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 Conflict: Desert Storm 2 |
Developer: SCi Games | Publisher: Gotham Games |
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Type: Shooter | |
Players: 1 - 2 |
| Difficulty: Intermediate | Released: 10-08-03 |
 Over a year ago, the first Conflict: Desert Storm was released and received a less than stellar reception across the board. This had little to do with current events in the area and more to do with the fact that game just wasn’t all that good. Now, we are presented with the second installment of missions based in the 1991 war region of Iraq and Kuwait. The game is once again squad based and you’ll have individual members of your team proficient in different areas (Leader, Sniper, Demolitions Expert, and Heavy Machine Gunner) that are to be used in specific circumstances for specific targets. You can control any member individually or enter squad-wide commands to the entire unit, such as "fire at will" or having the team come together in a specific area. In the beginning of the game you can make the choice between either the U.S. Delta Force or the British SAS squad, both of which are considered elite fighting forces for both countries.
The interface remains remarkably similar to the first game and, after a bit of practice, the individuals and squads are relatively easily controlled. Changing the item "in hand", whether it be the AK-47 that you just found or the medkit that you’ll need to use once in a while, can be a bit irritating and quirky as it freezes your character while you switch. Better planning can alleviate this, but it remains a cumbersome element of the game. The enemies... are idiots. The AI makes little effort to duck, hide, or otherwise try to outsmart you in any capacity. Essentially, it’s target practice and your weapon of the moment can be set to automatically lock on the nearest enemy - sometimes even before you actually "see" them. Curiously, it takes one or two bullets to take out an opponent but individuals in your squad can be hit nearly a dozen times before succumbing to their wounds. Wait, that’s not entirely true, because after one of your squad is down you still have a certain amount of time to miraculously heal him and get him on his feet. Unfortunately, this just adds to the lack of realism present in a title and this is a genre that pretty much places all of its bets on realism and authenticism. Graphically, the backgrounds and enemy character models are bland and uninspired but they are still much stronger than the first installment. The squad under your control, however, is much improved as is the entire game interface. When moving along at a quick pace, the game’s graphics seem very jumpy.The audio is a mixed bag. The actual sounds of the battle are realistic but it can be painfully difficult to hear your CO when he’s issuing you new objectives or information. You can always check your objectives manually if you want to, but that tends to break the continuity of the game. Overall, you could do worse than this squad based warfare title. The point, however, is that you can do much better and this is a title that sets its sights for the middle of the pack and lands precisely there. That’s just not good enough. |
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Graphics: 7 | |
Sound: 7 |
| Gameplay: 5 | Replay: 3 |
