Aliens versus Predator 2

Date Released:
EU: October 22, 2001
NA: October 31, 2001
Publisher: Sierra Studios / Fox Interactive
Developer: Monolith Productions
Formats: PC
Genre: First-Person-Shooter

 Aliens versus Predator 2 (PC)

AvP2 (US Cover)

Aliens versus Predator 2 is a 2001 first-person shooter computer game developed by Monolith Productions. It was published by Sierra Entertainment, and released through Fox Interactive for PC in 2001. It is a sequel to Aliens versus Predator (1999). Like the previous title, this received positive reviews upon its release. An expansion pack titled Aliens versus Predator 2: Primal Hunt was released in 2002.

Official Description

Sequel to one of the most frightening games ever made, Aliens versus Predator™ 2 takes you to Planet LV1201, where three diverse and bloodthirsty species battle for survival. The story-driven plot weaves together the fates of all three races, while the action is as heart-stopping as the blockbuster films on which it is based. Choose to play as Alien, Predator, or Marine as you use your physical prowess, killer instincts, or superior firepower to stay alive.

    • Play as Alien, Predator, or a Marine-each armed with unique new weapons and abilities.
    • 21 intense single player missions set in 3 interlocking story lines.
    • Play as 1 of 10 characters in 12 multiplayer levels including Species Team Maps and Deathmatch.
    • Game types include Survivor, Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, and Hunt.
    • New highly detailed environments including LV1201 landscapes.
    • 32-bit animated light mapping for phenomenal effects.
    • Advanced game engine using LithTech Development System.
    • Players of the original Aliens versus Predator™ will thrill at the discovery of powerful new abilities for each species.

Story & Gameplay

 Aliens versus Predator 2 (PC)

Like the previous title, you can play as either an Alien, Predator or Colonial Marine but this time, the stories in each campaign overlap. The story takes place in the year 2231 where humans have established an outpost on planet LV-1201 after Weyland-Yutani had re-traced the Derelict spacecraft’s route before it crashed on LV-426. As a Xenomorph, you escape from the facility, causing massive damage and letting other Xenomorphs loose. Colonial Marines are sent to the planet six weeks later to investigate what happened.

The gameplay is very similar to the previous game. Each character has different weapons and abilities. The Colonial Marine wears armour and can use the image intensifier, flashlight, and flares to see in dark areas. The Predator can use various weapons like wrist blades, shoulder cannon, speargun and disc weapons. You can cloak to become invisible and can switch between 4 different vision modes: Normal, Thermal, Infrared and Electromagnetic. You can recharge your energy level using a special device that you carry.

 Aliens versus Predator 2 (PC)

When you play as an Alien, you can traverse the entire environment on walls and ceilings and can use your claws, tail and jaws to attack enemies. You have a secondary vision mode to see into dark areas and humans and Predators give off special pheromones which are highlighted on screen.

Aliens Versus Predator 2 has a few different multiplayer modes that can be played online or via a local area network connection. You can choose one between Aliens, Predator, Marines or Corporates and each team has unique advantages and disadvantages. There are six different multiplayer modes:

  1. Deathmatch: every man for himself and get as many kills as you can.
  2. Team Deathmatch: you work together with members of the same faction.
  3. Hunt: one team is the hunter and one is the prey. The prey can become the hunters by killing a hunter.
  4. Survivor: everybody is a defender at the start but if you’re killed, you become a mutant and earn points by killing defenders. Defenders earn points by the time they remain alive.
  5. Overrun: a team match where each payer has a limited number of lives and at the end of the round, points are given to the number of surviving team members on each team.
  6. Evacuation: there are two teams and again, you have a limited number of lives. One team is the attackers and the other are the defenders. Attackers win by killing defenders but defenders can win by finding the evacuation point and having one member survive inside of it for ten seconds.

Development

 Aliens versus Predator 2 (PC)

Aliens versus Predator 2 was developed by Monolith Studios who went on to develop the F.E.A.R. and Middle-earth games. At the time, Rebellion, who developed the previous AvP, was busy with the downloadable levels and AvP Gold. Fox sought out a new developer with the right kind of technology to develop AvP2.

