The other day I was schismatic after analyzing Predator: Hunting Grounds. Was it possible that despite its faults and shortcomings, as fun as it could be, we were before the best Predator game in its history without counting the multiple collaborations with Alien? After meditating it very coldly, it was so.
The reason is very simple: Predator never had a good game. And we repeat it again: without taking into account duels against Alien, such as the arcade Alien vs. Capcom Predator or the shooters in first person, especially those of his first stage in the nineties. Alone, the Predators lose a lot.
The failed Predator of the late 80s
Between 1987 and 1989, there were two very different strands for the first official Predator games after the premiere of the memorable Schwarzenegger movie in 1987. For the computers of the time, a game of scroll lateral that tried to be realistic, but that suffered from a lot of flaws that weighed down the experience; while on consoles (NES and MSX) a substitute for Against with excess of fantasy that was not exactly a good game either.
Predator (Commodore 64, Amiga 500, Atari ST …)
As much as visually the conversion to superior machines, such as Atari ST or Amiga 500, was better, there seems to be some consensus when stating that Predator
Actually, the only thing remarkable was its graphics, quite a portent for the time in that system, since it was extremely slow, even though it had a "fast" version. In addition, the imposing figure of the Predator was not taken advantage of until the end … and the result was not remotely similar to that of the film directed by John McTiernan.
Predator (NES and MSX)
Curiously, on consoles, a different style was chosen, as we anticipated. There were the Pack-in-Video studios (MSX, 1988) and Klon Co. (NES, 1989) in charge of Perpetrate a game that passed the Predator license through the lining of the balls to create something very different, where they had room for enemies that seemed to be taken from the typical run & gun full of monsters. Of course, there were many Predators at the end.
But … you little Predators! All cut under the same pattern of the most absolute simplicity to finish each phase, until that last surprise in the form of a flying head. Of course, this Predator game had inexplicable errors in the control and design of levels, which made it one of the worst licenses of the time. Even Angry Video Game Nerd dedicated a video to him.
The bloody aftermath of the early 1990s
The trend of creating two totally different games would not change with the arrival of its sequel in the early 1990s, trying its luck with the isometric perspective on mega drive
Predator 2 (Commodore 64, Amiga 500, Atari ST, MS-DOS …)
As if from a shooter on rails it was, but extremely limited, that Predator 2 from systems like Amiga 500, where it debuted in 1991, it followed the style of arcade Terminator 2: Jugdment Day, coincidentally from the same year. The difference is that it was way below games like Operation Wolf and even Terminator himself, especially because of how chaotic the proposal was.
It goes without saying that any resemblance to the 1990 film directed by Stephen Hopkins was merely anecdotal, except for the reference in some relevant settings and characters, to culminate in a final duel against a medley of Predators and marines from the most surreal space. And there was a sigh.
Predator 2 (Mega Drive, Master System and Game Gear)
Things did not improve on SEGA consoles, where he debuted on Mega Drive in 1992 with an isometric action game where you had to face a bunch of drug traffickers and rescue not a few civilians in the process. More or less like in the first part of Die Hard Arcade, but without grace and with a frankly anecdotal presence on the part of Predator until the final stretch of the game.
In Master System and Game Gear the matter got worse, making it clear until then that a character of this caliber needed a quality leap at the graphic level in order to create the same tension as in the movies. Something that fortunately came with that Alien vs. Atari Jaguar Predator in 1994. But of course, here we go back to the beginning: Predator had to share the limelight with Alien to have his first good game, the one that would conquer the entire public.
Predator: Concrete Jungle, yet another stain
Since then, just like in the cinema, where he would return with the passable Predators in 2010The franchise would take a fairly steep break from nearly two decades of fallow. In the video games sector, we did not have to wait that long, since in 2005 we would Predator: Concrete Jungle for PS2 and Xbox.
We promised each other happily, since it seemed that the style matched quite well with what was expected of a Predator game, despite its setting within a city (as in the sequel, hence the "cement jungle" title ), but it did not take long to make waters because of a lousy control, among other types of flaws that led him to the most absolute mediocrity in all media.
It was, in the end and without counting the subsequent Predator games for mobiles, such as one for Java in 2008 or Predators for iOS in 2010, taking advantage of the premiere of his eponymous movie, the last official video game on desktop systems on the figure of Predator until the recent Predator: Hunting Grounds. Hence, looking at it in retrospect, it is not so farfetched to say that we are facing the best game in the series. Because in the country of the blind, the one-eyed man is king …
Table of Contents
