The game designers made a good effort to set AVP apart. It's essentially three shooters in one, giving you the option of playing any of three different characters Alien, Predator, or Colonial Marine each with its own weaponry, innovative vision modes, and preferred tactics. Shoot, Die, Reload, Repeat AVP's main problem is it doesn't offer the option of saving in the middle of a level, so you wind up playing it over and over again and this is a game where survival is very difficult. By the fifth or sixth time around there are no more surprises, and you start playing by rote. Even the difficulty settings don't change the number or distribution of the enemies.
Predictability detracts from the suspense, frequently making the game repetitive and boring.
Some will tell you that eliminating an in-game save adds to the challenge. Well, no one is forcing anyone to save. In fact, try hanging from your toes and playing it upside down you'll have bragging rights on Usenet. But there's no reason to shut out gamers who prefer a friendlier save option. Adding a dynamic save option still might not have been enough to propel this game to the front of the pack.