Predator: Hunting Grounds is bringing back Arnold Schwarzenegger as both a playable character and a bridge to the original film's story.
Major Alan "Dutch" Schaefer will return in the next update to the game coming on May 26th. If you buy Predator: Hunting Grounds' first paid DLC, you'll be able to play Dutch as a fireteam member yourself and get early access to a new rifle and knife - the latter two will be available free for all players later in June.
Also free will be the new story elements coming to the game alongside Dutch. As players rank up through Hunting Grounds' new update content, they will unlock a series of voice tapes left behind by the sole survivor of the 1987 incident. Schwarzenegger's character didn't appear in any of the Predator sequels or reboots, and he was even scarce in follow-up books and comics. Hunting Grounds will quickly become Predator fans' best chance to find out what Dutch has been up to since the original film.
"The premise of it is [Dutch] recorded these tapes since '87 after the first movie," IllFonic chief creative officer Jared Gerritzen told Entertainment Weekly. "Throughout these tapes, there are those arrows [pointing to] what he’s doing, kind of like safeguards if he gets killed or captured. These tapes are gonna be used to essentially keep his story going."
Though he's joining the game a month after launch, Gerritzen said Dutch will have a significant role in Predator: Hunting Grounds' lore. Of course, you don't need to appreciate the story to have a healthy love for Arnie gracing the world of Predator with more one-liners.
"It's crazy being able to play him and having him speak those lines," Gerritzen added. "When we recorded the V.O. for him being the Fireteam member, when he would say a line, it just vibrated in the room. The one-liners that he does in movies are so natural to him. Simple stuff, like him saying, 'reload,' it's Arnold!"
We found that Predator: Hunting Grounds hits the mark of B-movie authenticity, for better and worse.
