold War-era campaign that sees him infiltrating North Korea and the U.S.S.R. in search of weapons of mass destruction. Additionally, Marcinko's character model, complete with grizzled facade, salt-and-pepper beard, and a pony tail evocative of Steven Seagal's memorable '80s mane, is a dead ringer for the real Demo Dick. Amping the authenticity further is voice work provided by Mickey Rourke, fueled almost entirely by F-bombs. From his repeated use of "Happy 4th of July mother-f*cker." to the unfortunate-image-conjuring "This is a total goat-f*ck.", the foul language is absolutely ridiculous. However, given Marcinko's involvement in the project, I can only assume these over-the-top obscenities accurately represent a real part of the man's personality. Additionally, complementing the salty dialog is the occasional clever gem such as "President Reagan sends his regards." uttered by Marcinko as he tosses a Russki off a bridge, effectively immersing players in the era.

Non-stealthy Stealth Kills: One of the title's few signature features is its "Kill Moves", brutal cinematic finishers yielding lots of blood and often the use of a large serrated blade. They're meant to be stealth moves, but being sneaky hardly factors into their use, as you can just charge up to a baddie, jam on the attack button, and enjoy the neck-snapping, jugular-slicing, kidney-stabbing animations. Sure, you could argue the mechanic is broken given how forgiving it is, but I'll be damned if I didn't have a good time pulling off these creative kills without ever triggering the type of too-sensitive stealth mechanics that often sully the genre.

He Shoots, He Scores: As an FPS fan and an admitted Achievement/Trophy-chasing whore, I appreciate Rogue Warrior's shooter-centric point boosters. No cryptic "secret" score-amping goals, here; just straightforward tasks such as nailing a specific amount of head-shots, using every weapon in your arsenal, taking out a cluster of bad guys with a single grenade, and completing an entire mission with only your sidearm. Not terribly creative, but satisfying in a way that'll get trigger-pulling gamers to slightly alter their usual style and even replay some missions to achieve these score-ratcheting tasks.

Hated
Empty Promise: Despite a cool concept, driven by Demo Dick, the Cold War vibe, and brutal finishing kills, Bethesda and Rebellion have sunk this promising property's potential in shoddy design. From its dumb-ass AI and lazy level design, to its wonky cover system and all-over-the-place hit detection, the title feels unpolished in its best moments and just plain broken during its worst. Marcinko's path is peppered with as many bugs as bad guys, yielding multiple immersion-breaking moments that ultimately leave the game doling out frustration and fun in equal doses.

Wait, It's Over?!: Rogue Warrior's blink-and-you'll-miss-it campaign makes Modern Warfare 2's brief solo run seem like a 40-hour epic. This could be partially forgiven had its single-player campaign boasted the same blinding polish as Infinity Ward's aforementioned juggernaut. But with 3-4 hours of lackluster quality, this one feels more like a budget title or retail-wannabe DLC like Watchmen: The End is Nigh or The Warriors: Street Brawl, not a game boasting a $60 asking price.

Multi-player without the "Multi": Rogue Warrior's online arena is like a ghost town that's been deserted even by its resident specters; after several attempts, I wasn't able to find a single opponent to unleash my guns and grenades on. Of course, given the dearth of modes, unpolished mechanics, and stiff competition from the season's superior online offerings, it's little surprise Demo Dick will be spending the holidays alone.

With Sam Fisher and Solid Snake taking the season off, I was hoping Marcinko could fill the stealth-killer void. While his history and forehead-attracting hunting knife pack more than enough potential to support a solid new franchise, his debut vehicle falls way short.

A decent yarn, some cool kills, and a genuinely interesting protagonist are no match for a product that feels unfinished and unpolished. If you're a fan of the man behind the game, or simply can't resist the call of gun-clutching hands and a cross hair centered on your HD display, you'll see the potential in this property and even have some fun stylishly dropping bad guys and F-bombs, while padding your Gamerscore. But even with that limited appeal in mind, I'd recommend not treading in Marcinko's boots until Rogue Warrior begins lining the bottom of bargain bins... which it may be doing already.

Rogue Warrior was developed by Rebellion and published by Bethesda Softworks for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC on December 1. Retails for $$59.99 USD on consoles, $49.99 USD on PC. A copy of the game was given to us by the publisher for reviewing purposes. Played single-player mode to completion on Xbox 360, attempted to test online multiplayer modes, but found no other warriors.

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The early-2010, Rebellion-developed AvP game may be a sequel, but it is the first game in the series that I've played. The three-way species conflict set in jungles and on temples and in amid Alien hives was new to me.

