Depending on the mode you’ll get the choice of three species to use, each with their own strengths and weaknesses, but all on a fairly level playing field.

Propping up the rear, for sheer generic shooter reasons, is the USMC AKA the humans. The marine unlike the other two species has no access to a “kill move” and he’s a long range weapon specialist. The marine’s strength is to hunt in numbers with like-minded marines, although if he is faced with a monumental one-on-one task, if they are skilful enough, they can survive. The marine has access to a number of weapons dotted around the map such as the shotgun, plasma rifle and the smart gun which automatically aims at your foe for you – it’s handy in the dark. They have no special abilities, but they can pick up and use stimpacks to heal themselves should they take too much of a beating. The flashlight is probably the marine’s handiest tool as you’ll find yourself searching every nook and cranny of every map searching for that Xenomorph scum. In reality, the marine’s best strength lies in its numbers. Stick together. Backs against the walls. Keep your eyes open.

The Aliens on the other hand are the ultimate weapon. Having the ability to move at incredible speeds, cling to any surface, regenerate health and see any species with its honed senses makes the Alien a barrel of fun. It’s truly the species for fans of stealth. Yes, the Predator may have invisibility, but the Alien can always detect a Predator; invisible or not. The problem with the Alien comes if you can’t get the jump and use the element of surprise. You’ll then find your opponent (if he’s wise) will block all incoming attacks and with a species that relies on melee attacks, you can end up running out of ideas quite quickly. Outwitting is the name of the game then. How can I sneak up on him? How can I get round his back? These are the questions that a player must answer for themselves.

Last, but by no means least, my personal favourite, the Predator, who has more tricks up his sleeve than the late great Tommy Cooper did. Giving the Predator access to all their tools from the off may have tipped the balance scales in their favour, but because you have to pick them up on the map, then it’s trickier than you’d think. The Predator has access to the spear, a one-shot-kill disc, the shoulder cannon and of course invisibility, which works great and thankfully has no time limit set to it. The Predator’s cloak is broken if they interact with something... you know, like a marine’s skull as you rip it off its shoulders. That being said, the cloak is only useful against the marines... and other Predators, as the pesky Xenos have those fandangled ultra senses. Our only qualm with the Predator is that his leap mechanic is limited and you seem to spend a lot of time finding suitable places to leap to – you have to be accurate to the millimetre and a lot of the time, it won’t work as you’d hoped. Don’t think you can just blast the living daylights out of your opponents with your cannon all the time, oh no, not only will you have to find it on the map first but then you only have a certain amount of uses before you have to recharge it. Ladies and gentlemen, one of the many ways the game tackles balance.

The game not only controls well, but also looks fantastic and that’s what makes the multiplayer such an enjoyable experience... if being scared out of your wits is what you find enjoyable. Actually, yes, we quite enjoy that around these parts. Rebellion have done some great things with light and dark, to create a moody, eerie, “I want my mommy” experience. The environments are so suitably detailed that as a marine the fear really kicks in and you’ll have plenty of double-take moments as you shine your torch across the many metallic surfaces.

The multiplayer on the whole is a fairly unique experience despite only using slanted takes on traditional multiplayer modes. Mastering the species and unlocking their full potential is the ultimate hook though. Granted, the multiplayer arena in itself is a different kind of multiplayer with a much slower pace and on the whole, you’ll spend a lot of time running around searching for prey, but that’s part of the lure... this suspense filled experience with pockets of intense action that captures the mood of each franchise perfectly. Our main concern with the multiplayer beforehand was how Rebellion looked to make it balanced and I can safely say that they’ve achieved that. It’s backs against the walls kind of stuff. Truth be told though, whilst the balance is spot on, it truly sucks taking hold of the marine when you’ve been ripping your opponents limb from limb as a Predator or an Alien. Who wants to be normal after having all that power?

Aliens vs. Predator is out February 16th in North America and February 19th in Europe.