Next AVP console exclusive

Fox's AVP franchise will head in a new direction for its third instalment - Aliens versus Predator: Extinction. With a new developer (Costa Mesa, California-based Zono, Inc.) and co-publisher (EA) on board, Extinction is described as a "tactical strategy" title with a much greater emphasis on Rainbow Six style mission planning, and will be released on PS2 and Xbox this summer in the USA. The press release makes no mention of a PC version, despite the previous two AVP games having appeared exclusively on the format.

Anyway, instead of an Alien, a Predator and a Colonial Marine, this time we're dealing with units of each. After a marine unit dispatched to planet LV-742 uncovers both Aliens and Predators, Weyland-Yutani decides to wipe the buggers out once and for all, throwing lots of its prized marines into futuristic battlefields ranging from jungles and caverns to typical spaceship and colony environments.

Players will have ten upgradeable combat units per species, and will have to plan an attack strategy for each mission, building up their own little customised army, choosing upgrades (vision modes and weapon modifications for example), and mastering various tactics and play styles for each species. The press release doesn't make it all that clear how the game is played out, but Rainbow Six in Space sounds about right.

As ever, the marines will get by on their military training and hi-tech arsenal, while Predators will rely on stealth and hunting techniques, and Aliens will just kill messily, impregnating their enemies with facehuggers as usual. Instead of basic grunts though, players will have specialised warriors to pick from including the Alien Carrier, Predator Hydra and Marine Sniper.

Let's hope relative unknowns Zono, Inc. can do the brief justice and deliver something which improves further on the AVP series.