I came to the game with no innate ability to play either Alien, Predator or Marine. I assumed, wrongly, that I should avoid playing as a human Marine.

It turns out that playing as an Alien is hard. I learned this the way you learn a lot of tough lessons in multiplayer games: By virtually dying a lot. Aliens in AvP wield no weapons, of course. Their strengths are movement speed and the ability to scramble across any flat surface. With an Xbox 360 controller walks the walls and ceilings by holding down the controller's right trigger and running across them. Ideally you'll get yourself onto the ceiling, hanging over some sap Marines who walk beneath you. If you hold down the A button to jump to the floor, the skilled Alien player will then press X for a gruesome one-hit "trophy kill" or start tapping the controller's shoulder buttons to perform melee swipes. That is ideal. A newcomer might — might — jump down from the ceiling and get shot up by some Marine machine guns.

So, a recommendation: If you play this game when it's out in early 2010, try the Marine. I was one of them next, taking advantage of my gun-mounted movement sensor to tell me when friends and enemies were nearby. Having a machine gun instead of relying on my claws made me more comfortable. Controls are conventional, familiar to anyone who has played a shooter. Of course, you can't smell/see the outlines of enemies through walls as a human, only as an Alien.

Before I could try the Predator in a deathmatch mode, we switched to some special modes. I tried two of them:

Infestation was a humans vs. Aliens mode. In this one we all started as humans, but one of us was randomly turned into an Alien a few seconds after the match started. As Marines, we needed to hunt this thing. But if it got one of us, the victim would re-spawn as an Alien. Eventually there would be a Last Man Standing, at which point a turret would spawn and that last human player could hope to get to it to win the match. Otherwise, the Aliens win and points are tallied.

Predator Hunt was a humans vs. Predator mode. We played this one on a map that featured a central pyramid-like structure, which skilled Predators can use to stand atop invisibly, while taking potshots at panicked Marines walking around below. Predator Hunt was a timed match that started with one player randomly selected as a Predator. A human player who kills the Predator becomes the Predator. I was the Predator oh-so-briefly (though I did try him later in single-player to get accustomed to the controls). I had a shoulder-mounted laser cannon, which I failed to use in multiplayer. I had wrist blades for melee. And I had the ability to both turn invisible and use thermal vision. That arsenal didn't help me much on my first try as an intergalactic hunter. Sadly, I didn't even figure out how to activate the long-distance jumping abilities of the Predator — nor its ability to throw its voice and create distractions — until I played single-player. Needless to say, despite my ability to kill the Predator once, I didn't win the round.

So what does a lot of getting mauled teach you?

I was impressed with how distinct the three species felt from each other and how much this game in multiplayer feels like a hunt. In Infestation, I felt vulnerable while I played as a human and the Alien pack grew. Those of us who remained as Marines, for the moment, would spot the Aliens darting across walls and ceilings. As soon as I was an Alien, I felt empowered, racing through the map, slicing toward the meager remaining prey. In Predator Hunt, again, as humans, it felt, if not that we were weak, but that we were up against something fearsome. There's a special panic you get when you know the enemy is on the tower above, standing there cloaked from your sight, choosing a target and probably seeing you coated in red, ready to be dropped.

The themes and style are good, as is the balance. The mechanics are tougher to speak about. I have to reserve judgment about the controls for now, though I was concerned that the Alien attacks must be on the shoulder buttons, the buttons I'm least comfortable pressing on an Xbox 360 controller. We can blame some of my Alien discomfort on the disorientation of walking on walls and ceilings during a deathmatch. But being the conventionally-controlled human was a smoother experience, and being the Predator felt like it simply required some experience with its unique arsenal to feel successfully in control.

Part of the Aliens Vs. Predator promotion involves promoting just how violent and gory these games are. Stealth kills do trigger gruesome deaths. For me, what I've liked most is this three-way balance between Alien, Predator and Marine. That may not be new for PC players, but with this game coming to consoles as well, it'll be new to me and others. It's a fun mix.

Aliens vs. Predator got the big thumbs down on Dec. 3, primarily for its depictions of gore and violence. Its developer, Rebellion, has said it will not modify the title in order to receive classification, so this amounts to a big "pretty please?" to Australia from Sega.

The Review Board has invited applications to be considered an "interested party" to the review, but reminds that this review and its reconsideration can only be within the scope of Australia's existing classification regulations. I.e., no one's being invited to complain about creating an R18+ rating category for games, as such an option is for lawmakers, not the review board, to implement.