When the project started, Monolith researched films, books and graphic novels. Fox also provided a lot of material for them – stock footage and behind-the-scenes images that they’d gathered from Stan Winston’s studio and other sites. Monolith pulled together books and articles – things on Giger’s artwork and on the making of the movies.

Before the platforms had been announced, AvP2 was rumoured to appear on the Playstation 2. Official Playstation Magazine had said because Monolith had converted their Lithtech 2 engine to consoles, they speculated they would release the game on the PS2. Producer David Stalker was asked about it in a few interviews but he never gave much away about the prospect. Nathan Cheever, a former Monolith developer, spoke about how challenging it was to port Monolith’s previous game No One Lives Forever over to the PS2 which may have contributed to them not releasing one.

Monolith looked at what worked and what didn’t work in the first game and tried to improve upon it. You now have a proper overlapping story and the game gets more challenging as the levels go on rather than in the first game, where you’re thrown into the deep end straight away. The new Lithtech engine allowed them to do all sorts of new things with the graphics. They spent a lot of time with their lighting models. This included 32-bit animated light-mapping and dynamic light sources to make effects like shadows cast by lights behind fans and light coming through when a door is opened.

 Aliens versus Predator 2 (PC)

A lot of weapons now have dual-firing modes. The Predators have the same weapons from AvP1 but new ones can be used like the Net Gun and Combistick. The Marine now has a knife, pistol and shotgun as well as new equipment like the shoulder lamp, hacking device, and welding device. With the Alien, you can now toggle wall-walking on and off and there’s a new pouncing ability for attacking and navigation.

One of the Monolith developers made a model of Lance Henriksen and pitched the idea to Fox Interactive producers of bringing in Henriksen to do voicework. The developer suggested adapting the Dr. Eisenberg role into Michael Bishop who appeared in Alien 3.

An expansion pack titled Aliens versus Predator 2: Primal Hunt, was developed by Third Law Entertainment and released in August 2002.  Primal Hunt adds new weapons and multiplayer maps to the original game, as well as a single-player campaign which serves as a prequel to the storyline of Aliens versus Predator 2.

The final official patch for Aliens Versus Predator 2 is v1.0.9.6 which was released June 5, 2002. Sierra shut the game’s servers down in October 2008. The community have kept the game alive and you can download the AvP2 Master Server Patch to access online servers.

Aliens Versus Predator 2: Gold Edition was released May 30, 2003 which combines both the original game and the expansion pack, Primal Hunt, into one package.

AvP2 Covers

AvP2 (US Cover) AvP2 (US Cover)
AvP2 (UK Cover) AvP2 (UK Cover)
Primal Hunt (US Cover) Primal Hunt (US Cover)
Primal Hunt (UK Cover) Primal Hunt (UK Cover)
AvP2 Gold (US Cover) AvP2 Gold (US Cover)
AvP2 Gold (UK Cover) AvP2 Gold (UK Cover)

AvP2 Screenshots

AvP2 Concept Art

AvP2 Magazine Articles

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Computer Games (May 2001) Computer Games (May 2001)
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PC Zone (July 2001) PC Zone (July 2001)
PC Zone (September 2001) PC Zone (September 2001)
CGW (September 2001) CGW (September 2001)
Next Gen (September 2001) Next Gen (September 2001)
PC Zone (November 2001) PC Zone (November 2001)
PC Zone (December 2001) PC Zone (December 2001)

AvP2 Wallpaper

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System Requirements

Minimum PC Requirements
English Windows 95, 98, ME, 2000 or XP
Keyboard and mouse
Pentium III 450 or equivalent processor
128 MB RAM
24X CD-ROM drive
16 MB DirectX 8-compatible D3D video card
16-bit DirectX 8-compatible sound card
DirectX 8 or higher
Recommended PC Requirements
English Windows 95, 98, ME, 2000 or XP
Keyboard and mouse
Pentium III 700 or equivalent processor
256 MB RAM
24X CD-ROM drive
32 MB DirectX 8-compatible D3D video card
16-bit DirectX 8-compatible sound card
DirectX 8 or higher

