“We are old, my brother. Our race is few and scattered. Our ancestry lost to myth. The humans are still children, creatures of desire and hubris, with no comprehension of the long hunt. Still, they make good sport…
They have discovered a trophy long locked away. They must not be allowed to find the crucible that spawned our most respected prey. If they succeed, all life will succumb to the crawling dark…”

Following our recent blog post on the multiplayer side of things for Aliens vs Predator, we thought we’d expand our information a bit and show off the all the Predator has to offer. As noted before, there are a ton of options and opportunities available to dominate as the Predator.

Stealth is your friend

As with the movies, the Predator’s primary strength revolves around his ability to remain hidden, to disrupt and confuse his enemies, and strike only when success is assured. The Predator will remain in stealth unless he walks in water, is attacked, or performs an attack. Playing aggressively, leaving yourself open to attack, or even taking on more than one heavily armed opponent is a sure why to exit the world of AvP and dishonor all that your clan has fought for.

While Stealth keeps you hidden from view, it’s important to realize what tools your enemy has to counter this invisibility. Marines, for example, can track motion; so moving quickly, infrequently or by way of Focus Jump, is a good way to scare a Marine and get the drop on them. Aliens, on the other hand, can see you as a faint outline, but only from certain range. Use Alien Vision (more on that later) to get the drop on them before they get the drop on you.

Energy

The Predator differs slightly from the Marine and Alien by having a rechargeable energy resource. This energy fuels the Plasma Caster, Proximity Mines, and allows the Predator to heal himself after suffering damage in combat. Once all your energy has been expended, you’ll have to find a recharge point to power up and continue the fight. Be careful though, when using a recharge point, the Predator is defenseless and open to attack, so always check your surroundings before starting a recharge.

Predator Weapons

Use your wristblades to deal with the enemy at close quarters. Attack rapidly with Light Attacks, hit hard with Heavy Attacks, and eviscerate your opponents with Finishing Moves or Stealth Kills. Block or Counter the enemy to deal with incoming melee attacks.

Plasma Caster
A signature Predator weapon, the Plasma caster can be fired in both bursts and charged shots. In bursts, the Plasma Caster is less accurate, but might be a better option at close range. For long range, the charged shot is the best bet as it will lock onto your target and delivery a one-hit-kill if it connects. One major disadvantage of the Plasma Caster is the targeting laser, which while offering lock on for the Predator, also causes all nearby players to spot the Predators location.

Combi Stick
The Combi Stick is very powerful and will kill an opponent in a single shot if it connects. At long range, the Combi Stick arcs slightly and is not instant to target, so you’ll need to compensate appropriately. At short range you are nearly guaranteed a kill if you can fire fast enough. This weapon does not require energy.

Proximity Mines
Proximity Mines are an excellent way to booby trap areas throughout the Aliens vs Predator environments. For Marines, quickly discover the key locations of weapons, such as the Smartgun, and place mines to ensure easy kills. For Alien, use mines on walls, ceilings or other areas that a pesky wallcrawler might not expect. Proximity Mines require energy to use.

Smart Disc
The Smart Disc is an excellent tool that’s easy to pick up, but difficult to master. Once launched, the disc can be controlled to pick off moving or multiple targets. Best if used at range, however in close quarters, the disc can easily destroy a squishy target.

Predator Abilities

In addition to weapons, the Predator has access to a wide range of tech to aid in his hunt of the Alien and Marines. Using these abilities frequently is the key to success, so learn them well, if you want to survive.

Focus Jump and Focus Attack
While the Predator cannot climb across all surfaces, he can jump to locations beyond the reach of Marines using the Focus Jump ability. Taking the high ground is key in taking advantage of both Aliens and Marines in combat. Sometimes a well placed Plasma Caster shot can take out a few enemies from afar, so don’t feel rushed to make a good kill.
Focus Jump can also be used on enemies with deadly outcomes. Focus on an enemy and use your Light Attack to lunge across the battlefield and deliver a crushing blow. Often, this will distract or confuse an enemy allowing for a finishing blow or a Trophy Kill.

Special Vision Modes
The Predator has two special vision modes to help expose and track Marine and Alien targets. Vision modes should be cycled frequently to spot hidden enemies and plan strategies.
Using Heat Vision, the Predator can track human targets. In this vision mode, the environment lacks detail and Aliens are increasingly difficult to see and cannot be targeted using Focus mode. As expected, using Alien Vision will allow the Predator to track Aliens, but Marines are difficult to spot and cannot be targeted in Focus mode.

Stealth and Trophy Kills
Killing an enemy with a Stealth or Trophy Kill will reward the player with an animated killing blow that will instantly kill the other player. There are two types of attacks, Stealth Kills that are performed from behind, and Trophy Kills that are performed from the front. While these kills are brutal, they also leave the Predator defenseless as they deliver the killing blow. Always be aware of your environment before you engage in one of these kills, otherwise you might become a victim yourself.

There you have it, you now have all the information to dominate as the Predator in Aliens vs Predator. Learn your abilities, use stealth, and make us proud.

Last week, we had a special party for Super Monkey Ball Step & Roll in New York City at the Hiro Ballroom. We had special drinks, lots of Chiquita bananas, stations for playing the game, and Cody Linley. What more could a party need?

We started getting ready for the party earlier in the day. We had gift bags to assemble, bananas to unpack, and game stations to set up.

Once people started arriving, they started playing the game immediately. The kids were especially into it, while the parents looked on and asked questions.

Soon, Cody Linley dropped by to play the game, sign some autographs, and do some interviews. Cody was super nice and made time for everyone who wanted to talk to him or have their photo taken for him.

As the night continued, everyone got a turn to play the game and it seemed like everyone had a great time.

(PS — that’s me just over the shoulder of the guy in the green.)

We’ve got a ton more photos on our Flickr page. Check them all out! And if you’re in or around New York City this weekend, don’t forget to come to our Super Monkey Ball Step & Roll launch party.

Hey there Yakuza fans,

It’s been a little while, but we’re back with more news on Yakuza 3 – today, we’d like to show you guys what we’ve got set up as a pre-order bonus for all of the  fans who support the game by throwing in their reserve ahead of time!

What’s in store for those of us here in the US? A fair bit, actually – here’s what you score when you pre-order the game:

4 pieces of DLC will be packed into the game via a special code card. This will allow players access to the following content:

• Battle for Survival – Take on all the bosses of Yakuza 3 as Kazuma
• All-Star Tournament (7 character tournament)
• All-Star Tag Tournament (8 team tournament)

In addition to this, Yakuza fans who pre-order the game at their local GameStop will receive additional content via the Challenge Pack. This will allow them to enjoy 2 player mini games, competing against their friends at Pool, Bowling, Darts and Golf. They will also be able to customize their principle characters with four alternative costumes for Kazuma, Haruka and Rikiya.

Besides the pre-order content, are there any specific parts of the game you guys out there are interested in? Let us know here in the comments, and we’ll see what we can do to get some spotlights out there on the things you all would most like to see.

With just over a month until Yakuza releases, the wait is almost over. Until next time!

Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing will be in stores soon, and hopefully many of you have already downloaded and played the demo on Xbox360! To whet your appetite further, we’ve got a new trailer featuring the All-Star Moves in the game.

I’ll never cease in my amazement of the case mod community. I’ve always been massively impressed with the creativity and the Aliens case, as you can see, is awesome. Big thumbs up to Givintats on the Llamma Game Console Forum for his work, click in for more pictures!