Small, spoiler-free review - Predator: Concrete Jungle

Now here's a gem we're been waiting for. When was the last time you played a good Predator game? Aliens Vs Predator 2 on PC and... well, that's about it. Until now, that is.

Story:
This is the lowest part of the game. I don't want to spoil things, so let me get this over with fast. You start in the year 1930 in the first level, and end up crashing through a rooftop into a burning building. Being a Predator, you do what you do best when a mission fails. The strange part is you actually survive (?), and are sent to a remote planet for 100 years as punishment. The problem is you left some weapons back in the ruins on Earth, so you return in 2030 to gather them. Of course this is 100 years later, so the humans have made their own weapons based on your, so it is time to do what you really do best. Hunt. (oh, and by the way, this is the very first level and lasts maybe five minutes. The rest of the game lasts 20+ hours if you enjoy yourself. Probably even longer if you do Ritual Challenges and that.)

Graphics:
Wow. that's right. Wow. Well, the enemies can be a bit weird at times, and the buildings a bit flat, but it's still rather great. Your cloak works best when standing still, and looks great. It gradually fades when you run. Furthermore, cloaking don't work in water, like in rain. And you can pin people to the wall when you use the spear gun. In short, it's very detailed.

Sound:
Dude, this is Predator. Even Voice Mimic is included. Do you really need to know more? 8)

Gameplay:
Now here comes the good part. I have heard some people complain about the controls, but I say screw that. The controls are very great and it makes you feel in control. To be short, you can stand on a ledge, run, jump, bounce off the wall and land on the second edge - and you are in control the entire time.
Switching to first person are done by the L2 button, and you can switch vision modes using the left directional button. If you want to go back to normal vision, simply tap the right directional button. It couldn't be easier.
Furthermore, you can scan the surroundings and areas in first person view. This means if you run low on energy, simply select Tech Vision and see if you find a big, glowing line indicating a power box. If you can't find the box right away, simply follow the line. Again, it couldn't be easier.

That said, this isn't a game for the weak of heart or kids. The Predator can do a lot of things you normally wouldn't dream of, including tossing people into the air and slicing them in half on the way down, picking people up and break their neck, breaking their backs over his knee, even rip their heads off with his bare hands. And if you make an enemy fall down, simply lock on to him and jump. The result is quite messy, to say the least. And did I mention execution? Picking some guy up by his foot and use your wristblades to cut him in half vertically? So fun, so messy.

Extras:
Well, not much. The extras are limited to extra costumes, extra weapons and weapon upgrades, the skulls of the bosses you have beaten and Ritual Challenges. These are pretty much running through checkpoints. They are fun, but quite pointless.

Overall:
Excellent. 9/10.

yeah finally i get to beat up pimps and hoes as predator... yeah just what i been waiting for :-\

Well, yeah, you do in one mission. But the main story is something like you lost your weapons 100 years ago in 1930 and return in 2030 to get them back. This means people have learned how to not only use those weapons, but even make their own. The result is you constantly fight "mini versions" of yourself. This means you fight people who knows how to handle someone like yourself, so you're not exactly invincible. Ironically this is the worst part of the game.

that just means you actually have some kind of adversary worth fighting. how does the game move? is there a game to compare it to meaning.
how is the city layout. gta-ish where it's pretty vast or you're forced only into certain sections.
are there missions you're doing? ie cutting and collecting skulls? or just surviving

The controls are quite amazing. Since you are a Predator, you can jump quite high, climb some buildings and stuff like that, and you don't loose control at all. If you press L2 you'll go into first person view, and as long as you have a mask you can zoom quite a bit to scan enemies. This again lets you see if they are honorable kills, their weakness and so on. (this is quite handy with thougher enemies.)

As for the levels, they vary a lot. Some missions are simple "start at point A, go to point B", and some are simple boss fights. Other missions again are quite free. In the second mission, you'll need to find some criminals with stealth technology, capture them alive, bring them to certain spots on the map (on high buildings) and rip their skin off. You need three enemies on three pre-set spots, but the rest is up to you.

Although this isn't a "free world" like San Andreas or Korea, missions like this do allow you to explore a lot. Furthermore, most missions have weapon or armor upgrades avaliable, and some have bonus missions. The armor and weapon upgrades look like the normal weapons, and are scattered around the map. This means you need to search for them to find them. Bonus missions can be done any time, but you need to find a green questionmark to unlock the description. What this comes down to is you only need to do the mission, not get the hint first. This is useful if you play the same level again.

As for survival, this depends a lot on the mission you are on right now. Some are pure survival, while others have you fight worthless enemies that don't give you a challenge. It might seem boring, but it helps you relax a bit. And that said, most missions don't end where they are supposed to. You think you are finally done, but no. New mission objective.

And last, and hopefully I won't spoil too much here, but there are missions back in 1930 as well. Back then you fought normal enemies, but they are not exactly easy to kill. Sure they don't take much, but there are many of them. Good thing you have your smartdisc ready, eh?

And speaking of smart disc, you can use your combistick to toss an enemy up in the air and cut him in half with the smartdisc on the way down.

that disc is a bastich in avp2 for pc in multi ~_~

Uh... if you say so?

that thing goes around corners and is one hit kills. only thing i can use to compete is a tracking rocket launcher or EMP grenades

The controls are a problem weather your able to get used to them or not. This game also reminded me a little too much of the Spawn: Armmageddon, game realeased a while back for the same unit.

I hardly find any orginality, but thats obviously not where this game dictates. Whenever there is a fanbase for a movie or a show, ect. There always be another media form for the feature. This way people who like the movies ect. will have somthing to play they can like from multiple points of views. As a normal gamer, there isnt too much WOW about.

We all have our own opinions. I'm not saying your review is wrong Nightwolf. I'm just expressing mine.

First of all, my review isn't wrong on any level. If you don't like it, write your own review and give people your opinion. Two review are better than just one, after all.
Second, I really like this game. Sure the story are crap and don't make sense, and the controls can be... interesting, to say the least. But as an overal experience, I really enjoyed this game and know a lot of people will too. I recommend this game if you want a great game. Just be aware it's not exactly perfect. Being a predator, you will obviously fight other predators to get a challenge. But why would a Predator fight it's own kind? :? It don't make sense. And the Predator blowing up the entier city and survive? Riiiiiight... But again as an overal, it's a great game.