review with trailer, price, details and gaming experience for PS4 and PC

If even a game the likes of Resident Evil 3 go for an extra mode on-line with asymmetric multiplayerIt is clear that these duels are quite attractive when facing an iconic and powerful monster. Hence, on paper, the game Predator: Hunting Grounds make all the sense in the world.

Gone are, unfortunately and until further notice, the moments where the figure of the Predator shared the limelight with Alien … What is distilled now is this kind of games and despite the intentions from the creators of Friday the 13th: The Game They have been good, it is very far from the great representatives of the genre. And that is very charming if we are patient with its shortcomings.

The return of an icon of the world of cinema

Let's make it clear from the start: Predator: Hunting Grounds is not a great game. He saw himself coming after having played his beta for a few hours from a few weeks ago. At a technical level it is very far from the shooters that are distilled today, saving a specific moment where it does not go so badly standing in front of others.

It pays off with the recreation of the jungle and certain parts of the stage, especially for how it plays with the lighting or the mud, but if we look closely it is still in the shadow of what is usually seen today and its performance is not always fine when it comes to loading textures or being stable.

In my case I have played it from a PS4 Pro, but it should be remembered that it is also on PC (Epic Games Store) and has cross play between both systems, showing at all times where each person plays. And yes, you can disable the Cross-play from the options, in case anyone feels that the mouse + keyboard combo have a greater "advantage" compared to the PS4 controller.

That he doesn't play in the big league isn't strange either, since not even Capcom did it with the recent Resident Evil Resistance, but the sparseness of its content does collide, with only one game mode (Hunting) and three maps to choose from to face four soldiers against the fearsome and lethal Predator.

Either within the public game (here baptized "fast") or through a private game with colleagues (by invitation), we will decide if we want to be on the side of the Hunter or be the Hunted … And here it is evident that the waiting times skyrocket if we want the Predator. Because it is not the same to choose four slots for the soldiers (30 seconds, at least) than one for that two and a half meter alien (between three minutes, hopefully, up to the usual seven). It will take a lot of patience.

Predator: Hunting Grounds has something to catch

The appeal of Predator: Hunting Grounds, like the rest of games with asymmetric multiplayer, is the huge difference between each of those two sides. And you might think that playing as a Predator makes us a whole killing machine and that we have everything in our favor … but no.

Embody this iconic alien (with different aspects to unlock, where he was born in 1987 where he faced Schwarzenegger is not missing) does not guarantee us victory, since his style of play is totally different from that of the military squad. To begin with, we will not know what mission humans will have activated or their location. For the latter, we can be guided by sound and, above all, infrared vision to capture heat signals. But it won't be easy to become an entry-level lethal Predator.

The mythical phrase of "If he bleeds, we can kill him" becomes especially relevant when seeing how this alien, however lethal their attacks are, leaves traces of blood when it is badly injured or that you cannot use its camouflage when it comes into contact with water. And his life, moreover, is not as big as you would imagine.

The safest, in the early hours of Predator: Hunting Grounds, is to play as the military squad and go up character level (it is global for both sides) so that all weapons, equipment and advantages are unlocked, so that not only our soldiers have more guarantees of success, but the Predator is more competent because it is very limited to start.

If we opt for the fast game, it will be randomly selected from one of the three maps (Overgrowth, Backwater and Derailment Zone) and with three objectives that will also vary between each game. They are not usually over-differentiated, having to destroy targets, locate certain objects or kill important enemies. If we all comply without being killed by the Predator, we can ask the OWLF to rescue us by helicopter and get the hell out of there.

For the Predator, the mission will be a success if he manages to eliminate the entire squad, while if he manages to escape, only one human will win the military team. This can have a couple of variants that manage to be quite addictive:

• If we kill the Predator and don't disable its self-destruct bomb, it can wipe out humans in a fairly large range, so it automatically becomes a victory for the alien if caught.
• If, on the other hand, we deactivate their self-destruct sequence, one last will come more aggressive Stargazer surge to get his corpse. If we hold the pull, the OWLF will pull it out and the military squad will win

And despite everything, it's almost the best game in the series

Predator: Hunting Grounds is a shooter that if we forgive your shortcomings and are patient, is gaining integers as we play. And the truth is that he hooked me quite a bit throughout the weekend, giving me some pretty epic game, especially one where I managed to escape with just a knife after seeing that the Predator murdered my other teammates.

It is getting its juice with the level unlocks, so the more we play, the more we can see and therefore get to enjoy. I was quite shocked at first, for example, by the shortage of ammunition and how difficult it is to locate the positions where it can be reloaded (also because that alien bastard can destroy them), until I unlocked the practical ammunition bag.

It is one of the many equipment accessories that we can carry, as long as we do not exceed the weight that the soldier can bear. There are subtle differences between each class (Assault, Recon, Scout, and Support) based on health, stamina, speed, and equipment; precisely, something that the different types of Predator also share. But anyone can equip themselves with any weapon, equipment or advantage, so they end up being 100% customizable.

On the other hand, the previous planning of the mission has a lot of weight. And for that we will have to play many times until we know where it is convenient for us to spread out to have the objectives at hand and not go through the map from end to end. The Predator is free, but he is a much more agile character than humans thanks to his ability to pounce several meters through the air or make use of the call Depredakour to do Parkour through the branches of the trees.

It strikes, yes, that humans do not have any climbing option for objects of half a meter … It is one of the many Screeching Skins in Predator: Hunting GroundsLike that deficient AI at times for filler enemies for missions … and to gain easy experience. Or that it does not have a section of Extras in conditions to consult our statistics, for example, just some fill collectibles from the OWLF.

At least the loot boxes issue (field briefcases) is reserved solely and exclusively for cosmetic accessories and no trace of micropayments, since in each game we will get a good amount of veritanium fragments to buy those field briefcases or pay directly for those accessories without the option to use real money. And there are some very cool designs.

It shows that there are good intentions and many details are seen that will delight fans of Predator movies, such as the imitation wheel of this alien to mislead humans… but it is inevitable to think that it lacks a lot of content to please everyone equally. Hopefully you get free DLC.

iGamesNews's opinion

Definitely, Predator: Hunting Grounds It is a product that you will know value in due measure the followers of the franchise, to the point of forgiving its deficiencies. Is not a shooter essential, but luckily it is not a game as disastrous as the vast majority that once starred this icon of cinema.