Today we are happy to announce that the second downloadable content pack for Aliens vs Predator is heading to Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Steam for PC. This newly designed Map Pack, entitled Bughunt, includes four brand new maps split between Survivor and Multiplayer offerings. For the first time, these new maps will include environmental hazards and new weather effects. Bughunt will be available for purchase on July 7th.

Crashsite – Multiplayer

Crashsite is an outdoors map placing up to 18 players in a Jungle swamp – dominated by a crashed drop ship. Radiating away from the swamp is a waterfall overlooking an expansive vista, which is part of a large “ring” of playable area that surrounds the central swamp, with connecting spokes to aid player movement through the map.

Predators are forced to consider how they move throughout the map, as the “swamp” environment leaves a lot of water pooled on the ground – perfect for removing the cloak and requiring predators to always consider their routes carefully.

Marines have wide open fields of fire, and plenty of areas to back in to a corner – however with multiple entrances/exits to any area and expansive use of trees around the map, their opponents could be coming from anywhere, at any time.

Aliens are confronted with a wealth of areas and places in which to initiate the perfect ambush. From cave system choke points, to tree top perches, there is never a shortage of places to pounce upon unsuspecting prey.

Furious – Multiplayer

Furious is an arena style map placing up to 12 players in a central cylinder shaped area dominated by a huge active furnace in the middle.

Predator players have ample space in which to traverse the map, and hunt other players from the myriad of vantage points offered by a network of interlaced pathways and beams across the roof of the dome.

Marine players must navigate the available paths to the top of the furnace, where they find ample weapon supplies but are restricted in the available space in which they can fight – and must also contend with the random eruptions that eject from the furnace, which will fry any hapless human who happens to be in its path. Fighting at the bottom of the furnace, removes the peril of a long fall and allows superior freedom of movement, but at the cost of reduced firepower.

Alien players have the freedom of a Cylinder shaped map, which allows them to crawl up any wall to reach the top, and pounce upon any camping Predator, or unwary Marine.

Monument – Survivor Map

Monument is an outdoor map set on BG-386 in a previously unseen Monument area to the deceased Predator Lord. With geometry purpose built to suit Alien navigation, Monument provides a challenge to players who are already familiar with Survivor. Aliens can appear from any direction, and if the player stands still for too long they become vulnerable to the Jungle Alien “spitters” who are present in this level.

Tempest – Survivor Map

Tempest is an outdoor map which places players in the BG-386 Colony area on a dark and stormy night. In addition to the never ending Alien swarm, players must also contend with their environment. A constant rainstorm batters the colony, with intermittent flashes of lightning illuminating the environment to show the Marines attackers bearing down on him. After each wave is completed, the fog rolls in for the start of the next one as ghostly shapes begin to stalk the player.

Players can prove their skills on the killing grounds of BG-386 on 7th July 2010.

You read the blog, now see the video of what went down across PlayStation Home. Fan created, fan promoted, fan run and Sega supported. Massive kudos to everyone on the PlayStation Home Moderator program for putting together this fun event. Be sure to check out the forum threads and see all the pictures, including the wall poster we passed out randomly to attendees. Great stuff all around!

After battling it out across the universe, Aliens, Predators, and Marines will face off once again in PlayStation Home in the deadly art of dance. Yes, dance. Starting tonight at 6pm (Pacific Time) in the Central Plaza, players can show off their expertly choreographed moves in an Alien, Predator or Marine costume. Even if you don’t own any of the Aliens vs Predator Home gear (and why not!), come out and support the Home community and you could walk away with an Aliens vs. Predator art item for your apartment to be given out randomly at the event!

Special thanks go out to Jersquall and the entire Home Community Volunteer group for making this possible! Show your support and give them a round of applause, we’ll see you tonight for the event!

I’m very pleased to announce that from tomorrow, and for a limited time only, full outfits and furniture items from Aliens vs Predator will be available in the PlayStation Home Thread Store on the PlayStation 3. These costumes, a male and female version for each species in the game, are offered as complete packages, but also available to download separately. Additionally, there are some special furniture items available, such as some Wall Art, mini-statues, and perfect for any living area – a Facehugger-in-a-tube!

These downloads are accessible for a limited time, and will be taken out of the Thread Store on April 30th, so don’t delay (because you know you’ll be jealous of a full Alien outfit later!)

Aliens, Predators, and Marines! Looking for a bit of a change of scenery in your fragging? Look no further than the Swarm Pack, a collection of maps for play across Survivor and Multiplayer modes. The pack features four new maps, detailed below:

Two new Multiplayer maps

Outpost: The site of the original Weyland-Yutani colony on BG-386 was abandoned, and soon reclaimed by the planet’s voracious jungle plant life. It is now the perfect hunting ground for all manner of wildlife.