Aliens vs. Predator: RC Rating to be Reviewed [Refused-Classification.com via Game Politics]

The refusal to classify Aliens vs. Predator in Australia is effectively a ban, as the country will not allow the sale of a game that doesn't fall under its maximum allowed game rating of MA15+, and Rebellion agrees that its game doesn't qualify for that rating. The following is from a statement issued by the developer.

"Rebellion is disappointed that its upcoming title Aliens vs. Predator has been banned in Australia. However, as we understand the law in that country the authorities had no choice as we agree strongly that our game is not suitable for game players who are not adults."

Rebellion's problem is the same that many Australian games and gamers are forced to deal with - the fact that while films can carry R18+ and X18+ ratings, labeling them as adults only, video games can not. This has caused many developers over the years to modify titles, including Bethesda, which altered the drug references in Fallout 3 to suit Australian censors. Rebellion, true to its name, refuses to make changes.

"The content of AVP is based on some of the most innovative and iconic horror movies, and as such we wanted to create a title that was true to the source material. It is for adults, and it is bloody and frightening, that was our intent. We will not be releasing a sanitised or cut down version for territories where adults are not considered by their governments to be able to make their own entertainment choices."

Harsh words, but words that countless other developers and gamers can get behind.

Rebellion rises against Australia AVP ban News [GamesIndustry.biz]

Should have seen this coming a mile away. It's shaping up to be an incredibly gory game, and Australia's Classification Board - hamstrung by the country's lack of an adults-only game rating - simply couldn't let it slide as an MA15+ title.

Sega Australia's Vispi Bhopti tells us "SEGA Australia can today confirm that the initial submission of Aliens vs Predator has been Refused Classification by the Classification Operations Board of Australia. We will continue to investigate all options available to us, including the possibility of appeal".

That means there'll either be an appeal ("hey, you let the first two AvP games in!"), or the less palatable option, a reduction in the game's more visceral aspects.

I then started thinking "what are these writers doing in an advertisement for an unreleased game?", but then got tired, and went and had a lie down instead.

In an interview with the Rebellion senior producer David Brickley, CVG pointedly mentioned that "There's been a lot of controversy this month surrounding Modern Warfare 2 and its ditching of PC dedicated server," and "Historically AvP is obviously a big PC game. How are you making sure you support the PC version and keep your community happy?

Replied Brickley:

This is a title that we want to support for a long time to come. If it's not been announced yet then certainly the PC version will benefit from Direct X 11 features. That's one thing we can use to make sure that people who invest in the hardware will get the absolute best.

Uhm, yes, but the question was about dedicated servers, right? CVG pressed on with:

And it was originally a PC title so you can imagine the heritage and the need within Rebellion itself to make sure that people who still play and talk of that game are not left behind.
And are you guys going to have those dedicated servers the community so clearly expects?

Replied Brickley:

Well the one thing we can say is obviously running an operation like that is monumentally expensive. For the period the original was up, people who played that game got an incredible experience.

You know what the internet's like. We're obviously used to getting things for free over the years. I guess on our side the thing we're focusing on is whatever your set-up at home, you get the best possible experience from it. We're just trying to use our time and resources wisely.

We think we've got our answer here, but just to get it for the record, CVG asks:

CVG: So is that a yes or a no on the dedicated servers?

Brickley: As I said the game is still quite a way from release so I guess there are other things to be determined during that time.

Given three opportunities to talk about it, we'll take that as a "no."

Interview: Aliens vs. Predator [CVG]

The Aliens were my faction in the original Aliens VS. Predator game, and they'll be my faction in the new game as well. You can keep your stealthy cornrowed Predators, and the Marines are nothing more than cannon fodder. Give me the relentless, terrifying, ceiling-crawling Aliens any day. They have tongues with teeth! What more could you possibly ask for?

Okay, the real reason I play as the Aliens is because I am so terrified of them that the only way to avoid being killed by one is to actually become one. Either way they win the day.

You can catch the trailer for it here, but, yes, it involves lots of shooting, hideous deaths, seething, hissing, and guttural alien language.

Rebellion's developing it for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC.

Aliens vs. Predator Mostly Coming in February 2010 [Destructoid via Blue's News]

The game is called Aliens Vs. Predator, not Aliens Vs. Predator Vs. Marines. An obvious fact, but one that bears mentioning here. The humans have never really shined in the Aliens movie series, and with the exception of Arnold and Danny Glover, everyone is basically just something to kill to pass the time as far as the Predators are concerned. Playing a Marine successfully in the original AvP game was the mark of a true gaming badass, because let's face it - they're terribly outmatched.

