Yep, it's a necessarily violent game, and the graphics make the most of it. Rebellion's proprietary engine has a number of impressive features, but a highlight is splattering the walls with various blood types - crimson, naturally, luminous green for the Predator and acidic yellow for the Aliens.

But it's more than just blood. Aliens are ripped apart by fire power, but by far the most stomach-churning is the variously horrible ways a marine can be killed, usually by the Predator. The shoulder cannon likes to take off heads or breaks bodies in half. The speargun rips off limbs and pins them to the wall, while the razor disc takes off any part that gets in the way, while a string of the crimson stuff splashes against walls.

Over the top? Maybe, but not in a Quake way. Rather, like the film, it doesn't seem quite so shocking because it's all rather in keeping with the power of the weapons.

It's not all good news, though. While undoubtedly a wonderfully made game, it is horribly hard - almost certainly too hard for some people. There's no option to save the game mid-level, while death lurks around every corner. And with only five or six proper levels per character (with some repeated bonus levels) you aren't drawn into the game as much as, say, the massive Half-Life. It's the ultimate challenge, though.