OK, to the meat of this, the game itself...

First up, I don't own a console, so the controls felt strange to me at first. But saying that I picked it up quite fast, and I think thats down to how intuitive the game controls are.

Second, I the only weapon I used was the PR, but thats purely because I like the double whammy of the bullets and grenades.

LOOKS/STYLE/MUSIC:

Now this was a bit that I was worried about. Like some of the earlier AVP games (AVP2 being the main culprit) I was terrified that the sounds would be different, ie a Pulse Rifle that sounds nothing like a Pulse Rifle. I am happy to report the homework has been done and everything (as far as I could tell) sounds like it did in the movie. From the PR blasts, the pop of the grenades, to the ping of the tracker, its all there. I can't remember if the PR made a racking sound when firing the grenade (sorry, I was to busy shooting bugs).

As for the graphics, again, the homework has been done. PR looks good, as does the MT. The sets for the game fit in perfectly with the movie (we were playing the Last Hope map which is clearly based on Hadleys Hope). Unlike the AVP multiplayer which felt like you were in pitch darkness, the multiplayer map in A:CM seemed to be much better lit, so you could actually see what you are shooting at.

GAMEPLAY:

Even though we saw the SEGA guys playing as Aliens (and Gareth got to play as a Xeno during the UKCM vs SEGA matches), I am not sure how much I am allowed to say about it, so I will stick to just the marine gameplay.

Seems with the multiplayer, you have a choice of different loadouts each time you respawn, (one thing I can say about the Aliens: they have different classes of Aliens: Crusher, Lurker and Warrior from what I can see) each with their own weapon set. I was dull and stuck with the PR.

Controls are pretty good, hell, even I was able to pick them up quite quickly. Unlike previous games where the MT was part of the HUD, this time out you activate the MT by using the left shoulder button. This adds a nice little quirk to the game, because with the MT up, you can't fire, so its like a game of chicken, how long do you keep the MT up before switching back to the PR. When switching, you have a second delay while the marine switches, and that could make the difference between pumping a xeno with 95 rounds from the PR or having a xeno making you his personal bitch. Another fun thing with the MT is that while sprinting, you can't see the screen, but its still active. So you can be running like all hell down a corridor and suddenly the pining noise kicks in. You just better hope you have time to switch to the PR.

PR fires nicely, and it takes most of a magazine to take down a xeno, but thats mainly due to misfires because the little buggers move so damn fast. Reload time isn't too bad either, so I just let the PR run dry and auto-reload rather than trying to remember the button. Grenades are affected by gravity now, so you have to judge the dropoff. PR fire is the right trigger button, grenades are right shoulder, don't confuse the two, I took a grenade to the face a few times when a xeno was getting up close and personal. An ironsight option is there too (left trigger button).

Marines seem to have two speeds, cautious walk (which can feel alittle sluggish) and sprint (push down on left stick). I used the sprint a few times, but mainly as soon as I heard a screech or gunfire near me, I'd throw my back against the wall (the SEGA guys favoured crawling above you, dropping down behind and giving you a tail enema), and aiming in the direction of the nearest scream or hiss, pulling up the MT as much as I dared.

One last thing, when you are killed, you get rewarded with a nice little 'finishing move' scene, showing you in quite graphic detail just how much the Alien is owning your ass.

CONCLUSION:

All in all, for a game thats 6-8 months away from a release, it's VERY kickass. From the nerd perspective, everything I wanted to see in there is there, and from the gameplay perspective, its quite a tight first person shooter, with some nice touches which help increase the tension during gameplay.