2nd Op By

Gene Park 4.5 RATING

Conflict: Desert Storm is a game that has understandably been compared to SOCOM: US Navy SEALs. Their situation is a lot like two recent war films also released close to each other. Ridley Scotts Black Hawk Down is a technically superior and an overall more entertaining experience, but did not have much in terms of character. Randall Wallaces We Were Soldiers puts the characters front and center, even putting a human face on the enemy.

SOCOM is technically superior, more entertaining, but your teammates in the single player mode werent something to write home about. Conflict is the We Were Soldiers to Sonys SOCOM. They put a discernable human face on the enemy. Well... at least in terms of facial textures. But they also put a heavy emphasis on your teammates. And that is the most laudable aspect of the game. The rising skill levels adds an interesting dynamic to the squad-based tactical shooter, even though Mike pointed out how its not entirely representative of what they really do as opposed to what theyre assigned to do.

But unlike Mike, I found the inventory menu to not only be cumbersome, but disruptive. The game continues on while youre picking and choosing what weapon or item to use. So you can try to get your sidearm while a tank is getting a nice bead on you. Or try running around that same tank, holding down the menu button and flipping through it. That calls for some unnecessary finger gymnastics that couldve been avoided considering the number of buttons on the Dual Shock 2 controller.

And I think its important to note here that I am reviewing the PlayStation 2 version. I cant stress this enough, because Mike notes great lighting, nice textures and smooth framerates that I simply did not experience here. Also the game has an annoying centering feature that you cant turn off. The auto-targeting system is unforgiving, and I never liked the switching of targets by way of the shoulder buttons. Those two buttons couldve been used for something more practical, like quick commands for switching weapons. Even simply moving around literally felt like a drag, as if I was pulling my Delta Force guy across the sand. And why do my deaths have to be in slow motion? Add that on top of the really bad loading time and youve got a long time waiting between retries.

And as Mike mentioned, its more than a little awkward to resurrect your fallen comrade after hes taken a bullet in the head. But it happens a lot. Once I resurrected my sniper three times in one level thanks to the plethora of Medkits available. Top that off with the incredibly stupid but eagle-eyed artificial intelligence and youve got an experience as fake as the missions youre given. And like the fake missions, the gameplay itself is based on real-world aspects, like the Desert Storm campaign. Nevermind the brains that thought it was wise to send in a lone operative into a crowded enemy camp to rescue a single POW, in one of the worst first levels ever.

However, the best thing I can do is to encourage the developers. The control over your squad is liberating, especially after a game like SOCOM. And the skill level aspect is a step in the right direction. I wont even touch on the real-life repercussions of a game based on the America going to war with Iraq. The premise is merely a plea for relevancy, and the jingoistic ad campaigns make it all the more evident. Strident nationalism has its advantages, even in movies like We Were Soldiers, which takes every opportunity to wave the flag. Its not about what it is, but how its done. And Im sincerely hoping the developers next game will show a similar amount of ingenuity, along with their work being technically proficient and sound.

Disclaimer: This review is based on the PlayStation 2 version of the game.

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