Predator: Hunting Grounds opens up for a free weekend of murder
The deadliest game
The killing fields are open, team. Predator: Hunting Grounds's free weekend kicked off last night, letting you skulk about a lush open forest full of heavily-armed soldiers, super-powered alien mercenaries, and enough mud to give Hollywood's favourite muscle-man a mud bath three-times over - all without spending a penny.
Since its announcement last May, Predator: Hunting Grounds has been rather reclusive - skulking, invisibly, skinning soldiers and learning how to emulate a child's laughter. I assume, at least.
To catch up - Predator: Hunting Grounds is a 4v1 asymmetrical deathmatch, wherein four tooled-out army men have to drop in and out of a dense South American combat zome without getting skinned alive by a 10-foot tall ghost. Human players get their pick of three different roles (of the final game's four), from the lightly-armoured Scout or walking re-supply bin Support, to the Assault - your bog-standard bloke with gun.
The Predator comes in three flavours of its own (Hunter, Berserker and Scout), with the option to pick from male or female variations. These come with their own fancy gadgets and weapons to use - though all three can, well, nuke the map if it looks like things aren't going their way. Poor sportsmanship, that.
The trial features one map, Undergrowth, wherein the human fireteam is looking to sabotage a local insurgency movement - when who should show up but the galaxy's grumpiest skull-taker? Being set in the first film's lush jungles, it seems there are currently no plans to let us hunt Danny Glover through the punk-addled streets of 80s New York City. Maybe that's being lined up for DLC, eh?
Hunting Ground's free weekend began last night, and runs until 11pm tomorrow. You can get in by heading over to the Epic Games Store, where Predator: Hunting Grounds will release on April 20th for £32.