Alien vs. Predator

"We're in the middle of a war. It's time to pick a side."

- Alexa Woods

Alien vs. Predator
Date available	April 26, 2016
Category	Aliens vs. Pinball
Based on	The premise and setting of Alien vs. Predator directed by Paul W.S. Anderson
Plunger mechanism	Straight into orbit
Skill shot type	Plunger strength, flipper-assisted
Number of return lanes	6
Number of flippers	3
Outlane protection	2 diverting kickbacks
Number of main missions	5
Wizard mode type	Final mission, then victory multiball
Number of side modes	9
Number of multiball modes	3

Alien vs. Predator is one of the three pinball tables in the Aliens vs. Pinball mini table pack, released in 2016 and available for Zen Pinball 2, Pinball FX 2 and Pinball FX 3. It is based on the premise and setting of the 2004 film Alien vs. Predator, and follows two explorers’ expedition to examine a Predator who undergoes a rite of passage to become a skilled, seasoned warrior and Alien hunter.

Table overview

The upper half of the table

The table's cabinet frame is constructed out of stone walls taken from the interior of the Predator pyramid as it was seen in the film, although the back end of the table is made out of frozen ice to represent its Antarctic location. A large scale model of the pyramid itself takes up much of the back end of the table, studded with four revolving towers with mysterious glyphs engraved on the four sides of each tower. The pyramid also has a large staircase running down its front side, which also serves as an exit ramp that returns the ball back to the playfield. In front of this pyramid, there is a large orbit that can be traversed if it is shot counter-clockwise, but not the other way around, as a tension spring gate at the right orbit instead diverts a clockwise shot down a branching lane that forms a mini-orbit. An upper flipper lines the right wall of this diverting lane, and a spinner marked with red Predator glyphs gates the left orbit.

Besides each entrance to the orbit is a ramp. The left ramp leads to a habitrail that makes a U-turn loop and travels down to the leftmost inlane, while the right ramp splits into three different habitrail paths: a short looping turn that drops the ball down the mini-orbit for easy access to the mini-flipper, a middle habitrail that takes the ball down to the rightmost inlane and a shorter curving habitrail that drops the ball into the bumper area beneath the looping left ramp. Balls that pass through the bumper area drop into a sinkhole that directs the ball down the left habitrail. To the right of the left ramp, there is a collapsible barrier with two targets shaped like some of the carvings in the pyramid walls. Behind this barrier is a sinkhole with a toy figure of a Xenomorph emerging from it, which can either be hit from the front, or can catch the ball and drag it inside to start missions.

To the right of the Xenomorph sinkhole is a sinkhole that also functions as a vertical up-kicker, which can pop the ball into either the left habitrail leading out of the left ramp, or the right habitrail leading to the rightmost inlane. Next to that hole is another lane that briefly leads into a rotating turntable containing a curved passageway. Every time that lane is shot, the turntable rotates, causing the ball to travel to a different place every time that lane is used. Possible routes that the turntable can take the ball are 1) directly into the bumper area (default), 2) back down the diverting mini-orbit where the mini-flipper can be accessed or 3) into a saucer that traps the ball and sends it either inside the Pyramid, or down the left habitrail. Between this lane and the mini-orbit lane, there is a Predator wrist blade with its tips being a target the ball can hit. In front of this weapon is a pile of human skulls.

In front of the middle sinkhole and the three lanes to the right of it, there is a pop-up drop target representing the humans intruding the pyramid. They may glow green to indicate allies, or red to indicate targets.

The lower half of the table and mini-playfield

Two rows of Xenomorph drop targets can pop up and move sideways in front the left orbit, left ramp and the barrier targets. A figure of a Predator stands at the left side of the table, and in front of him are two magnetic saucers that can lock balls for Egg Crasher Multiball. A Xenomorph stands at the opposite side of the table, near the entry of the right orbit. There is a small, circular mini-playfield beneath the main playfield, typically accessed through the bumper area's exit sinkhole. The walls of this mini-playfield contain several holes where the ball can pop out and in the middle of the mini-playfield there is a circular device that can be rotated with the flipper buttons, also containing holes across its fringe that are used to catch the ball when it pops out of holes in the inside wall of the mini-playfield. Balls that are not caught by the device eventually roll down to a exit sinkhole. Each hole in the mini-playfield wall contains a lamp that will briefly flash to indicate that a ball will pop out of there.