Docks: The caustic alkali waters of BG-386 put an end to Weyland-Yutani’s planned shipping activities. But this dockyard soon became an historic battleground.

Two new Survivor maps

Machine: As well as processing exotic ores, the BG-386 Refinery provided electrical power to the colonists at Freya’s Prospect. The lights may still be on, but nobody’s home. Yet.

Hive: Deep in the heart of the Freya’s Prospect Refinery lays the Xenomorph Hive. Beware all who enter here.

The Swarm pack is now available on Xbox Live, PlayStation Network, and Steam.

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Now that you know about the maps, I’m going to pass out one code each for Steam, Xbox Live, and PlayStation Network for our faithful blog readers.  Thanks for reading and supporting us, we hope you enjoy the codes:

PlayStation Network: LB6P-GDB2-EMRG

Xbox Live: PMKP6-MTKJB-BGY8G-KCPY3-FBCVD

Steam: NLS2G-K595K-ZFDBV-QAEXG-6GDKN

These codes are only good for one redeem, so best of luck and pre-congratulations for the winners.

Major League Gaming and Gamebattles are launching an 4v4 online tournament to prove who is the best in the Aliens vs Predator galaxy! The competition is for all Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 players who are looking to prove their worth in the online game. Along with fame and glory, you’ll also be walking away with a piece of the $5,000 prize being offered. Here’s the full scoop from Gamebattles:

Take home a share of the huge $5,000 prize pool in the Aliens vs. Predator 4v4 Online Tournament! This is your opportunity to show your skill and win some cash by playing SEGA’s newest first person shooter. Compete in the online ladder to earn your spot in the single-elimination, 32-team tournament where the 1st place winner will take home $2,500! Registration is FREE and the top three teams will take home prize money. Open registration started March 1st and will remain open until ladder play closes on April 30th. Play began March 8th, so grab your copy of Aliens vs. Predator for the Xbox 360 and get your team signed up today!

You can sign up for the ladder on the GameBattles website and play in Ladder play until April 1st. As noted, the tournament runs in a 4v4 format across Jungle, Pyramid, Refinery, and Temple maps in both Domination and Species Deathmatch modes. Don’t hesitate to join up and play, you’ll get to compete with the best of the best and have a chance to walk away with some easy money, just for playing AVP – not bad at all!

Good news, AVP fans! The first downloadable content for Aliens vs Predator will be available on the Xbox Marketplace, the Playstation Store, and Steam. The DLC has 4 maps that were previously only available in the Special Editions.

Two new multiplayer maps are for six different modes (Deathmatch, Predator Hunt,  Infestation, Species Deathmatch, Mixed Species Deathmatch and Domination) :
•    Docks: The caustic alkali waters of BG-386 put an end to Weyland-Yutani’s planned shipping activities. But this dockyard soon became an historic battleground.
•    Machine:  As well as processing exotic ores, the BG-386 Refinery provided electrical power to the colonists at Freya’s Prospect. The lights may still be on, but nobody’s home. Yet.

Two new Survivor maps in which up to four Marines battle to stay alive against increasing swarms of Aliens:
•    Outpost: The site of the original Weyland-Yutani colony on BG-386 was abandoned, and soon reclaimed by the planet’s voracious jungle plant life. It is now the perfect hunting ground for all manner of wildlife.
•    Hive: Deep in the heart of the Freya’s Prospect Refinery lays the Xenomorph Hive. Beware all who enter here.

The “Swarm Map Pack” will be available on March 18th for $6.99 or 560 Microsoft Points.

We have a special promotion straight from the good folks at Brady Games; a 20% discount on the Aliens vs. Predator strategy guide! This one-of-a-kind strategy guide provides you with everything you need to get the most out of Aliens vs. Predator. To redeem, visit www.bradygames.com and order your copy of the Aliens vs. Predator Official Strategy Guide, enter coupon code BGAVP20, and receive a 20% discount on your purchase! Good luck and see you online!

SEGA has received reports that a small amount of facehuggers in Aliens vs. Predator™ Hunter Edition Packs (both PS3 and Xbox 360) are experiencing issues with damaged tails in North America. In response to these reports, SEGA of America has set up a system by which gamers that have received a facehugger with a damaged tail can obtain a replacement free of charge.

SEGA is solely responsible for replacing the damaged facehuggers. We would like to ask for gamers to NOT go to the original retailer where they purchased Aliens vs. Predator from for a replacement.

In order to make this replacement process as efficient as possible we ask that gamers go to www.sega.com/facehugger and follow the detailed instructions on the webpage or call 1-800-USA-SEGA to register themselves for a replacement facehugger. Once again there will be no charge of any kind for obtaining a replacement facehugger.

