With the Aliens vs Predator incoming very shortly on February 16th, we’ve pulled together some advice from the community team to you, based on our experiences with the game. First up is a close quarters video to give you a good visual representation, then a bit of text from our community team.

Alien – Edward@Sega
Playing as the Alien reminds me of long-ago, playing games like Descent – disorientation, occasional nausea, and an ultimate “ah-ha” moment as you learn to maneuver while upside-down. First rule of playing Alien: If you’re on the ground for long, you’re dead. Marines especially will catch you quickly and you can’t withstand a frontal assault from them. Learn to cling to walls out of their line of sight, and especially learn to stay just outside of/above rooms that they’re in, where you can wait for one of their group to wander off alone. Predator playstyle is more difficult to counter – they tend to hop from pedestal to pedestal, scanning for easy targets. Your best bet when against predators is to keep on the move and wait for them to expose themselves, then sneak up from behind. Even better, wait for them to take out a target, and take them out while they’re distracted with their kill.

Always use the sprint ability to close distances, or if you’re caught in front, to get away. Your best bet if you’re actually caught on the ground with an enemy is to find an object to run them around; your strong attacks are lethal enough that if you catch someone from behind you can kill them before they turn around (with a bit of luck and dodging). The other big thing: be aware of the marine’s motion trackers. They will pick you up when you move but lose you when you stop. Move in quick bursts from one spot to another. Most shooters punish you for standing still, but most shooters don’t allow you to cling to dark corners where no one can see you until it’s too late.

Predator – Clumsyorchid
To be effective with the Predator, you’ll need to use the many tools at your disposal. The Predator has many different skills and abilities, but only starts with cloak, melee, vision modes and the focus jump ability. Mastering these core skills will easily put you at the top of the scoreboard.

Once in the game, you should quickly activate your cloak ability and seek out your prey. Cloak is best used against the Marines, as they won’t see you coming; but don’t forget that Aliens will see you if in range. Marines can track your movement, so using the focus jump ability to move quickly about the map is essential in staying alive. Focus mode also allows for a lunge attack to close the distance on an unsuspecting Alien or Marine. Once an enemy is targeted, use the light attack to jump to your target and deliver a blow. If done properly, you’ll be in a good spot to perform a trophy kill and take a bit of your foe with you as a reward.

Ranged weapons populate the map and will keep the other species fearing for their lives while you stalk them from the shadows. If ever the battle is too tough, don’t hesitate to flee and apply a heal to stay in the fight. Using all of your abilities effectively is the key to success.

Marine – Martin – the fat ninja
The key to survival as a marine is TEAMPLAY – it’s not about running around like a headless chicken shooting shadows. Do that and you’ll be deader than a dodo before you can say “Kane is looking a bit peaky, do you think it was something he ate!” Communication is key; if you have a headset, use it – it could mean the difference between win or lose. One of your greatest assets is your motion tracker; learn to rely on it more than your eyes as predators will more than likely be cloaked. But you also need to look everywhere. Stay sharp!

If you can, position your squad in a tight, confined area with narrow entry/exits; this will draw the enemy towards you through these combined entry points, allowing you to take them out. Camp if need be – there’s nothing wrong in wanting to stay alive.

Stay close together with your backs to the wall; this will give you and your squad much-needed protection from the rear, allowing you to concentrate on enemies attacking from the sides, above, below and in front of you. If you can’t position yourself against a wall, form a tight block with your backs to each other.

And remember… a squad that stays together, survives together.

Block and Counter
Now that you have the basics, there is one other bit of advice that will make you continue to dominate in multiplayer: defense. AvP contains a fair amount of melee and all species will need to use the blocking system to remain alive long enough to get the next kill.

When in range of another species, if you lack the advantage, use block. This will help stop any light attack and present you with an opportunity to counter. This can sometimes seems unnatural, especially as the Marine, but it can be the only thing to prevent death from a skill player.

Countering with a melee strike immediately after a block will will push your opponent back and stun them slightly, exposing them for a heavy attack or a barrage of light attacks. Use block correctly with your other key abilities and you will be an unstoppable force.

