Sony recently announced that it was teaming up with developer IllFonic in order to create an asymmetrical shooter set in the popular Predator universe called Predator Hunting Ground. While it looks fantastic, it’s far from the first game to come out based upon the classic sci-fi franchise. Ever since the late ’80s, we’ve seen over a dozen interesting games starring the fearsome creature, and some have even been considered all-time greats. Spanning multiple generations of consoles, check out the best Predator video games below.
Best Predator Video Games | Predator Soon the Hunt Will Begin
Originally released for the Commodore 64 in 1987, Predator Soon the Hunt Will Begin is a great side-scrolling adaptation of the classic Arnold Schwarzenegger movie. It later came to a wide array of consoles and computers, including the NES, but they all tend to play the same as players take control of Major Alan Schaefer and battling their way to survival. Interestingly, the NES version adds in a cool one-on-one mode that removes any sort of platforming and instead has the player battling a Predator. These fun sequences and branching paths help the home console port have a place beside the technically superior PC versions.
Best Predator Video Games | Predator 2
Like the first game, there are two different versions of Predator 2. The first is an on-rails shooter for PC that Konami put out that hasn’t aged very well. Pictured above is the Sega Genesis version, which was an isometric shooter that has the player hunting down the Predator as Mike Harrigan (Danny Glover’s character). The city landscape is fun to explore and it’s still a fun time today even if it shows its age and playing a shooter without an analog stick is rarely ideal.
Best Predator Video Games | Alien vs. Predator (Arcade)
Widely considered the best game to bear the Alien vs. Predator license, the 1994 arcade game by Capcom is fantastic. It’s one of the best beat ’em up titles ever made and it has Predators and humans teaming up to defeat the aliens. It’s a blast to get through the game’s beautiful levels and it’s just as gorgeous today as it was 25 years ago. Great design doesn’t fade, and even though most brawlers tend to be repetitive, there is enough variation to keep this feeling fresh from start to finish.
Best Predator Video Games | Alien vs. Predator (Jaguar)
Alien vs. Predator was the reason to own an Atari Jaguar. Developed by Rebellion Developments, this first-person shooter took full advantage of the system’s technical capabilities. Primarily, it features some great visuals (for the time at least) and the sound design still holds up and can be genuinely frightening. It even has three different campaigns that each star a different species: Alien, Predator, or human. It’s a bit more difficult to revisit, as the genre has improved a ton since 1994, but this list wouldn’t be complete without it.
Best Predator Video Games | Aliens vs. Predator
Rebellion returned to the license five years later with an even better shooter called Aliens vs. Predator. It mirrors the format of the previous game and once again has three separate campaigns to check out. In 2010, it was put out on Steam as Aliens vs. Predator Classic 2000, and it’s still a lot of fun to play thanks to its frenetic action. This also includes all of the Millennium expansion and full multiplayer.
Best Predator Video Games | Aliens vs. Predator 2
Despite putting out two great games, Rebellion didn’t work on the sequel to its shooter. Instead Monolith Productions was at the helm on the 2001 release. It once again has three separate campaigns and serves as a semi-sequel to Alien 3 that takes place 50 years later. The campaign is better structured than past titles and the three stories actually interweave into each other. Fans have kept it up to date with some great mods and it’s still a blast today. It’s definitely the best shooter to ever feature the license.
Best Predator Video Games | Predator Concrete Jungle
Named after the comic book series of the same name, Predator Concrete Jungle is a third-person action game put out by Eurocom. The story is one of the highlights as it starts off in 1930 and then jumps 100 years into the future after the titular creature becomes disgraced and ostracized by his tribe. It’s now up to him to regain his honor by killing a ton of people. It’s definitely a “B-game” in terms of quality, but the campy tone makes it fun to revisit even if it is far from a technical masterpiece.
Best Predator Video Games | Aliens vs. Predator Extinction
Published by Electronic Arts, Aliens vs. Predator Extinction put a very different spin on the franchise compared to previous adaptations. Instead of being an action game, it was a real-time strategy title. Unfortunately, it was only on home consoles, so its controls aren’t the greatest, but it wound up circumventing that by focusing on managing combat units and strategy. There’s no base building to speak of, and it’s better off due to the simplicity. Each of the three different races are fun to use in battle and it’s a solid RTS for beginners or fans of the series.
Best Predator Video Games | Aliens vs. Predator (2010)
In 2010, Rebellion Developments once again got its hands on the Aliens vs. Predator series and decided to reboot it. While it sadly isn’t as good as the two PC titles, it’s still a pretty enjoyable first-person shooter. Like past titles, it once again has three separate campaigns to play through, although they take a page out of Monolith’s book and have it form a complete story when put together. It definitely feels dated, though, and doesn’t live up to all of its potential.
Best Predator Video Games | Predator Hunting Grounds
Looking to join this list is IllFonic’s 2020 title. It has a great premise as asymmetric multiplayer is a perfect fit for the series as one player can hunt down others as a Predator. It has all of the potential in the world and hopefully it will deliver. IllFonic’s Friday the 13th was a bit rough but eventually grew into something better.
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