History VideoGame / AliensVsPredator2

* AdvertisedExtra: Unlike the Jaguar game and the 1st PC game, in which Predators appeared semi-regularly as a GiantMook-like enemy, in AVP 2 Predators are limited to a few appearances in scripted sequences, and 1 boss fight in the Marine campaign and 3 boss fights in the Alien campaign.

* CheatCodes: Like most games of its era, the developer console is still enabled in the final retail version, allowing players to input a variety of cheats. Besides the usual god mode, give all weapons, etc., the cheats let you play as almost every available character; you can play as a marine in the predator missions, for example, or even a synthetic or exosuit. However, since the levels are built around the very specific movement abilities of each character most levels can only be played through from start to finish as the specific character they were designed for.

* VideoGameFlamethrowersSuck: Averted. Unlike in the first and third games, in ''AVP2'' the flamethrower does direct damage instead of merely setting enemies on fire, allowing it to mow down Aliens at close range extremely quickly.

A year after it was released, the game received an expansion pack, ''Aliens versus Predator 2: Primal Hunt''. The expansion is set before the events of the main game, and explores previously unseen happenings that were crucial to the plot of ''AVP2''.

** The human you eventually have to impregnate as a facehugger is beforehand shown to be a complete asshole of a sergeant who constantly bullies his subordinates and neglects his own duties. You won't feel all that bad for having to chew your way out through his ribcage.

** The human you eventually have to impregnate as a facehugger is beforehand shown to be a complete asshole of a sergeant who constantly bullies his subordinates and shirks his own duties. You won't feel all that bad for having to chew your way out through his ribcage.

** Arnaud Eisenberg is a MadScientist who obsessively experiment with xenomorphs in order to control them, and to that end has no problems with deceiving, betraying, and sacrificing his subordinates and colonial marines to achieve his goals and cover up his failures. It's hard to feel sorry for him when he ends up being dragged into the alien hive to be dismembered and cocooned, slowly driving him insane.

* AssholeVictim: The human you eventually have to impregnate as a facehugger is beforehand shown to be a complete asshole of a sergeant who constantly bullies his subordinates and shirks his own duties. You won't feel all that bad for having to chew your way out through his ribcage.

* AccidentalHero: The Alien warrior that you played as saves the Predator character when it is held captive by Weyland Yutani.

* ForTheEvulz: The company's research, and the actual Alien campaign, show that the xenomorphs have an intelligence bordering on semi-sentience. This suggests that their voracious need to kill is more than just instinctual...

* SandWorm: LV-1201 is home to a race of giant, carnivorous worms that pop out of the ground ala ''{{Film/Tremors}}''.

* ReptilesAreAbhorrent: The chameleons. They are huge, lizard-like monsters that attack on sight, can camouflage, fire concussive energy beams from their mouths, and are powerful enough to pulverize a Predator and take on a group of Aliens singlehandedly.

* FateWorseThanDeath: Being trapped in alien coccoons is definitely this. Until the alien chestburster bursts out. Then the person dies anyway. Unless you are a synthetic like Eisenberg. Who gets trapped in one at the end of the Alien Campaign.

* GreaterScopeVillain: Weyland Yutani are the ones who commissioned the operation on LV-1201 and lead to the BigBadEnsemble to confront the main characters.

** AliensAreBastards: ... but still the alien creatures ain't much better themselves. The Xenomorphs kill whatever living creature they see, and based on studies by the company, it's heavily hinted that they're semi-sentient so they must do this for [[ForTheEvulz more reasons]] than just to protect the hive. The Yautja kill peoples without provocation, usually start the fights and if you survived an earlier attack from them in your life then God help you because those creatures will hunt your ass down, no matter if it'll take them ages or thousands of enemies between them and you before they finally gets you, all for wounded pride.
* ItCanThink: When playing as the alien you overhear a human commander explaining their plan to defeat the aliens, who he says are just stupid animals. Your next task is to relay this plan to the Queen, who promptly develops a successful counterattack.

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Eisenberg's reaction to the Marines shutting down the security grid in sector 2 causing the entire Weyland Yutani security grid to shut down. Despite that he ordered it to be set up like that in the first place.

* ObviousRulePatch: The Predator had a huge weakness when it came to medium-range combat, being equipped exclusively with melee or slow-firing, long-ranged weapons. Primal Hunt introduced the Ancient Predator's energy flechette, a handy SMG-like device.

* SupervillainLair: The WY complex appears to be some kind of attempt at designing a Xenomorph-proof building; it consists of a series of skyscraper-sized pods suspended from an overhead gantry that can be dropped individually in case one is compromised. The support structures in turn are electrified to prevent intrusion through them.

** You only fight 1 Predalien in the Marine campaign and 2 in the Predator campaign, despite the fact they're only somewhat tougher than a regular Alien. Praetorians and Predators are just as rare, though those are at least full boss fights. Though it makes sense story-wise, since Predaliens are created from Predators and there aren't a lot of those running around.
** Human enemies are only fought in the Marine campaign in 1 out of the 6 chapters, and most of those are security guards armed only with pistols and the occasional shotgun. You only fight 3 mercs armed with pulse rifles as a Marine. Makes sense, as the focus of the Marine campaign is on fighting Aliens. There is also in the final Marine level where you get to kill 1 combat synthetic and 1 WY security guard, they're usually busy fighting aliens, but will try to kill you when they are done with the aliens. But usually one or both are killed by the aliens.
* VideoGameFlamethrowersSuck: Averted. Unlike in the 1st and 3rd games, in AVP 2 the flamethrower does direct damage instead of merely setting enemies on fire, allowing it to mow down Aliens at close range extremely quickly.