Alien vs. Predator features a control setup with an 8-way joystick and three buttons: Attack, Jump, and Shoot. Aside from their hand-to-hand moves, each character also carries a gun. Linn uses a rapid-fire pistol, Schaefer has his built-in smartgun, while the Predators both use their signature shoulder-mounted plasma casters (Shoulder Cannons). Guns have semi-limited ammunition, represented by a meter near the bottom of the screen. When the meter is depleted, the character is unable to fire until it fills back up. Linn's gun refills the fastest, but she is completely defenseless while she reloads her gun. Schaefer and the Predators can still fight while waiting for their guns to cool down, and unlike Linn's pistol, their meters will slowly refill when they are not firing.
Each Character has a separate move set, and some of the attacks are unique to each character.