SEGA would like to apologize for any inconvenience this may cause our fans. We ask for their patience as we work quickly to replace the damaged facehuggers.

As part of an interesting advertising promotion for Aliens vs Predator, I recently found myself in Las Vegas to participate in the UFC #109 fight. Random? Perhaps, but after the weekend, I can’t think of a better fit for Aliens vs Predator.

In Las Vegas, no one can hear you scream …

The weekend could not be more appropriate than staying at the Luxor, essentially a giant pyramid. A perfect setting for Aliens vs. predator and a great introduction into the size and scope of Las Vegas, complete with larger than life Egyptian themed statues and hieroglyphic markings. If you strip out all that casino stuff, you could end up with a mighty fine Aliens vs Predator map full of places to ambush, wall crawl, and sneak around in.

We found this machine while wandering the casino floor, nice!

Pre Fight Meet and Greet

While running around Vegas has it’s own appeal, the real weekend fun kicked off on Saturday in preparation for UFC 109. If you aren’t familiar, the Ultimate Fighting Championship has been around since 1993 and started as a Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) competition to award the title based on purely your fighting style and skill. Unlike other fighting leagues, the original UFC had less strict rules, such as no specific weight classes for fighters. They’ve since readjusted to have some tighter rules, weight classes, somewhat padded gloves, and a much bigger distribution through cable and internet.

Our trip to the UFC 109 event kicked off in a very special way. Right before the fight we met with some of the fighters and had a some Aliens vs Predator time, nice. When we arrived in our room, we were treated to the Bayonetta logo from the UFC 108 mat, complete with blood splatter. Epic. The good people at UFC actually cut the mat from the event and dropped it into a beautiful frame. I can’t wait until we get this into our lobby; the detail is amazing and is actually hand drawn and not a reprint – one of a kind.

We were then greeted by former Light Heavyweight champion, Rashad Evans. This was quite a treat, Rashad is a really nice guy and was happy to get some hands on time with Aliens vs. Predator. As pointed out by our PR man Denny, Rashad was completely unassuming considering he’d be able to snap us like a twig without much effort. Rashad was really genuine and a good guy, we had fun talking briefly before jumping into some Aliens vs Predator.

Being an established fighter, Rashad took to the Predator quite quickly and was dropping aliens with trophy kills, light and heavy attacks. Unfortunately, our time was brief and we were moving on to the main event. Big thanks to Rashad for coming out and meeting our teams and giving us a really unique look at the UFC event.

I will Break You …

Official program with AvP and a pre-fight warmup…

Next we grouped up to catch the UFC 109 fight and see what it’s like to watch a MMA fight. I’m not going to go into the play by play of how it all went down, I’ll leave that up to the news sites that covered the event, but I will give a sense of the atmosphere – which was awesome. Our seats were really great, and gave us a chance to view the fighters as they walked in, and a good view of the ring. While a lot of attention was spent looking at the jumbo-trons, mainly because of the expert camera angles, there’s definitely something to be said for being at an event of this type. Hearing a punch connect or being a part of the stadium wide, “Ooooooooooh” is a thrill. And there were plenty of “Ooooooh”s to go around.

Sega!

After watching the fight, I cannot think of a better fit for Aliens vs Predator than to be associated with the UFC or any MMA fight. Being a mixed martial arts tournament from the start should give you a bit of an indication of where I’m going with this, but the real difference is in the way Aliens vs Predator actually plays out. If you’ve played the full release or the Demo, then you know that the game is largely based around the melee system. No matter the situation, be it Marine vs Alien, Predator vs Alien, or any combination there of, the combat system can be intense, disorienting, and incredibly exhilarating – all of the things I watched happen at the UFC 109 event, many times over.

Massive AvP trailer across the Jumbo-tron - if only we had a chance to play on it…

After the fight completed, we were off to the after party, sponsored by Aliens vs. Predator! The party, which could be an entire blog on it’s own, was a ton of fun and in the Las Vagas theme, absolutely massive and excessive. Good dj, good drinks, a private VIP area, and a chance to rub elbows with some celebrities (my Flava Flav photos didn’t turn out, boo). Quite a night and something I’ll remember for a long time.

A bit dark and red, but that’s kinda how I remember it …

The fight overall was a treat, something I definitely wouldn’t have seen myself attending without this special opportunity and I’m walking away a fan; I’m hooked. It helps that our producer, Omar and Media & Events manager, Teri, are huge into UFC and was providing an extensive amount of background on every fight, fighter, strategy, and series history overall. Big thanks to Teri for being awesome and letting us check out the fight, meet Rashad Evans, and be a part of the experience. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to play some more AvP…