Sega and Rebellion both know this, thus the ending to this trailer. Either way you're screwed.

Among the unwanted, unloved IPs now obtained by the British developers (and 2000AD comics owners) are Ground Control, Evil Genius, Empire Earth, Lords of the Realm and Lords of Magic.

There's promise in most of those, especially the first three, all of which were underrated strategy games that have decent brand awareness. Which is good for Rebellion, as they didn't pick the rights up to stash them in a corner, with CEO Jason Kingsley saying "We have complete ownership of the IP from the past and going forwards, so yes we're putting our plans together for new titles in each series. Exactly what and when is currently up for discussion."

Hopefully those discussions are revolving around a new Evil Genius game, this time called "Mad Scientist".

Exclusive: Rebellion CEO reveals plans for new entries in former Vivendi Games series [Big Download]

It's no longer a game being developed by Zombie. It's no longer using the Unreal Engine 3. It no longer hopes to deliver an on-the fly cooperative experience… or any cooperative experience for that matter. It no longer will introduce multiplayer maps constructed of tiles.

In fact, Rogue Warrior's key selling point appears to be pony-tailed former Navy SEAL Richard Marcinko's over-the-top use of nonsensical catch phrases and ability to dispatch enemies by stabbing them in the forehead.

Bethesda said during a presentation of the game last week, that they weren't happy with the original direction of the game, so they decided to step back and start over.

This time, they went with developer Rebellion, and asked them to turn it into more of a "personality shooter" leaning heavily on the personality of Richard "Demo Dick" Marcinko who both wrote the books the game is based on and is the lead character of the game.

They also landed Mickey Rourke as the voice of Marcinko. Why not have Marcinko do his own voice?

"You find in life people who are the real thing can't necessarily voice act," said Bethesda's Pete Hines. "If you asked someone to go into a jungle and kill a bunch of people you'd pick Dick. If you want a guy to portray a guy who goes into a jungle and kills a bunch of people, turns out you pick Rourke."

In the game you take Marcinko into a 1980s' North Korea to try and disrupt a ballistic missile program. You end up tracking the some anti-ballistic missiles into Russia and once there "blow the shit out of stuff."

"You play as Demo Dick, a seriously bad-ass character," said Rebellion senior producer Sean Griffiths. "He is going to use infiltration, sneak and peak and a more gung-ho style of play."

Besides the typical running and gunning of a first-person shooter. Rogue Warrior has some pretty intense kill moves. About 25 of them to be specific. The ones we say included slicing open a person's throat, repeatedly knifing a person in the kidneys, tossing an enemy off a bridge and even plunging a combat knife into a person's forehead.

"Dick as seen these kill moves and whole-heartedly agrees with them," Griffiths said.

And, of course, there's all of that Demo Dick personality, illustrated most obviously with his catch phrases:

"This place is Goddamned begging for party favors."

"Jesus fucking Christ"

"Ah damn."

"Fuck me."

"April Fool mother fucker."

For his part Marcinko isn't just OK with the phrases, he loves them. "He curses way more than that in real life," Hines said.

The original game, Hines said, didn't feel like it was enough about Marcinko and his personality. Marcinko enlisted in the Navy in 1958, transferred to SEAL Team Two in 1966 where he served two tours in Vietnam. In the late 70s he became the first commanding officer of SEAL Team Six, the US Navy's premier counter-terrorist unit. In the 80s he formed Red Cell, which was tasked with testing the security of naval bases, nuclear subms, ships, civilian airports and embassies.

In 1992 he wrote his autobiography, Rogue Warrior, which went on to become a New York Times best seller.

The real tragedy of Rogue Warrior the video game isn't just that it seems to have become a generic shooter with a notable faced slapped on it, but that it effectively condenses nearly forty years of service in Vietnam, the SEALS and anti-terrorist units down to a string of profane catch phrases and two dozen absurdly violent kill moves.

Hines says that the game is meant to be about what Marcinko is doing and who he is and points out that the books Marcinko writes are about 20 percent truth and 80 percent BS, which is, Hines says, Marcinko's personality.

Taken as a tongue-in-cheek 80s action romp, I suppose the game could find an audience in the same way 50 Cent's Blood in the Sand has. But to do so it's going to be a little less serious and a little more kitschy, from what I saw.

Now built using a proprietary game engine, Rogue Warrior is expected out this fall for the PC, Playstation 3 and Xbox 360.

