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Aliens vs. Predator Classic now on Steam, Sean has a nostalgia meltdown

by: Sean Colleli -
More On: Aliens vs. Predator
With Rebellion Software’s new Aliens vs. Predator game less than a month away, they’ve decided to introduce new players to the original that launched the series. Aliens vs. Predator Classic, the original game from 1999, is now available on Steam for only $5.

For a long time AvP Classic wasn’t compatible with modern video cards. A talented fan patched the game for new OS a couple years back but this is the first time it’s been updated by the original developers in over a decade. The addictive class-based multiplayer isn’t included yet but Rebellion will release a free patch once they get the Steam multiplayer polished up.

I played this game to death back in the day. I know Cyril will argue that the very first AvP on the Atari Jaguar is the best, but the ’99 game was the first to combine immersive 3D graphics with the speed and fluidity of keyboard/mouse controls, for a truly terrifying and movie-accurate experience. I still remember being struck by how real it all felt.

The marine campaign scared the daylights out of me when I was 14 and the predator campaign made me feel like a badass, but my favorite by far was playing as the alien.

Leaping around on walls at high speed and stalking the hapless humans made me feel like fear incarnate. The level design was brilliant—the maps flowed so well, even up and down walls and ventshafts. I never got lost like in most shooters, always instinctively knowing where to go like a wild animal. Rebellion did a great job thinking like a xenomorph when mapping out that campaign.

I’ll stop geeking out about this game but suffice it to say, you should try it out. $5 is s steal for all the gameplay you’re getting and it still holds up remarkably well ten years later.