The bottom of the table features six return lanes that spell the word YAUTJA, the name of the Predator species, with four inlanes, two for each side. A Predator shuriken sits on the left rebound and bonus multiplier indicators stud the top of the walls that separate the slanted portions of the inlanes and outlanes. The left apron contains a 3-D hologram providing a detailed map of the pyramid, while a flashlight and three unhatched Xenomorph eggs appear on the right apron. Two digital counters marking how many allies have been gathered and how many hunting trophies have been collected also appear on the left apron.

The plunger

The plunger is shaped like the head of a Xenomorph. It spits out the ball up a shaft that drops the ball into the table's large orbit. Depending on how strong the shot was, the player must execute a flipper-assisted skill shot for 1 million by shooting any of the left lanes after a medium-weak shot or any of the right lanes after a strong shot. A skill shot to the left orbit will give the player an opportunity to perform a Super Skill Shot by hitting the Xenomorph at the mission sinkhole, worth 3 million.

Objective and Missions

The main goal of the table is to help a young Predator undergo a series of trials and a rite of passage to prove himself as a capable warrior who can take part in the Predators' traditional hunts of Aliens across various planets they visit, through five missions. To start a mission, the player must hit the Xenomorph at the mission sinkhole in front of the bumper area at least twice, with the number of hits needed increasing for each mission attempted and resetting back to 2 at the end of a ball. Once Worthy Prey has been played, the minimum number of hits required will increase by 1. Once the Xenomorph is hit enough times, it will capture the ball and drag it inside its hole, and the player can choose to start any of the five missions that were not previously attempted. Each mission, once attempted, cannot be played again until the Wizard Mode is completed. Each successfully completed mission scores 5 million. All missions outside of Trap Aliens have 60 second timers that reset each time shots required to finish the mission are made.

The following 5 missions must be attempted to access the Wizard Mode:

• Armed and Ready: Charles Weyland's exploration team discover and steal Predator weapons inside the pyramid, giving the hunted Aliens a chance to rise up and overpower the Predators they have been pitted against in their hunting rituals, but are slaughtered by the Predators. The player must help the Predator retrieve three of its signature weapons: a shuriken, a spear and a plasma caster. The player helps the Predator retrieve the first two weapons by shooting any of the flashing lanes, or by hitting the left glyph target in the barrier to easily find the correct lane to shoot. This must be done twice for each weapon. The final weapon, the plasma caster, must be taken from the exploration team, appearing as 4 red drop targets that block lanes at the right half of the table and the middle sinkhole that need to be hit. To deduce which one has the caster, the player can hit the wrist blade target to activate thermal vision. Regardless of whether or not the enemy had the caster, each hit will count as a hunting trophy. The mode ends after collecting the plasma caster.
• Vertigo: Alexa Woods, the last surviving member of the team, agrees to partner with the last surviving Predator who can conduct the Hunt, Scar. The two spot Xenomorphs crawling across the walls of a pyramid hallway high above the floor. The player helps the Predator shoot down six Aliens above by shooting lit lanes, one per enemy, while the table is turned upside down within a time limit. To compensate for this unorthodox perspective, the ball saver will remain permanently on for the duration of the mission.
• Camouflauge: A Predator is most effective at hunting when his adversaries can't see him, oblivious to his unexpected attacks. This is made possible with a cloaking device that makes him impossible to see to the human eye, but it unexpectedly malfunctions when this particular Predator needs it most. The player helps the Predator repair, recalibrate and test it by shooting lit lanes. With each correct lane hit, the flippers become harder to see, and as more lanes are shot, human drop targets will block off some lanes, providing an opportunity to test the Predator's mastery of avoiding detection by making any shot that isn’t blocked by them. A shot to the left glyph target will turn the ball invisible and revert the flippers back to normal, and another shot will do the opposite.
• Close Combat: A powerful Predator is capable of fighting adversaries up close with an array of sharp, deadly weapons, but may choose to gather allies to aid in his battles. The player must help the Predator either find ten allies by hitting green human drop targets or collect ten hunting trophies by hitting red human drop targets or Xenomorph drop targets. The mode ends once ten of either are collected; there is no penalty for collecting targets of the other type.
• Trap Aliens: Predators make good use of traps to capture their prey. The player helps the Predator master his Alien-trapping device by controlling it in the mini-playfield, rotating it to catch balls popping from the walls of the mini-playfield. 19 balls will be launched and the player must catch 15 in order for the trap to be deemed effective.

Attempting all five main missions will unlock a final mission titled Worthy Prey, which begins once the ball is shot into the center hole. This mission provides a final test to the Predator: defeat an Alien and prepare for the Hunt, or have it’s training go to waste. A second ball is brought into play while the Alien figure on the right side of the table leaps across to the Predator, who then grabs it by the neck and lifts it up in the air. The player must shoot six lit lanes to land the needed blows on the Alien to defeat it. Once the Alien is defeated, a four-ball victory multiball will start and jackpots can be claimed by shooting any lit lanes.

