So at the recent Tokyo Game Show, I managed to try out the pre alpha test of Predator Hunting Grounds. A game developed by Illfonic (The guys who did Friday the 13th and Evolve). I have been looking forward to this game for a long time. I have to admit that I enjoyed myself playing the game and I can’t wait for the launch date which should be by next year.
Predator Hunting Grounds is an asymmetrical co- op multi player game. It’s basically Predator against a team of 4 soldiers (Fire team). The Fire team will be played as a First Person and the Predator will be Third Person view. So it’s either you escape from the Predator or hunt it down. Hunt or be hunted. The fire team will have a mission before the play through. You can also choose the place where you want to infiltrate the objectives. It’s also good to work as a team to complete objectives and most of all, kill the Predator.
I tried playing the Predator against a team of 4. The controls are lesser for the Predator. They stuck to the original movie version of the Predator which means you have the infra red vision, the plasma shoulder cannon and the classic wrist blades. You can also cloak yourself but that is only for a limited time as you need to charge up the bar to use again. Moving around the trees was pretty cool and also a good place for you to watch for your prey and hide if you are getting attacked. If you manage to hunt a soldier down, you can do a special move where you can rip out the spine and skull of the soldier. However, if you get spotted, the rest of the fire team will be able to know your location and you have to run away to charge up and replenish your life which does take quite a bit of time. If you happen to get hit or near death, you can activate the self destruct bomb attached to your arm and hope you at least take down some if not all of the fire team members with you. There is a timed blast radius and if any surviving members of the fire team escapes the blast radius, they survived.
Another cool feature which is a nod to the movie, is that soldiers, can use mud to hide their location from the Predator, but if they fire their weapons, the Predator can detect their location through sound. If one of your team mate is down, you can revive him back if you get to a reinforcement point. But of course you have to be wary that the downed team mate may also be bait for you to get killed as well. I did manage to play twice as part of the fire team. You can choose your class be it sniper or assault and what not. Best option for me is Assault.
Overall I had a great time playing both the Predator and the soldier. I am definitely looking forward to the release of this game next year. The soundtrack was like a remixed version of the original soundtrack which is yet another nod to the classic movie. It is pretty obvious,
I’m pretty sure all Predator fans will enjoy playing this game especially fans of the first movie. I also can foresee a lot of players shouting, “GET TO DA CHOPPA!!” towards the end of the mission as well. I know I would.
