There are three campaigns in the game, one for each race/faction (the Predators, the Aliens and the Colonial Marines), that, while separate in terms of individual plot and gameplay, form one overarching storyline. [3]

In terms of gameplay, the most is currently known about the Predator. As in the films, the Predator prefers to stalk its prey from the safety of treetops and the gameplay reflects this, the player leaping from branch to branch automatically with the help of a "focus jumping" game mechanic. The Predator has different vision modes, the most recognisable from the films being a thermal imaging scanner, but the player also has different vision modes for spotting Aliens and other Predators. Each vision mode only allows for targeting a specific race. For example, the Heat Vision mode renders Aliens and other Predators nearly invisible, making battles between two or all three species a tactical juggle to prioritise enemies based on their threat to the player.[3]

The Predator’s gameplay is more based on stealth and tactics than the average first-person shooter. The player has to be aware of Aliens, which have the ability to see through a Predator's cloaking device, that may climb up a tree and attack from below as well as taking care not to reveal themselves to marines too early as the marines’ weaponry and numbers are more than a match for the Predator. For long-range weaponry, the shoulder-mounted plasma cannon has been the only confirmed weapon for the Predator, but OXM expects to see a glaive-like disc and a spear gun to be announced later in development as both weapons were "stalwarts from the previous games." For close-range combat, the Predator has two retractable wristblades on its right arm.[3]

The wristblades allow for the Predator to perform a "trophy kill," a nod to the movies in which the Predators take trophies, usually skulls, from their defeated enemies to show their prowess in the hunt. OXM labelled the trophy kill mechanic as so "spectacularly violent" that they believe it will be cut from the final game to avoid an Adults Only rating in the United States as it was "several measures more graphic" than any other recent games. The animation for trophy killing a marine with a Predator is the only one known, though the Aliens also have a trophy kill system that is "far less disturbing." To begin the Predator's trophy kill, a "terrified" marine is dragged into the centre of the screen by his or her throat, which the Predator then snaps effortlessly with the accompanying sound of "someone biting into raw celery." The neck broken, the Predator decapitates the marine, a "sizeable portion" of the spinal cord following. Even after this, the marine is still alive for a short period of time, "gasping his last, with nothing but bloodied, glistening vertebra beneath his chin."[3]


A screenshot showing a player being attacked by a group of Aliens.Jason Kingsley, the CEO of Rebellion, defended the brutality of the trophy kill system, stating "This is obviously a game based on adult-rated movies, and we want to make sure it’s very clearly an adult-rated game. It's an issue for me; some computer games are for kids – we're not making a computer game here for anyone other than adults. That's very clear and within that context, I think the violence is part of the character and the world – so we're talking about a fantasy world here and fantasy creatures and we're talking about trying to build up a mythos. I remember the first time I saw it, one of the particular Predator kills, everyone went 'Oooh.' But it's what the Predator does in the movies."[3]

One element of the Predator's gameplay that hasn't been fully confirmed is how to limit the use of the Predator's more powerful weaponry, such as the shoulder-mounted plasma cannon which, in the first Predator film, had the ability to punch a hole through a man's chest. Previous games in the AvP series used an "honour system" to prevent the overuse of weapons. In this game, however, Rebellion "appears to have settled for an energy system".[3] This means the cannon can be recharged by using any energy power-up console in the environment. Energy is also used to re-charge the Predator's health.

The other two campaigns have had little shown of them. The Alien campaign will force players to get in close to their enemy as their only methods of attack are physical: the Aliens' claws, tail and inner and outer jaws. Aliens live in the shadows and use senses other than sight to locate their prey, which is why the Predator’s cloak is useless against them, and this, OXM suggests, would imply stealth tactics similar to the Predator’s campaign, getting players to search for dark areas to hide the black alien in. Players will be allowed to climb over every surface in the game as an Alien, but this is counteracted by a slower pace than previous games in the series, discouraging "blitz tactics." Rebellion is reportedly including a game mode which will increase the Aliens' speed back to their "original, often disorienting pace," possibly tied to the difficulty level.[3]

The Colonial Marine campaign is to be far closer to that of a standard first-person shooter. Confirmed weapons are the "iconic" Pulse Rifle and Smart Gun, along with an image intensifier to light up dark areas and the motion tracker made famous in Aliens. The key to the marine campaign is "the sheer terror of facing off against the two movie menaces of the title." Rebellion have confirmed that no cutscenes will take place other than from the perspective of the player character and that the point of the campaign is to simply survive. The marine campaign also contains the most information about the game's plot, whereas the others will simply feature overheard conversations between marines "shortly before you dice the marines into meaty chunks