As a fan of the game, I would just like to point out that many people passing judgement on it are people who have not played it themselves and are relying on reviewers and their critical scores.

Back when AVP was released in 2010, Game Informer gave it a 4.5 review or some similar low score. If you get a chance to read it, do so. The complaints are absurd for it and it was well liked after people gave it a chance. I watched the demo reels back in 2011 but never watched another for fear of spoilers. If we set aside the whole "GEARBOX LIED TO US" argument with the graphics, these are the complaints I've been hearing the most:

- Weapons don't do enough damage (These people obviously never played AVP 2010)
- Pulse Rifle sounds annoying (This was an actual reviewer complaint)
- AI is broken
- Swarms of enemies ala Call of Duty

Ok, the AI....friendly AI is useless. On Ultimate Badass difficulty they are dumb as shit and won't assist you in fighting back. They never do enough damage and constantly block your shots. That being said, the ENEMY AI is surprisingly cunning. They will come out of the ceiling, the walls, they will flank you in addition to swarming you like in the movies and previous games. If you don't check your flanks, you will be killed by a xeno that snuck his way around to attack you from behind. The fact that the "swarms of enemies" has been criticized just shows how selective the memories of people can be. They obviously never played any of the AVP games for PC which reveled in throwing countless xenos at you....anyone who played AVP 1999 will remember how frustrating it was seeing all your armor and health go away in 2 hits from missing that one bug in a group that attacked you.

I've invested 14 hours as of this message into the game. I've beaten the single player and while I will say the plot is laughable most of the time, the immersion into being a marine on LV-426 is A+. When you get to Hadley's Hope and you are fighting for your life in operations like those marines did in Aliens, you feel like you are in the movie. AVP 2010 only captured the feel of the movie in the first marine level (the colony building) and it was never seen again. A:CM captures it perfectly and you feel like you're actually in the movie, or at least the aftermath of it.

As a HUGE Aliens fan (you have no idea how huge) I had a ton of expectations for this game, probably more than the average reviewer. I dropped $50 on the game and another $25 on the season pass. Am I disappointed with it? Not at all. I've enjoyed the experience in single player, but the multiplayer...this is where the game shines. Everyone works as a team since going lone ranger results in instant death for either side. I've had amazing experiences with many of the maps I've played and really feel a sense of accomplishment when our team manages to finish an entire survivor round or make it to extraction. I don't feel like I'm trying to justify my purchase by forcing myself to like it either. I legitimately think this is a good game and actually plays better than AVP 2010 (which had terrible multiplayer and took way too many liberties with the marines gear).

That being said, before jumping on the bandwagon to just label the game as utter shit, actually play it and try to keep an open mind when doing so, even if it takes awhile to go on sale. Also, keep in mind, that because this is a license tie in game it is primarily designed around fans of the movie, probably moreso to those of us who are obsessive over it. Hell, they actually named the manufacturer of the pulse rifle (ARMAT) so attention to detail was put into making it as authentic an experience as possible. But if you didn't like the movies or only had a passing interest, I don't think it's going to stand out as spectacular. Gameplay wise though, with co-op and mp, I think it stands up and will likely be favored in a year or two after price drops.

EDIT: Kotaku review here.. Ignore reading the actual review (the only time I will say that) and look at the side bar on two things he felt were high enough on his list of things he disliked about the game: the guns sound annoying and the level design was claustrophobic. The guns sounds like the movies and the level designs are ripped from the fucking movies, where it was SUPPOSED to be claustrophobic. And it lends itself to the tense firefights you have in the game.