Previous Next

When you play the part of Arnold Schwarzenegger in a game there's very few people of C&VG who are qualified to play the part of a mega-hunk. Except me, of course, and I modestly accepted the wimpish pleas of my colleagues to do battle with "The Predator".

And what we have here is a pretty near faultless game-of-the-movie which actually succeeds in capturing the spirit of the film. The films basically simple plot makes an ideal gameplay scenario, the central character (Arnie S), an ideal game hero, and the alien, an ideal nasty.

So it's off to the jungles of South America to rescue a bunch of trapped diplomats. The opening scene shows the helicopter dropping Arnie - otherwise known as Major Alan Schaefer and his six battle-hardened troops into the danger zone. The men sprint off into the jungle. Dutch Schaefer is the last to leave the chopper.

Within seconds you find a dead colleague and enemy troops coming for you. But the troops are only part of your worries. There's The Predator to deal with, an alien creature from outer space who is on a hunting expedition to earth. Everybody - including you - is fair game. Let us prey!

You start off equipped with a machine gun, a limited supply of bullets and hand grenades. In a tight corner you can also punch, block and duck.

Caution is the key word in this game. Don't rush in blindly. Even if you survive the nasty surprises, you'll probably use up your ammo too soon.

Besides the troops, there's a sniper in a crash chopper and death-dealing vultures to contend with.

You can tell when the alien is tracking you because the screen goes pink and a large triangle appears, moving closer to you all the time. At this stage it's best to run like hell and get away.

There are four stages to battle through before you get to the final confrontation with The Predator. As you progress, you can pick up extra weapons, mostly off the bodies of your fallen comrades.

I have only two gripes about Predator. Firstly, that it's multi-load. I know this is necessary, but it results in an easing of the tension - and this game, like the film, is nothing if not tense with a capital T. Secondly, when you have lost all your lives, you have to go through the starting sequence which involves all the men jumping from the helicopter. This becomes a little boring.

All in all, Predator is an excellent game where the hunter becomes the hunted. Buy it and experience fear.