Most exciting is that the Predator class is now no longer just a Marine that can turn invisible. More in line with the species' abilities in the movies, you can now jump and glide between ledges and branches. Think Zelda's Hookshot, or the zero-G sequences in Dead Space, only it's now more suitable for you to be gurgling "motherfucker" every time you do it.

The aliens have also been tweaked, and will now move more slowly than they did the original PC game (which is fine by me, as they were too fast in that game). They will, however, retain the ability to scale any surface, meaning you can still run all over the walls and roof.

The game is also being pitched squarely at an adult audience. A report describes the Predator's signature move being one where he picks up a marine, snaps his neck, then tears his head off, which is followed by his spinal column. Once off, the head will continue to blink and gasp, and...well, yes, you get the idea.

This information - along with more screenshots - can be found in the latest issue of the British Official Xbox Magazine, which means we're now at two confirmed platforms: Xbox 360 and PS3.

Forget the sadly under-developed film franchise - a video game is where the two legendary movie monsters first face-off, and a video game is where the battle will continue with the announcement of a brand new Alien vs. Predator video game coming our way in early 2010. While publisher Sega plans on revealing further details at a later date, they have revealed that the developer behind the new title is independent developer Rebellion, the creators of the original Aliens vs. Predator first-person shooter that scared the living crap out of us back in 1999.

While this is very good news, it comes with a small dose of bad. The new Aliens vs. Predator will be the first title released as part of Sega's Aliens franchise, meaning that the eagerly anticipated Aliens: Colonial Marines isn't going to make its original 2009 release window.

"The innovative new AvP game presents an exciting opportunity for us," says CEO of SEGA West, Naoya Tsurumi. "It represents a fantastic addition to our growing Aliens franchise and the reinvention of one of gaming's most cherished iconic titles. By adjusting the release of our other Aliens titles to accommodate it, SEGA will ensure that every title lives up to the high expectations of Aliens and AvP fans."

Well I suppose if you are going to delay one game, announcing the delay along with the announcement of an even better game is one way to ease the pain.

Smashpad had a source inside the now-closed studio, noted for its TimeSplitters and Haze IPs, who said Pumpkin Beach was set up about four months ago in-house. "We were told that because the project was going to be quite different from Free Radical’s previous games," said Smashpad's source, "they were setting up a new company, sort of a new label for the game, to avoid the associations with TimeSplitters and Haze."

Avoiding associations with the universally-panned Haze? Sound strategy. The source semi-disputed rumors that Lucasarts was most displeased and took away Battlefront III, giving it to Rebellion. But he or she didn't elaborate on them being "not entirely true."

The story also links over to the Unofficial Free Radical Design Blog, which having no Free Radical Design to blog about, continues the story:

Sources explain Dave Doak had left Free Radical Design a month ago. He and Steve Ellis are now looking at creating a new game developer company called Pumpkin Beach. Little is known about their plans for this company but a website, http://www.pumpkinbeach.com/, has been reserved. It is possible TimeSplitters 4 could be sold to this new company. Maybe this new company was created as a rescue for TimeSplitters 4 but the lack of publisher support makes the idea a risky one.

During the meeting roughly 20 staff positions were offered into the new company for people at Free Radical Design. Codemasters and Monumental Games were also at the hotel used to hold the meeting to ask for CVs and applications for anyone who was interested.

So, there's some reason to be optimistic amongst the fallout; the jettisoned Free Radical employees either have jobs, or decent prospects, and TimeSplitters 4 is at minimum rumor-worthy, which is good, because this swrrt concept art surely needs a home.

Free Radical Founder Steve Ellis Opens New Studio [Smashpad]

According to a report on GI.biz, the game (which is supposed to be the reason behind the studio's woes after they lost the deal) has been handed over to Rebellion. You may know Rebellion as the guys who port a ton of games to handheld consoles.

Or, on a more promising note, you may know them as the guys behind the original Aliens vs Predator on PC, one of the best - and most underrated - shooters of all time.

Free Radical Design closes doors [GI.biz]

"But there's still very good business to be done on the less glamorous platforms - look at PlayStation 2, it's still selling bucket-loads of consoles and bucket-loads of games, though they've got to be the right games for the right platform."

He noted that the PSP is "kicking the arse of pretty much every other system out there" in Japan because the right games have come out - with a bit of luck, he thinks that some of those games will come out in Europe and be just as successful.

Seems to me, though, that as the most technically sophisticated handheld on the market, it's no compliment at all for the PSP if one of its mainstay UK developers is comparing it to a last-gen console.

PSP has a good few years left in it still, says Kingsley [GamesIndustry.biz]