What could have been one of the best games of all-time is partially ruined because of certain aspects. Frustratingly this game does so many things well, that the frailties that I am going to mention later only amplify how frustrating this game is.
The plot is fairly standard, you are in enemy territory the year is 1941 you have to get through the Axis-infested part of Europe in order to escape. Whilst the plot is fairly standard it's just what you need. The quasi-real life setting certainly helps the atmosphere no end.
Before you can start the game you need to choose which members to take with you out of a selection of forty. Certain members excel at different aspects, so it is up to you to get the balance correct for the way you play the game. You have a squadron of 4 men each of whom can be controlled independently via using the numbers 1-4 to select between them.
Graphics wise, whilst this game is a little old now, the graphics are still good enough to create a realistic and involving atmosphere. The animation is well done as is the lighting and explosion effects are also good. The weather effects are still convincing also, so far so good for this game.
Ok, well where does it fail then? Well there are still good things to be said about this game, so I will continue to talk about those for the time being.
Missions wise, this game is varied, this is good and helps to stave off boredom. There is also a nice selection of genuine WWII vehicles, which you can get into, and control, such as a Panzer Tank.
This game also manages to tread the fine line between Arcade accessibility with almost strategy game like depth. I am talking about being able to pick up the game and get into it almost straight away, but in time learning more advance techniques to help you out even further.
An example is, storming a building, a novice player will often storm in guns a blazing, and more often than not they will die a very quick and violent death. The advanced and more tactically aware gamer, may throw a grenade into the building first, or even create a noise outside. The noise may make one of the enemy come out of the building to investigate - a fast machine gunner standing level with the door will do wonders to kill whoever comes out to investigate.
Attacks can also be co-ordinated via a range of commands that you can employ, as well as being able to access an overhead map that lets you synchronise attacks on the enemy with almost split second precision.
The AI (Artificial Intelligence) of the enemy is a joy to behold. The AI is triggered in many ways, if the Enemy see you they will attack, if they hear you they will investigate. This helps to further increase atmosphere.
Multi-player mode is restricted to Local Area Network players, though if you have a very fast Internet connection I assume it would be possible to play a four-player game over that with a little tinkering.
Ok, on with the bad points that help to mar this game, and the bad points that incredibly were not even fixed with the 3 patches that came out + the expansion pack. Blame for this must be levied at the feet of Publisher 'Take 2'. In my opinion this game could have done with an extra month or two-development time - this would have reaped dividends for them.
So what bugs are there? ***********************
Ok, well after picking your team - spending some time equipping them - you will then be eager to start the game. What happens on occasions even with the 1.3 patch is:
Game will start > your soldiers will proceed to> LIE DOWN and STAND UP ad infinitum - this causes you to have to restart the game. Quite how this bug wasn't completely fixed in three patches is beyond me. With the latter patch it does happen less, but is never eradicated.
Random deaths - on occasions you will die for no apparent reason. With the latter patch this bug has all but been eradicated.
Vehicle glitches - the heads of your soldiers often stick out of the tops of vehicles, I am not talking about open topped vehicles either! This is a stupid glitch.
Another vehicle glitch - If you saved a game whilst in a vehicle, the chances are upon resuming your save game your men would all die!
I have heard reports and have experienced this once of your men falling through the floor and then dying! A very odd bug that one.
There are more bugs in this. With the latter patch I can't categorically state that all of these bugs were fixed, as I have still experienced a few of them from time to time. If you persevere with the game though the glitches and bugs whilst still annoying are not enough to put you off the game in its entirety.
If you have an interest in this style of game (third person - with optional first person viewpoint) and enough patience to put up with some annoying bugs then this game could well be for you. Nowadays you can either:
Download this game for free (legally) from www.freeloader.com - if you have a fast Internet Connection this option is attractive. Though as it weighs in at 90 megabytes + in size people with Dial Up connections would be better advised to purchase this for £10 on budget.
Specifications for playing this game are (as stated on box):
Minimum spec:
Windows 9x Pentium 166 MMX with 3D card support 10 MB minimum free space required 4x Speed CD Rom drive 16Mb Ram Mouse Direct X compatible 3D accelerator Direct X compatible Sound Card
I have this to say about the minimum spec - complete and utter rubbish.
The optimal spec according to the box is as follows:
Pentium 266 MMX with 3D card (8mb +) 160mb Free Space 12x CD Rom drive 32mb ram
The optimal spec in my opinion is enough to play the game though, with such a slow processor and a miniscule amount of ram your enjoyment of this game will be seriously stunted. My recommended spec is:
P2-450 160mb Free Space 128mb ram 16 Meg graphics card
With that modest specification this game will really fly. Of course with an even faster machine feel free to up this game to incredible resolutions - performance will not suffer much at all.
I hope this review has been of some use to all of you, who have read this,
Thanks for reading,
Kev
More details
Addictiveness
Not exactly addictive but certainly playable
Originality
Not bad - some good ideas
Value for money
Good value
Longevity/Expected Longevity
a few months
Evaluate this review
How helpful would this review be to someone making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
very helpful
very helpful
very helpful
