Shadow Ops: Red Mercury (DVD)

Rating:
Summary: An incredible dead-on shooter that delivers.
Review: From the first moment this game loaded, i felt it was familiar, yet somehow different. The graphics don't set any standards or anything. But, the game itsself plays like a dream. The skeletal effects as the bodies hunch over fences after you've pounded a few rounds into them is incredible. As well as the leaping away from a grenade explosion. A great assortment of weapons. Action, Action, Action. The way the story unfolds is much like the miniseries 'Band of Brothers'. The commands coming in barely audible over the dropping bombs and the firing tanks. It is so immersive. With some really great voice acting. A good plotline. And outstanding cutscenes. You really feel like these 'people' are 'acting'. This has a very small learning curve. It is, however, VERY challenging. Look to start this out at or near the beginner level. Even someone who's played a LOT of shooters may have difficulty here. I have been playing them for 18 years. (Since my old ATARI 400 computer). And, i had difficulty at first. Kick it up a notch after some serious practice. This is so much more than i expected. Great music. Realistic battle sounds. Decent graphics. High quality AI. What more could you ask for?

Rating:
Summary: Pleasantly Suprised
Review: I played the demo and thought that it was a lot of fun so I decided to buy this with limited expectations. I had recently played through Half Life 2 and was feeling very jaded with games after it's boring gameplay so I had lowered my expectations after Half Lame 2 and I bought the Special Edition kit of Shadow Ops. As it turns out it is great fun. The sound is superb on my 5.1 system and it helps immeasurably in the immersion factor. Also the picture quality is terrific when raked up 1152 x 864 on my PC and the FPS is good. The gameplay is fairly stock standard but the weaspons are well modelled and it is constantly entertaining. When scripted events occur it generally is well done however i have found one instance when I have cleared an area and the scripted event creates an enemy behind me though this has happened only once and I blew him away with a grenade. The game is very similar to Soldier of Fortune 2 except that the game is scripted much better and much tighter. The special edition comes in the DVD-ROM and comes with the Logitech headset. There are also special feactures similar to what you would find on a Dvd. I would put this in my top 3 shooters along with Far Cry and Ravenshield. Thoroughly recommended. I wouldn't say that this is realistic like say Ravenshield as it's just a blaster but it's a terrific ride.

Rating:
Summary: nice surprise
Review: I took a chance on this game, having not heard about it in any of the gamer mags or websites. It's a nice surprise. What really hooked me are the sounds. Also you cannot save during a level; each level is long enough to be a challenge but not to rise to the level of super frustration. In this game you are a Delta operator assigned to find a suitcase nuclear weapon. That's pretty much standard first person shooter stuff, but this game does it well. Usually I can tell after a few minutes if I plan to finish a game. I will definitely finish RED MERCURY.

Sounds - 5/5

This game has gripping and realistic battle sounds with true ambience. Bullets swirl around you and explosions rock.

Graphics 4/5

Pretty good for this kind of game although not as good as the preview for Medal of Honor Pacific Assault. However you don't need a beast of a system to run it, so that's a plus.

Gameplay 4/5

It's pretty linear; there's always just one way out of a situation, but that's not so bad in this game, since levels are tricky and well designed. The big drawback is that the enemies are always in the same place. You simply figure out where they are and kill them. Rainbow Six scatters them randomly. There are some cinematic moments that are built in nicely.

Realism 3/5

OK here is where the game becomes standard. You have healthpacks everywhere, and your man can take a lot of damage before dying. Also there are respawn points where enemies emerge only after you advance past a certain point.

Overall 4/5

This is worth buying if you want a true shooter. I am enjoying it so far and will keep playing.