Truth be told, this is a standard beat-em-up, but Capcom has done a miraculous job with it. 4 characters are selectable, 2 human and 2 predator. In all honestly, the human characters are practically worthless, either too weak or too slow for the onscreen action. Each one of the 4 characters comes packed with a handheld weapon (swords, spears, etc.) and firepower. The gun weapons can't be lost, but do overheat to avoid abuse. The handheld weapons will be knocked out of your hands when your brought down and you'll need to recover them or you'll lose significant power. Power-ups are fairly standard stuff for a side-scroller, but there's a really nifty power-up that allows unlimited use for your gun weapon that causes complete chaos on screen when picked up.

There's a HUGE variety of aliens to beat down, each pouring goo from their bodies when taken out. The smaller aliens (face huggers for example) are simply annoying and a large group can be infuriating at times, but this is an arcade game. Rest assured this helps it do it's job admirably. As the story progresses, you'll also be facing a large variety of human opponents and then things get bloody....real bloody. The sheer amount of characters on screen at once is more than impressive and this is most likely the reason we never got a home port. The music, while wonderfully composed, is constantly drowned out by the insane amount of action occurring constantly.

This is an arcade game in it's purest form. It did things that weren't possible for it's time on a home console, it's long, it's difficult, and it's an absolute blast to play. Both of the licenses are used here with care and cinemas, no matter how brief, keep the story moving along briskly. If it's possible, grab a friend...it doubles the fun factor. It's an overall awe-inspiring experience that any arcade game fan needs to play at least once.