Downloads

 Aliens versus Predator 2 (PC)
AvP2 Guide
Official guide for AvP2 in PDF format.
Download: AvP2 Strategy Guide (3.63MB) (13 downloads)
 Aliens versus Predator 2 (PC)
AvP2 Master Server Patch 2.4
You need this patch to play online. The patch is included in the Full Game download below.
Download: AvP2 Master Server Patch 2.4 (62.83MB) (8 downloads)
 Aliens versus Predator 2 (PC)
AvP2 Full Game
Full AvP2 game including Primal Hunt expansion pack and all patches. More information about it can be found in this topic.
Download: Full AvP2 Game (627.41MB) (89 downloads)

AvP2 Reception

Aliens versus Predator 2 was generally very well received by critics. Critics liked the overlapping campaigns and the variety of playing as a Marine, Alien or Predator. Some criticism was aimed at how buggy the game was… AI characters getting stuck in the environment and so forth. PC Zone awarded it 93/100: “I’m confident you’ll love every minute of this essential masterpiece anyway. I’ve seen fear like never before and it’s all down to a piece of software. I ain’t afraid of any game, but AvP2 ain’t just any game.” IGN scored it 8.2/10: “Like the original AvP, it doesn’t break out of the standard FPS mold, but it is entertaining and terrifying at the same time, even with all of the annoying bugs. It still comes recommended in its current state, but after a patch or two, AvP2 will be a must-have for any shooter fan.”

Eurogamer was a bit more critical at 6/10: “Some hopeful multiplayer options and the odd bit of excitement can’t rescue AvP2 from its bugs and poor mimicry, and it’s a pale shadow of Monolith’s last big effort, No One Lives Forever. If you’re crying out for a new shoot ’em up you would be better off getting Return to Castle Wolfenstein.”

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Comments: 15
  1. Can anyone tell me where I can download AVP2 with the necessary patches to get the game running on newer computers? I’m pretty sure that I purchased the game along with “Primal Hunt” several years ago, but I am not sure where I’ve placed them or if they’ll work on Windows 2000


  2. Here it is crappy 2020, and I just reloaded both AVP2 and Primal Hunt, going through them all over again playing each character, man what great games and the intensity is just as good as ever, especially played in the dark with headphones on. I’ve always preferred games on my PC, played with just mouse and keyboard, or I can adapt a racing wheel and race. I miss the days of going in Best Buys and they had rows and rows with shelves stuffed with games for PC’s. I don’t like the game consoles and their controllers and never bought one, but try playing my grown son’s and I don’t like the controllers, but it is super cool to see how good graphix are on a big TV, but my PC’s have HDMI also. Just miss the good old days of the 90’s and early 2000’s games, I had so much fun back then with Lara Croft and these and wayyy before the world has spiraled outta control full of hatred and an agenda.


  3. Yeah, I really wish some group like GOG or NightDive could resurrect this gem, considering the problems that can crop up running AVP2 on today’s machines… just getting the thing to run in widescreen is a major pain.

    I do wonder why this isn’t available digitally, and it’s long been “out of print” physically. Even if Monolith got bought out by a company that got bought out by Warner Bros. you would think Fox would still own the rights, being the original licensor. It’s like how the Dino Crisis games are unavailable in UK / EU because they were originally published by the now techically defunct Virgin Interactive… you’d think CAPCOM would be well within their jurisdiction to re-release them, but the rights must be in some sort of limbo and I imagine it’s the same for AVP2, bureaucratic bullcrap getting in the way.


  4. Better than all the movies put together. Love this game so much. Stellar story, amazing locations, excellent detail. AvP 2 is perfection.

    Someone should re-release this classic or make an HD remake in the style of Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, where you could switch between Classic and Remastered graphics. This masterpiece deserves that treatment.


  5. Greatest installment of the entire series (also included it’s expansion “Primal Hunt”), absolute perfection. There’s something in this game for fans of all ten Aliens/Predator films, even Prometheus with the exploration of the Engineer ruins. 100/10

    Thank you Monolith.


  6. this game was the best it is what avp suppose to be and true to the classic films not the recent fails for a quick buck. they need to use this as a template reboot it with a better engine and with more variety of in depth game play and story that takes place at the end of avp two. monolith did the best with avp. it was pc only and could customize skins maps mods etc to player liking ..it was awsome and fun.. never a dull moment for years. and preds have one wrist blade only!!! classes were great in mp


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