Alien vs Predator Pandora Game Console

The Capcom beat 'em up that stayed in the arcade

Alien vs Predator is Capcom's 1994 arcade brawler, and this Pandora Game Console page is for playing the true arcade version at home. It never got an official home console release, so for most people this game only ever existed in a cabinet at the mall or the bowling alley.

If you like either movie series, the premise sells itself. A colony overrun by Aliens, two marines and two Predators on the same side, and a lot of acid blood on the floor by the end.

Four characters, all built for a crowd

You pick from four fighters. Major Dutch Schaefer is the heavy hitter with a cybernetic arm and a smart gun. Lieutenant Linn Kurosawa is fast and fights with a sword. The two Predators, the Warrior and the Hunter, bring their wrist blades, spears and shoulder cannon. Each one plays differently, which is a big part of why groups kept feeding the machine.

The stages are classic Capcom side-scrolling: walk right, clear the screen, pick up the pulse rifle or the flamethrower someone dropped, and save your special for the big Aliens. The bosses are huge, and the Alien Queen fight at the end is one of the best fights in any beat 'em up from that decade.

Why it suits a home arcade

This game was designed around a stick and a few buttons, with players standing shoulder to shoulder. A gamepad works, but the combos and throws come out cleaner on an arcade lever, and the timing of a dash attack feels right on real buttons. On the Pandora Game Console you get the arcade game on your TV without hunting down an original board or wiring together loose parts.

Capcom's arcade sprite work from the mid 90s also holds up well on a large screen. The backgrounds are full of detail, and the Aliens move like they do in the films.

Where it sits in our archive

We archive Alien vs Predator on the 3 & 4 Player Arcade Games Vol 2 card, next to other multiplayer arcade brawlers such as Armored Warriors, Battletoads, The Punisher, Knights of the Round, Warriors of Fate, Night Slashers and Double Dragon 3. If you are already looking at cards for a console, that is the one to read up on. Its page has the Click for Game List button with every title on the card.

The card works with Pandora Platinum Pro consoles and plugs into the back of the console like every other archive card we sell. It is a good companion to the original 3 and 4 Player Arcade Games card if you spend most of your time on beat 'em ups with friends.

**Pandora Game Console consoles do not come with any pre-installed licensed or unlicensed software. Any Added Archive service is provided as-is with no implied warranties or licenses. Performance of archive has been tested and will work with your Pandora Platinum Pro version console. Adding an archive card constitutes your acknowledgement of ownership of original licensed hardware/software and your request of the service permits us to perform archiving for you on your behalf as a service.