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You
are an eight foot alien with a Plasma Gun strapped to your back,
several large blades and a penchant for killing drug-dealing
gangsters, mercenaries and Arnie. Everybody loves the Predator.
Predator would seem to be one of the easiest film franchises to
convert to a videogame and one  that has the greatest potential. The
cloaking could be utilised to make a Splinter Cell/Metal
Gear Solid Sneak-‘Em-Up game, or the vast array of
weaponry could be integrated into a First-Person shooter, as has
been demonstrated by the superb Alien Vs. Predator series, or
perhaps even a fighting game using characters from the extensive
Predator comic universe. However, predictably, this is not what Predator:
Concrete Jungle is, it is a Third-Person Action title. A lot of
gamers have probably switched off now, another Third-Person Action
game? Why, God why! But Predator is an interesting franchise, so
maybe, just maybe, this could be fun.
Predator:
Concrete Jungle is a Third-Person Action game and as such
follows the standard rules set by the genre; you start the Level,
you kill the enemies, you complete the tasks, you get to a new
location, the Level ends, you are the man, congratulations. And what
amazing new innovations to this formula does Predator: Concrete
Jungle bring? Sod all. OK, perhaps that was a little harsh, the
title eventually has access to all of the trademark Predator
weapons, including Cloaking, the Plasmacaster and the Smart Disc
which are all powered by the Predator’s suit power as well as a
variety of vicious bladed weapons. You control the Predator as he
seeks to right the wrongs caused by him one hundred years previous,
namely leaving technology behind on a hunt, technology which has
subsequently been reverse engineered by the family of the crime lord
Bruno Borgia he killed on the aforementioned hunt. After being
exiled for one hundred years on a planet full of vicious animals,
which, unfortunately, you never get to fight, the big bad boy is
back and he is angry. Given the chance to regain his honour by
destroying the Borgia family, he has only a few of the Predator
weapons and must battle all the way to the son of Bruno Borgia;
Hunter.
The
Predator handles pretty well, he runs quite fast and jumps really
high, he also climbs grates, stairwells and fences and backflips
better than the Russian Olympic Gymnastic Team. He also fights, and
that’s the first problem, he fights and you feel like you are only
pressing the attack button to pass the time. The standard
weapon-combos are initiated by the repeated pressing of the Circle
Button, however, the now a-typical repetition of button-presses is
followed by the common lack-lustre sense of collision detection
received by the player, thus proving that Sierra should be
added to the list of those not yet accomplished with 3D combat –
joining Activision, Capcom, Rockstar and Konami in a rapidly
expanding list. However, the stealth moves are very cool, there are
around four different animations each for unarmed and Wrist-Blade
strikes which are initiated by locking on to an enemy, creeping up
on him or her, and pressing Circle. These are always incredibly
violent affairs and are probably single-handedly responsible for
earning the title it’s BBFC 18 rating.
Predator:
Concrete Jungle features the Vision Modes seen regularly in the
film and, in general are used well. Blue is Thermal Vision, red
scans enemies brains and green is Tech Vision, useful for finding
the nearest power supply with which to replenish your energy
reserves. The biggest problem however, is that none of these allow
you to see in the dark, and due to the dark nature of the game, a
Night Vision Mode would have been very useful and an interesting
proposal. Another feature from the films is the Vocal Mimicry, which
emits a loud roar in t hird-person and can be used to record peoples
voices in first-person. Although not used a lot, this is an
interesting feature that is utilised well when it is.
When
starting the game, it gives the illusion that it is a free-roaming
affair, a few minutes in and it becomes apparent that this is not
entirely true. There are a number of Invisible Walls that can become
confusing as sometimes it‘s difficult to determine the direction
you’re intended to travel. Although you can walk about the levels
along the streets, jumping across the roof tops is a fairly linear
affair that echoes many half-baked Platformers, with only a few
buildings being accessible. This means that a lot of the time
you’ll be running along the streets; kind of dispelling the
illusion that you are playing as a Predator, because it’s
difficult to play as a Predator would, carefully stalking his prey
and striking from the shadows. The effect is compounded by the fact
that you are never really given enough ammunition for your
projectile  weapons. The Spear Gun can only hold ten Spears and the
Plasmacaster uses your suit power. It needs a whopping fifteen Power
Units to fire at even the minimum power level and considering you
only have one hundred units to use and these are also needed for
cloaking and the Smart Disc, not to mention that it does very little
damage any enemies at all whatsoever, you will find that you will
not ever find a use for it. This means you’ll end up rucking on
the street hand-to-hand with most of the enemies and the game
degenerates rapidly from a promising assortment of stalking to a
generic Hack-N’-Slash with a bad Melee System. This is further
emphasised later on when the enemies ignore that fact that you are
invisible and the game gives you no places to lurk, forcing you into
a head-on battle with multiple enemies, battles that seem only
possible if you have enough health charges.
The
actual Predator model is drawn very well, as are the weapons and
it’s obvious that a lot of attention has been paid to making the
Predator look as good as possible. The main characters of the story
are also decently animated and although nothing amazing, the in-game
graphics cope with being used in cut-scenes well. The Levels are
generally quite varied, although very linear, but are generally
filled with grey and brown lifeless textures. The sound in Predator:
Concrete Jungle is good and uses the familiar sounds of the film
during the Vision Mode changes and for the Predator’s roar. The
voice-acting is also pretty good and, although there are a little
more expletives than are strictly necessary, it does add to a story
which in some places is downright random.
Predator
does have some good points however. It is quite long at around
fifteen hour and all completed Levels are selectable. There are also
Bonus Missions which, if completed, unlock extra costumes and
weapons. Predator fans will also appreciate the undertones of the
story which regularly involves parts of the predator universe - and
the game is at least playable, but there are far too many errors for
it to be a full price game, including the minimal presentation of
Checkpoints in Levels. There’s also that fact that some of the
story makes no sense, why would the Predator save a young
drug-dealer from other angry drug-dealers? And certain familiar
creatures from another big budget Sci-Fi blockbuster also appear
which do not fit in the Predator timeline. In addition to the main
game, there is the pitiful Ritual Hunt Mode which just seems to be a
race along the top of buildings, which unfortunately is a
frustrating mess of a Mode in which routes can only be found by
repeated play, a procedure you will not want to do more than a few
times.
All-in-all,
Predator: Concrete Jungle is a wasted opportunity. The
immense potential of the Predator franchise is squandered in a
less-than-average Third-Person Action game. Although Predator fans
will probably enjoy this game, those looking for a entertaining game
for the weekend should look elsewhere.
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