The gameplay in Company
of Heroes is all about frontline combat, and forces you to quickly explore the
map. You typically start out with a headquarters and a squad of engineers, who
can build structures and setup defenses. Maps are divided up into territories
that all have a resource point in them, and the resources you'll need are
manpower, munitions, and fuel. Infantry may capture neutral or enemy resource
points, causing them to indefinitely contribute a flow of the given resource to
your military efforts while also increasing the total number of units you can
have in your army. However, all your territories must be connected for the
resource flow to continue unabated; if an enemy takes a key territory, this may
cut off your supply lines. All resources are used for building more-advanced
structures and vehicles, but you only need manpower for basic infantry, who may
use special abilities like hand grenades or armor-piercing machine gun rounds
for a one-time cost of munitions. Munitions may also be spent to upgrade
individual squads with special weapons, like recoilless rifles useful against
enemy armor, or Browning automatic rifles that can suppress opposing squads.
Your infantry squads are highly resourceful, acting as single units that can be
effective down to the last man. They'll last much longer when attacking from
behind cover, such as a row of sandbags or the bell tower of an abandoned
church.
2002's Conflict: Desert
Storm gave players squad-based tactical action with a tie-in to modern military
history. As you'd gather from the name, the game was set in the Middle East
during the early 1990s' Operation: Desert Storm--the famed military action against
Saddam Hussein's invasion of
The actual fighting in Conflict: Desert Storm
II is somewhat hit-and-miss. At times, it feels pretty solid, thanks in large
part to a built-in auto-aim feature that makes it quite easy to target hostile
forces. In fact, sometimes it's a little too easy--the game will sometimes line
up an enemy in your sights before you even realize he's there. Other times,
though, it seems suspiciously difficult to score a hit on enemies, particularly
with the sniper rifle. It's possible to hit the deck, steady your crosshairs
directly over an enemy's head, and then see no effect after pulling the
trigger. It's frustrating, to be sure, but, for the most part, the combat is
reasonably well-balanced and entertaining. You can even engage in vehicular
combat with a jeep or tank in some missions, which does break up the flow of
things a little. The vehicles feel a little awkward and can be slow to respond
to your controller movements, though Graphically, Conflict: Desert Storm II
gets the job done but does it in a no-frills sort of way. The backgrounds are
fairly devoid of detail, and the enemy character models look pretty simple.
Your own squad models, however, are decent-looking. The game, thankfully, runs
pretty smoothly on the GameCube and doesn't present any serious frame rate
hitches. The audio portion of the game is dominated by a lot of yelling,
gunfire, and explosions, though all of these are rendered pretty well. The
music tends to fade into the background, though, since you're intent on
finishing your missions. Finally, as in the original game, the voice acting for
the training mode's drill instructor is a poor attempt at sounding like Full
Metal Jacket's tough-as-nails drill
instructor, and it comes across as pretty awful.
In the final analysis,
Conflict: Desert Storm II isn't without problems, but it's not the worst
squad-based game you'll ever play, and it's decidedly improved over the
original game. If the game does float your boat, there's unfortunately not a
lot of replay value. You can play through the game again cooperatively if
you're so inclined, but there's no competitive multiplayer component to speak
of. If you're really into squad-based military action games, Desert Storm II
might be worth a look to tide you over until something else comes along.
A solid port is nothing to scoff at. Prototype
2 finally makes its way to the PC after
debuting on the xbox 360 and play station 3 back in April, and the transition has been kind to this brutal
open-world adventure. The biggest difference between this version and its
console brethren is the slightly improved visuals. Greater draw distance and a
higher frame rate showcase your murderous rampage in a more impressive light.
Because the technical aspects have been translated with nary a hitch, it's easy
to lose yourself in the destructive glee of this unrepentant sequel. Prototype
2 isn't the least bit novel, but it's so utterly ridiculous that it's hard to
wipe the smile from your face. One thing you should keep in mind is that
Prototype 2 is at its best with a controller. The fast-paced fighting and
empowering exploration come together seamlessly when you have a couple of
analog sticks and responsive buttons. If you're using a keyboard, you can still
blow through the papier-mache enemies, but the actions don't play out as
smoothly. Holding down three keys to glide through the city takes a bit of
finger gymnastics, and zeroing in on one attacker in a crowd is even tougher
with a mouse. It's easy enough to get used to these quirks with a little
practice, but Prototype 2 doesn't feel as as natural with a keyboard and mouse.
In contrast to the
devil-may-care attitude showcased in the majority of the adventure, the story
does take itself seriously. A military force has quarantined a major metropolis
under the guise of protecting citizens from a viral outbreak, but their
occupancy is far from altruistic. In reality, they are conducting bioweapon
research, and the people are just unlucky cattle being led to slaughter. It's a
morbid situation that makes it satisfying to kill your opposition--defense
contractor Blackwatch--as you hunt down the higher-ups who ordered this
atrocity.
The initial rush you feel
when the central plot comes into focus dissipates as you learn more about the
conspiracy. Evil stereotypes permeate the cast of characters, but even though
there's proper motivation to murder them all, you rarely feel as if you
understand whom you're tracking down. Scenes of redemption toward the end of
the story breathe life into some of these individuals, but by that point you
won't even care what happens to the villains. While character development is
lacking, the storytelling is interesting. Most of the dirty details surface
when you consume certain people, and the flashes of memory piece together a
terrifying puzzle about the inner machinations of power-obsessed heretics who
rarely question their horrific actions. Dialogue-rich sequences explain your
objectives before each mission. Plentiful swearing and unrestrained anger
highlight most of these conversations, and the vulgar cutscenes force the
carefree action to take a backseat far too often. Furthermore, protagonist
James Heller holds his hand to his ear and slowly walks around when a contact
talks to him, contrasting wildly with the crazed sprinting and leaping that make
up his normal locomotion. Problems with the story aside, the artistic style
used in the many cutscenes is certainly eye-catching. High-contrast black and
white with flashes of color (blue eyes, red flames) add a dramatic pitch to the
proceedings. This style is also used when your health gets low in combat and
does a great job of communicating your struggles without obscuring your view.
Prototype 2 takes place
in an open-world environment where you can run wherever you wish without
artificial barriers reining you in. From the moment you're set loose, you don't
need any urging to sprint through this city gone to ruin. Movement is
free-flowing and empowering. Running up the sides of buildings, bounding down
blocks in a single leap, and gliding like a manic flying squirrel make for
quicker transport than a tired vehicle ever could, and the unabashed joy of
careening through this virus-plagued town is hard to deny. Things do become a
little tricky when precision is necessary, though thankfully you rarely have to
move with exactitude. Instead, you sprint pell-mell until you crave the sweet
satiation of your bloodthirst, and in a snap you're beating a poor sucker so
badly his mother wouldn't be able to recognize him. The convergence of movement
and combat makes for instances of unrepentant brutality. While gliding over
occupied streets, you might spy a fear-mongering soldier down below. Lock on to
him from your safe vantage in the sky, and with a tap of a button, grab his
squirming body before he has a chance to scream for help. With one more tap of
a button, you can pound him into the unforgiving cement, hurl him into his
fellow troops, or infect him with a viral bomb that causes him to explode in a
fountain of blood, and then flee from the scene as if you were never there. And
you can enjoy this game…
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