Side modes

While the missions represent the Predator’s training and eventual defeat of the Alien, the side modes portray the explorers’ perspective on the events and their attempts to figure out the history of the Hunt while determining the capabilities of the Predator. All non-hurry up or “frenzy” side modes score 2 million when completed. The following modes can be activated during play:

• Alien Frenzy: If the player hits the two glyph targets on the collapsible barrier, it will lower and make it easier to hit the Xenomorph at the mission sinkhole. Within a brief time limit, the player must hit it as many times as possible as a large score dwindles down from 2 million to 100,000. Each successful hit awards whatever amount of that bonus score remains at the time.
• Ally or Foe: The Predator can gather more allies to corral the Xenomorphs or kill more humans who try to interfere with the Hunt. Shooting the left orbit several times to light all sections of a blade will begin a time-limited mode where the player can gather more allies through hitting green human drop targets or earn more hunting trophies by hitting red human drop targets to keep the Hunt working as intended. It ends either once 60 seconds have expired, ten allies are found or ten hunting trophies are slain.
• Ancient Story: Sebastian de Rosa, the last member of the team to be killed in the expedition, finally learns about how the Predators have organized Hunts in ancient civilizations to kill Aliens bred by humans sacrificed through their brutal reproduction methods. If the player shoots the mini-orbit four times, de Rosa will begin to explain the truth behind the Hunts to Woods, and the player will need to shoot a certain sequence of four orbit shots to help him recount his findings.
• Constellation: The pyramid can be reconfigured and recalibrated to display symbols and communicate with Predators across the galaxy. If the ball is shot through the turntable four times, it is eventually locked into a saucer and taken inside the toy model of the pyramid in front of the backglass. The player must now rotate the towers so that they match a certain combination of symbols shown on one face of the pyramid's spire, within 30 seconds. The player chooses which tower to rotate with the flipper buttons and taps the launch button to rotate the chosen tower. The faster the mode is finished, the more points will be awarded (100,000 per seconds remaining).
• Pathfinder: The Predator - and the explorers - must familiarize themselves with the constantly changing passages of the pyramid. They will have an opportunity to hone their navigational skills if the player shoots the left ramp five times, with the fifth shot opening a trap at its base that locks the ball inside. The player maps the inside of the pyramid by shooting the center sinkhole twice as well as the lane right of it and the right ramp three times, once in each direction.
• Seek and Destroy: The Predator excels at stealthily finding his prey, and it can find more by shooting the right orbit several times to light up all sections of a blade. The player has to defeat five Aliens, one by one, by shooting a certain lane that is not revealed unless the player hits targets on the collapsible barrier to expose the lane where the Alien is hiding.
• Stalker: To excel in taking Aliens by surprise, the Predator must master the art of stalking an Alien while invisible. The Predator will have a chance to hone his surprise attack skills if the player hits the center sinkhole five times. The player must then shoot five lit lanes within a time limit while avoiding hitting certain drop targets as to not call attention. If any target is hit, the player must shoot the center sinkhole within ten seconds before the Alien finds the Predator and turns tail to disappear once again.
• Trap Frenzy: The Predator can further hone his Alien-trapping skills to be a worthy participant of the Hunt. A full rotation of the mini-playfield by hitting the bumpers enough times will send the ball to the trap mini-playfield. The player must rotate the trap device with the flippers to catch the ball as it pops out of holes in the mini-playfield walls, and can build streaks of successful captures for 100,000 point bonuses multiplied by the current streak. The first Trap Frenzy only requires 20 bumper hits; every further Trap Frenzy requires 20 more.
• Wrist Blade Frenzy: The Predator can master one of his deadliest weapons - the wrist blades - to cut down his adversaries. If the player hits the wrist blade target besides the right ramp and mini-flipper several times, a time-limited mode will begin where Alien and human drop targets will appear throughout the table that can be knocked down with the ball under the Predator's famous thermal vision system. Hitting the wrist blade target once again will instantly destroy any and all standing drop targets at once.

