Soldiers Heroes of World War II
Local and international distributor: Codemasters
PlatformL PC
Taiwan release: Already available
Soldiers Heroes of World War II is the latest in the long line of World War II-themed real-time strategy games that give war-gaming enthusiasts the opportunity to replay the struggle for Europe at squad level.
Unlike Strategy First's hit World War II Frontline Command and Encore's recently released Desert Rat vs. Afrika Korps, Soldiers Heroes of World War II is not zone specific and gamers can opt to play on either the Eastern or Western fronts. Players can choose from four campaigns, all of which take place behind enemy lines and include blowing up railway lines, kidnapping commanding officers, destroying convoys and taking out gun emplacements.
The quality of the game's basic images and animations might be equal to all of today's 3D real-time war games, but developers have taken it one step further and enhanced the game by paying much closer attention to often overlooked subtle details that make war-gaming fun.
Equipment, vehicles and uniforms are accurate, farm animals and non-combative vehicles have been added for extra realism and buildings, be they in ruins or intact, look as near to the real thing as possible.
Landscapes are also realistically portrayed, with plenty of lush green rolling hills, trees and foliage scattered around in game play areas to both hinder and help your squad as it closes in on its objective. And, like all good 3D war games, just about anything and everything on the map can be destroyed.
While Soldiers' smooth game-play, user-friendly interface and graphics are faultless the game isn't without its drawbacks. Those new to strategy war games should probably avoid Soldiers as it takes quite some time to master. The AI is shrewd, cunning and shows no mercy even on the easiest of settings, which can be frustrating, especially when you see your squad of able bodied men wiped out by a couple of tanks time and time again.
Shadow Ops: Red Mercury
Local and international distributor: Atari
Platform: PC and X-Box (X-Box only in Taiwan)
Taiwan release: Already available
You can forget all about the softly, softly approach needed to master Tom Clancy techno-thriller-based first person shooters here, as Atari's military themed Shadow Ops: Red Mercury is a throwback to old days when shooters were no-holds-barred run-and-gun affairs and the trick lay in intense fire power rather than stealth.
Players take on the role of Captain Frank Hayden of the Special Forces as he tracks down a substance called Red Mercury, which, predictably enough has fallen into the hands some unscrupulous criminal types who plan to unleash it and kill millions. The journey takes Hayden from the jungles of the Congo, through a war-torn Middle East, into Kazakhstan and finally to Paris.
The graphics are on par with the latest generation of first-person shooters, the action fast and furious and the game makes for entertaining slaughter. Shadow Ops: Red Mercury is not a cutting-edge first-person shooter game, however.
The game's two-dozen levels are far too linear. Unlike many of today's shooters that offer players a choice as to what direction to take and how to take it, Shadow Ops only allows players to move in one of two directions -- forwards or backwards along a single path.
RSS