I wish I could have been a fly on the wall to the discussion at Universal that lead to the formation of the Aliens Vs Predator movie. Here’s how I think it would have gone:

Ideas guy: ‘Dude, what about Aliens and Predators in one movie?’

Producer: ‘Man, that would be sick! But they’re not even in the same story universe’

ID: ‘Meh, so what? They did it in games in the 90s. Two of the best and biggest monsters in one movie, it would be epic!’

P: ‘Yeah but we can’t make a movie without a story can we?’

ID: ‘What about: Predators breed Xenomorph Aliens for sport hunting? Make it some sort of Right of Passage or something’

P: ‘Yep, that’d probably work. Game on, I’ll put a writing team together’

And so, the Aliens Vs Predator movie was born and a reboot to the series was initiated. Two of Universal’s biggest monster franchises, combined together into an all out action fest. Yeah, there was a story, well kind of, but the original AVP movie and it’s subsequent sequels have all been about glorious action. I think of them as the balance to all those period dramas and romcoms, which helps me come to terms with spending money to see a film with basically no narrative.

Of course, both Aliens and Predator have seen game-movie tie-ins that predictably have been a little weak. Probably the best of the lot was Alien 3 back in the 16bit era, but the latest in the long list of  franchise game spin offs, Sega’s new Aliens Vs Predator (AvP) is attempting to change that and it’s multiplayer was on show at the Eurogamer Expo in London for hands on. (more…)

The follow up to the wildly popular Xbox 360 and PC game Mass Effect is set to hit the streets in January 26th in America and 29th 2010 in Europe. Mass Effect 2  is set two years after the conclusion of the original having stopped the Reaper invasion, Commander Shepard must join forces with Cerberus, recruiting some of the galaxy’s most dangerous operatives in a bid to find out what’s causing the miraculous vanishing of entire human colonies. (more…)

As a massive fan of the original, I’ve been waiting for the next instalment ever since I stepped out of the Animus. Landing on American shores on the 17th November and PAL regions 20th November, thankfully we don’t have long to wait. Assassin’s Creed II is set in 15th century Italy between 1476 and 1503. The story follows the exploits of a new assassin by the name of Ezio which has him running around Venice, Florence and Tuscany in the same ‘open-world’ type game play as the original. (more…)

We’re here and reporting live from the Eurogamer Expo in London. On show are some of the most exciting games to come out in the first half of next year and we’ve got some hands-on coming up for you shortly so stay tuned.

[Photo credits to Ben Smith]

Yours truly will be reporting from the London leg of the Eurogamer Expo this Saturday 31st October, bringing you the latest news and previews from one of Europe’s largest games exhibitions. The Eurogamer Expo, London, is a total sell out with 16+ different publishers showing off over 50 different titles, many with a 2010 release schedule including the first UK showings of:

• Aliens vs. Predator
• Assassin’s Creed II
• God of War III
• MAG
• Heavy Rain
• Left 4 Dead 2’s Scavenge Mode
• Mass Effect 2
• New Super Mario Bros. Wii
• Red Steel 2
• Split/Second

All of which will be playable.

So if you’re unlucky enough not to have snagged a ticket for either Leeds or London, then don’t worry because we got your covered.

All coverage of the Eurogamer Expo on Pixelated Geek can be found here.