Aliens versus Predator returns to Amiga in a new port of the 1999 PC classic

Aliens versus Predator has arrived on AmigaOS, bringing Rebellion Developments’ first-person shooter back to AmigaOne by developer Fallke34. The new improved release gives players the chance to take control of a Colonial Marine, an Alien or a Predator, with three separate campaigns offering very different ways to tackle the same hostile universe. There’s plenty of shooting, a fair amount of creeping through dark corridors and more than a few encounters best avoided. For Amiga owners interested in classic PC shooters, it’s another familiar name to add to the games collection.

Three ways to play Aliens versus Predator

Originally released for PC in 1999, Aliens versus Predator brought together two of cinema’s most recognisable extraterrestrial creatures in a first-person shooter developed by Rebellion and published by Fox Interactive. The game built upon Rebellion’s earlier Atari Jaguar release from 1994, giving players three separate campaigns instead of following a single character through the entire adventure.

Each species has its own weapons, abilities and objectives. Choose the Colonial Marine and you’re fighting for survival against creatures with considerable physical advantages. Pick the Alien and you’re the creature hunting human soldiers. The Predator takes a different approach, relying on advanced technology and specialised weapons to track its enemies. It’s a simple idea, but the differences between the three characters change the way the game plays.

The Colonial Marine has plenty to worry about

The Marine campaign delivers the most traditional first-person shooter experience. You’re a human soldier armed with military hardware, moving through installations and hostile environments where an encounter with an Alien can turn into a firefight in seconds.

Your pulse rifle provides some reassurance. The motion tracker helps, too, providing an indication of nearby movement without revealing precisely where the next attack will come from. Aliens can approach from walls and ceilings. Predators have their own methods of avoiding detection. Staying alert, keeping ammunition available and choosing the right weapon for an encounter are important parts of the Marine experience. The campaign combines conventional shooting with exploration, giving players a very different set of challenges from the two extraterrestrial characters.

Playing as the Alien changes everything

Choose the Alien and firearms disappear from the equation. Your main advantages are speed, mobility and close-range attacks, with the ability to travel across walls and ceilings opening up routes unavailable to human characters.

Instead of approaching every encounter from ground level, players can use the surrounding environment to reach enemies from unexpected directions. The Alien’s movement system changes exploration, too. Corridors, rooms and larger environments become spaces to cross from several different angles, rather than straightforward routes between objectives.

The Predator sits somewhere between the other two characters. It has access to ranged weapons, close-combat equipment, optical camouflage and specialised vision modes, giving players several options for finding and attacking enemies.

Its campaign revolves around using these abilities effectively, with combat taking a different form from the Marine’s gunfights and the Alien’s close-range attacks. Three species. Three distinct approaches to combat.

Aliens versus Predator comes to AmigaOS 4.1

The new AmigaOS 4.1 release brings the PC game to compatible Amiga systems, following an earlier MorphOS version developed by Anders Granlund. Falke_34 has adapted the game for AmigaOS 4.1, allowing players to experience the original campaigns on the platform. The release supports modern screen resolutions and offers fullscreen and windowed play.

The familiar weapons, enemies and environments remain part of the experience, with the three playable species retaining their individual abilities and combat systems. There is one limitation worth mentioning. The current AmigaOS release doesn’t support the original full-motion video sequences, so players won’t see the cinematic clips included with the PC game. The game itself remains playable, including its single-player campaigns and additional content supplied with the supported PC editions.

What you’ll need to play

The AmigaOS 4.1 release doesn’t include the original commercial game files. Players need data from Aliens versus Predator Gold Edition or Aliens versus Predator Classic 2000 to run it. Gold Edition expanded the original PC release with extra content, including additional missions and the single-player Skirmish mode. Classic 2000 brought the game to newer Windows systems and included the Millennium Expansion Pack.

With the required game files in place, AmigaOS 4.1 players can take on the Marine, Alien and Predator campaigns, each offering its own weapons, movement abilities and approach to Rebellion’s science-fiction shooter.

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