Multiball

There are three multiball modes that can be activated:

• Egg Crasher Multiball: When the Hunt goes out of control, it is possible to reduce the chance that the Aliens can overpower the Predators by wiping out the numerous eggs laid by the Queen. The player can start a quick, two-ball multiball mode and wipe them out by locking two balls in the magnetic saucers in front of the Predator. Once two balls are locked there, Alien Eggs will appear throughout the table that can be destroyed for bonus points with the two balls that are then launched back into play. Wiping out 100 eggs will light an extra ball.
• Pyramid Multiball: Each time any orbit is shot, the towers of the toy pyramid model towards the back of the table will rotate. If they end up aligning in a particular position, a lock will be lit at the center sinkhole. Locking three balls through this procedure will initiate a 3-ball Pyramid Multiball. Jackpots can be collected by shooting lit lanes or hitting the Xenomorph at the mission hole.
• The Three Yautja Multiball: The pyramid in Antarctica is managed by three Predators named Celtic, Chopper and Scar. The player can start a three-ball multiball in their honor by shooting the right ramp 9 times, three for each Predator. Then, the player can juggle the three balls and shoot lit jackpot lanes for 250,000 points per shot. A large drop target will occasionally appear to the left of the game; defeating it by shooting it three times will increase the jackpots by 50,000 for the rest of the current Multiball.

Perks

During play, the player can earn the following perks:

• Predator Rank: The Predator must ascend through the Yautja ranks and prove himself to be a superior hunter. Ascending through each rank will grant various scoring benefits, scored in this order: combos, jackpots, successful completion of modes, and basic scoring. To increase in rank, the player can a) increase Plasma Charge to level 5, b) gather a total of 50 allies, c) collext 100 hunting trophies or d) complete 5 missions successfully. The current rank will be displayed on the score display.
• Allies: Predators do not kill every human they see, and can even choose to ally with them honorably. The player can gather allies from the Ally or Foe side mode and the Close Combat main mission and can also gain bonus allies from completing missions successfully or as prizes from the random award. Earning 10 allies will activate the mission saver, while earning 50 allies will raise the Predator rank.
• Mission Saver: If the player gathers 10 allies, the Mission Saver will activate, increasing the amount of time given for the next mission that starts.
• Plasma Charge: The plasma caster is one of the Predator's most reliable weapons. The player can increase the strength of the plasma caster by hitting certain amounts of bumpers; 10 are required for level 1, and each subsequent level requires 10 more. Reaching level 5 will advance the Predator Rank. Each level also scores a bonus of 100,000 times the current level.
• Bonus Multiplier: Full rotations of the bumper area by hitting the bumpers about 20 times will increase the bonus multiplier by 1x, up to 10x. A multiplier hold can be scored from Award by Chance, and reaching 10x will light an extra ball.
• Award by Chance: Spinning the spinner at the left orbit 50 times followed by a shot to the right glyph target will score a random award chosen from the following: 1 million, ball save, either kickback, 1 ally, 1 hunting trophy, light extra ball, multiplier hold or 1 Pyramid Multiball lock.
• Spinner: Spelling YAUTJA on the return lane rollovers will increase the amount of points earned for every spinner hit by 1,000 for the rest of the ball.
• Kickbacks: The pyramid's changing routes contain passageways that can be used to evade Aliens. If the player executes a 3-way combo, then hits either lit kickback target (either the left glyph target for the left kickback or the wrist blade target for the right kickback), a diverter kickback will open up to save the ball from draining into an outlane. When it is used, it will simply divert the ball into the nearest inlane, so the player must be prepared to use its nearby flipper to prevent an unexpected ball drain. Kickbacks will stay on until they are used.
• Ball Saver: The ball saver will activate at the start of balls or multiballs and will remain active for the entirety of Vertigo. The ball saver can be reactivated for 30 seconds by earning it from Award by Chance.
• Extra Ball: Extra balls can be lit at the wrist blade target through Award by Chance, attempting three missions, hitting the Xenomorph at the mission hole 50 times across a single session, destroying a total of 100 Eggs in the Egg Crasher Multiball or maxing out the bonus multiplier.

Tips

• Be familiar with the various ways you can bring the ball to the upper right flipper, as this is crucial for starting the main missions because they require hitting the Xenomorph at the mission sinkhole. The left orbit is the only shot that consistently feeds this flipper.
• Once activated, kickbacks will stay on until they are used, and they are not hard to activate. Just execute a 3-way combo, then hit the correct kickback target to activate a kickback.
• Advancing through the Predator Ranks requires a lot of stamina, and ultimately might not be worth the effort. The easiest ones to get are the one from Plasma Charge level 5, which can generally be done without focusing on it, and the one from completing five missions; the ranks for 50 allies and 100 hunting trophies are much more difficult. Don’t worry if you don’t advance to the final rank, as they don’t impact overall scores that much.

External links

• Official table trailer
• Table walkthrough by ShoryukenToTheChin (PDF)