Howdy Sonic fans,

With the weekend almost upon us, we’ve finally had time to go through the Hedgehog Day blog post and approve all the remaining comments, as well as catch up on the hundreds upon hundreds of extra pieces of Badnik concept art you guys sent us for the second Needlemouse Sonic 4 challenge. Oh, and one guy even took up the Oreo boast I threw down – you can see his image below – major props to you, sir.

First, let’s go ahead and announce our full list of Hedgehog Day swag winners, along with the lucky guy who will be getting a copy of Sonic the Hedgehog 3 signed by Iizuka-san, the senior level designer for Sonic 3 & Knuckles! Check below to see if your name made the list!

Hedgehog Day Winners

1 – Sonic2D3D
5 – Jake
10 – Chosenoneknuckles
25 – NSIYusuke
50 – Victor
100 – JordanRinehart
150 – Sonardragon
200 – Boosh
250 – sunnysunnysuns
300 – Eddie!!!!!
330 – Brett
331 – Darksonic
332 – Anthony
333! – Alex
334 – Swiss
400 – CurlehMustache
450 – ChaotixFox
500 – Rockman Zero
550 – Kizaru
600 – Zonic505
650 – Nojik
700 – RueZen
750 – autumnseed
800 – Christopher
850 – Insomniac89
900 – Orengefox
950 – Chuck
1000 – Aaron Haney
1050 – Carbonazure
1100 – Ty
1150 – TheskysTheLimit
1200 – Myeou
1250 – balding spikes
1300 – Scott
1350 – Tim
1400 – Dante
1450 – Laxturtle
1500 – Alex2Beta
1550 – Juan
1600 – Blu
1650 – Blue Blur
1700 – TheSoundDefense
1750 – Mike
1800 – River
1850 – Chisuto
1900 – Steve
1950 – Rick Gonzalez
2000 – Eric
2050 – Angelo
2100 – Nickno
2150 – John Elliott
2200 – Sapphire
2250 – Ambrosius
2300 – Maru
2350 – BinaryPOwnage
2400 – SuperSonicBoom
2450 – KnucklesFan26
2500 – RagnarokX

Our 333′rd comment, by Alex, was as follows:

In honor of Hedgehog Day, here’s the Sonic 3 Hedgehog Day Commercial

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyvKTUFGxZw#t=49s

That commercial brought back great memories – a post well worth the prize! If your name is on the list above, contact RubyEclipse on the SEGA forums via private message to claim your swag! Now for some quick Q & A on Hedgehog Day:

Q. I used to be #25 on the list, but now I’m #23! I was really hoping to win a prize – what happened?

A. Some comments may have shifted up or down based on comments in our moderation queue getting approved. However, if you were listed as a winner and were super excited about it, please write into us via private message anyway and let us know! In light of the massive amount of comments and all the people awaiting approval, we’re going to do whatever we can to hook you guys up.

Q. Was it possible to win more than one prize?

A. It was possible to win the signed copy of Sonic 3 and one additional prize. For the side prizes (#50, etc), we’ve increased the number of people getting swag, in cases where the person who won had also hit a milestone previously. In those cases, the person with double hits will still get two prizes, and the person whose comment was just before theirs also gets a prize. (And is listed as the winner above.)

Featured Badnik Art

Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode 1 may be known across the internet now, but we’ve still got lots of awesome concept art to show off from the community! We’ll kick things off with some of the most creative entries of the last week – conversely, check here for an even bigger album of fan-submitted concept art!

The oreo challenge has been bested! Behold the Oreo Badnik, a dangerous foe whose only weak spot is his frosted center. This guy wins major cred!

Aha! Technosqueek from Flying Battery Zone, with a much more modern approach. Props for creativity here!

Another seriously impressive piece of art – major kudos for how well this one turned out!

Not only did this fan make his badnik out of Skittles, but he even took up his entire kitchen to craft up Green Emerald Hill Zone! Gold star for both effort and creativity here! (Did you end up eating the skittles afterwards?)

Another culinary creation… this time it’s Buzz Bomber, made entirely out of potatoes!

Aww… in this image, we see what Motobugs really dream about. Nice job!

And now, for one of our favorites:

WIN!

Happy Friday, everyone!