Reaper Man

This game has picked up loads of awards for it's graphics recently, and it's not hard to see why. Even on a medium-spec PC, it looks pretty amazing, with excellent lighting effects, decent character animation and impressive level design (my favourite being the secret Nazi airbase). But where id have pulled out all the stops for the visuals, it seems that they gave the writing team a day off for this game. I gave up caring about the plot after first running into the zombies (which were v.cool), as it wandered between Indiana Jones-esque fantasy, with eerie pagan rituals and undead hi-jinx, and more realistic Hidden & Dangerous style missions, such as capturing the experimental plane and picking your way through the rubble of a bombed out factory. In fact, I wish they'd have put more thought into the overall plot, as the fantasy elements of the game are rather weak and let the side down a little. Sure, the first time you bump into the Uber-Soldat's, you can't help jump in shock, and the excellent 'Lopers' add a real horror feeling to one of the missions, but they aren't used enough, and the level designers seem content to pop them in as mid-level bosses after their initial appearance. Then we go back to running around mansions, shooting plain old Nazi's. Why? Why not more freaky creatures? Why not a more involving plot? Castle Wolfenstein itself is little more than a bit part in this game. It's a shame to see such a well known license squandered on what is little more than an exercise in programming. The end of the game seems to tail off, with more and more empty levels dotted with the occasional enemy. And as for the final boss? Well, it's like id are stuck feet-first in 1994. I'm hoping some decent mission packs surface for RTCW, as the one-player game provides little sustenance for the likes of me. To be fair, I'm just disappointed that they didn't have Cyber-Hitler make a return! Oh, and the multiplayer game is fantastic. Simple as that. Taking part in a 32-a-side war with airstrikes, artillery barrages and flamethrowers. This IS war. Get it right next time id, and stop employing 6th formers to write your plots...

I haven't heard anyone say a bad word about this game, which says something about gamesplayers in general. GTA3 is hailed as the most violent game ever, and to be fair, it is pretty shocking. But whereas this game will be demonised by some American moral group for 'inciting high-school shootings' or something, it is done with it's tongue firmly in it's cheek. The plot is a sort of crime-drama fayre, where you play a goon-for-hire, doing all kinds of illegal activity for various gangs, indulging in plenty of driving and shooting on the way. People here go on about how great the plot is, but it's no Scorcese. And people call it 'ground-breaking'. Well, the first GTA deserved that epithet, this one just looks nicer. But don't get me wrong; it's a lot of fun. In fact GTA3 is a rare breed of game where doing nothing is half the fun. Shooting gangsters, stealing cars, fleeing the police, all part of the action and always impressive. I'm sure Rockstar had allusions of this being some great social commentary about violence in movies or something, but really it's just an excuse to allow players to beat old ladies to death with a baseball bat. The most impressive thing about GTA3 is the city itself. It's really clever, with everything you'd expect to find an American city; subways, ghettos, affluent downtown areas, hospitals, gun stores, petrol stations, multi-storey car parks, the lot. It's fun to explore Liberty City, trying to to find little secrets or cool places to perform stunts. It's a bit much saying this game is a new benchmark, when it really just fuses together ideas from lots of previous games (Driver being the biggest influence). But it does it so well, it stands up proud on it's own two feet. Bad points? No motorbikes, which is a shame because they'd have worked well in this (unlike the two prequels). That rubbish plane. And it's maybe a little shallow for most gamers, as it relies heavily on it's shock value. But still, you have to a least play it once or in ten years time, everyone will laugh at you.

Now, I'm really into WW2. A lot. I consider it one of the most important events in world history (as do a lot of people), and I am humbled and grateful for the sacrifices given by the millions of people who died for the cause of freedom. Which is why I feel guilty whenever I play the D-Day mission of this game. It is, in effect, an interactive snuff film. A simulated depiction of the actual deaths and horrors that happened many years ago on the beaches of France. All in the name of entertainment. I find it hard to believe a game could charade as a memorial to the war dead, whilst simultaneously providing us with the chance to safely take part in a situation that NO-ONE on this earth should ever have to experience. But, having got the rather immoral taste of the games selling-point out of my mouth, I can go on to praise the rest of it. Doing everything RTCW did not, MOH:AA provides the player with a variety of interesting and varied missions, presented in a professional looking package with enough atmosphere to give you the 1000 yard stare. MOH will have you pricking your ears up one minute, listening for the tell-tale footsteps of a Nazi patrol, and the next you'll be in the back of a jeep trying to shoot Stuka dive-bombers out of the sky. MOH has some fantastic missions, too varied to mention here, all of which provide a great scenario to admire the obvious time and effort that has gone into this game. Good AI, decent graphics (a little hardware-demanding though), a superb music score and lot's of finely crafted details. The way you can work in tandem with other computer-controlled characters adds a lot of feeling to this game, as you sneak about ruined towns, watching for snipers. All of the missions are moderately realistic, with a hint of action-film thrown in for good measure. A few faults can prove annoying, the main one being the die-and-retry nature of some of the missions (especially those sniper ones) but, to be fair, this is war and you don't get second chances with a bullet. I like this game a lot, and it pains me that the D-Day mission was so callously added. EA have removed the gore in this game as a mark of respect, and then preceded to lift the opening scene from Saving Private Ryan lock, stock and barrel into the game. It doesn't even fit into the plot; you're supposed to be some kind of Special Op's. Why would they send a special unit onto the beach head? You're too valuable. Still, this is only a personal niggle about an otherwise great game. The multiplayer is *ok*, but it shoots itself in the foot by trying to be realistic, when it really wants to be Wolfenstein. But that's what mods are for.