Things got even more interesting once we saw a demo of the Predator campaign, which was set in a jungle being explored by a group of marines. The Predator plays far more stealthily, cloaking himself while stalking his prey. The creature has vision modes at his disposal that can track humans and Aliens easily, as well as a scanner that tells him what weapons the enemies are holding. These tools make it easier (and more fun) to draw a bead on your targets. His most interesting move is in his jumping, as he can mark a destination with his crosshair and then automatically leap to it. This simple but efficient design decision negates the biggest bugbear of first-person platforming, where the inability to see your feet makes it difficult to land your jumps.

Predator’s stealthy tricks don’t stop there, as he is also able to lure men away from their posts by shooting a sonic emitter. Once the Predator had his prey alone, he leapt up behind him and performed an absurdly gory finishing move called a "trophy kill." The hunter impaled the soldier by driving his Wolverine-like claw through the bottom of the man’s chin; just one of the plethora of finishing moves that the developer’s are promising will be included when the final game is released next year.

Predator then made his way further into the jungle to fight some of the Aliens. This sequence resembled a more traditional action game, where Predator had to hop around trying to clear some ground between him and the creepy little buggers. Given the unique jumping controls and vision modes, even these encounters take on a life of their own when compared to standard shooter fare.

While we weren’t able to see any of the Alien campaign, everything that we did see of AVP is shaping up nicely. The multi-viewpoint narrative structure was truly intriguing, and the way it switches gears from hunter to hunted to really hunted is a novel concept. The game is similar to Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay in a way, which also features a unique blend of hunting, shooting, and stealth. The difference is that Aliens vs. Predator features better graphics, a multi-perspective story, and H.R. Giger’s acid-spurting Aliens, which explains why I am so excited. If the E3 demo was any indication, AVP could be the rare licensed game that surpasses not only its source material, but also the competition in the same genre.

Alien Vs Predator is slated for release Q1 2010 for the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC.