After playing some excellent games like tongue-in-cheek No One lives Forever 2 and the the awesome & ultra slick Splinter Cell, I was starting to get the impression computer games were starting to really enter another era: an era in which equal attention is paid to scripts, story flow, voice acting and the ability to interact other than by shooting someone.
Splinter Cell: ultra cool
Shoot people, be stealthy, climb, jump, sophisticated interaction…
take hostages and extract information without saying ‘please’!
Boy was I wrong! Having just played Soldier of Fortune 2, I realise that even quality companies like Raven can produce clunkers. SoF2 is as linear and predictable as the original Doom, the cut scenes are filled with flat and indifferent declaiming and the characters are cliches (in itself sometimes amusing but in this case, not). Even the graphics are nothing to write home about. Level design ranged from uninspiring (“Ah, yet another blind corner… I might as well chuck a grenade as there is bound to be a bad guy lying in wait like the one before. And the one before that. And the one before that…”) to the idiotic (as in ‘my allies will try and kill me if I get too far ahead or behind the patrol I am helping to defend’…. riiiiiight) to the baffling (‘so I shot the guard dead with a silenced weapon, he was nowhere near the bloody alarm button and the alarm goes off anyway instantly? And the logic behind that is…??’).
Soldier of Fortune 2: suspect moustache
Shoot people, occasionally push buttons, try to hide (almost impossible)
plus shoot some more people… and then some more. And again…
I guess that the SoF & Raven brand names are responsible for the game’s excellent sales and I gather that multiplayer in reasonable in SoF2, but I would certainly urge anyone who likes a good plot line, thoughtfully designed scenarios or snappy dialogue in a single player game to look elsewhere and give this by-the-numbers First Person Shooter a miss… Deus Ex or Half Life this game ain’t.
I have to say I’m a little surprised at your comments — not because you’re wrong about SoF2 (you’re completely correct) but because Splinter Cell has all the same problems, especially the “instantaneous alarm” problem.
And, of course, you can generally kill all the guards you want, but killing civilians is inexcusable because they’re “too hard to cover up”. In what parallel universe is THAT true?
Yes, Splinter Cell has some of the same problems, but people to actually have to reach alarms or run into view of cameras, at least in the PC pre-release version I have (though bodies seems to ‘just get found’ rather annoyingly). However Splinter Cell has many redeming features in my opinion:
Sure, SoF2 does have one cool feature… the Random Mission Generator! In fact, they are rather like the pre-made missions, which is rather an indictment of the mission makers at Raven!
“even run at maxed out settings on my 2.4MHz”
No wonder the gfx are so crappy on your PC. You gotta upgrade that granny. We’re in the GHz range now!
(Don’t you sometimes hate Samizdata’s lack of ability to edit your comments? ;p)
Hey if you want to laugh, you should go to oldeenglish.org if you don’t want to laugh go to bestbuy.com not a funny site. not funny at all.
And if you want to play a real computer game you need to visit NetDevil and start your new Jumpgate life.
Rainbow Six 3 : Raven Shield…. the DADDY of all FPS games. It’s from Ubisoft (same firm who made Splinter Cell) and multiplayer demo is available online for free.
If you liked Splinter Cell , check this one out too. Playing against fellow humans online is far more challanging too…
Front4uk: I have played a bit of multiplayer but I really do not care for it all that much… ultimatly I like a game in which shooting is not the only way to interact. I like a story and so I find multi a bit repetative after a while.
Uh…why do I not hear anyone talking about the fantastic Max Payne? It was pure blow-them-all-away, but it had a great storyline and comic-book-style chapter introductions. It takes place in the dead of winter in New York City, and I played it in the dead of winter in New York City, and it was good. I long for the sequel.
Yes, Max Payne is a superb game, and I recommended it in an earlier article.
OK, I guess I’ll enter the fray here. 1st, please do not compare Splinter Cell to SoF2 as if they came out at the same time with similar tech. SoF2 came out last April I think and it was and is based on the aging Q3 engine and Splinter Cell is based on the way kickass UT2k3 engine. SoF2 came out in March/April while the full Splinter Cell still has not come out for the PC (I don’t believe). We’re talking at least 8 months in their release dates, and thats a lifetime where gaming technology is concerned. I don’t think that’s a fair comparison.
I guess this is one of those discussions where individual tastes is concerned. I enjoyed the hell out of the single player SoF2. But, mainly because I wanted quick action (jump in, kill stuff, jump out) with decent eye candy.
I thought the level design was good from a realism and a variety standpoint. Sure, the placing of scripted enemies was a little brain dead I suppose, but again, I guess it has to do with taste. But, when you put the fantastic jungle levels, the Kamchatka levels, the barge, the gorgeous Columbian mansion level together, it offered a great deal of variety. And those levels were very close to what you’d see in the real world today (The mansion was extremely detailed).
It certainly had one of the least climatic endings I’ve ever scene and the cut scenes were, to put it lightly, long and unnecessary. And the multiplayer was actually pretty lame. I guess what I’m saying is that, please don’t take an Acadamy Awards look at video games. You know, “There’s too much action and violence in the Two Towers, but look at the nuance in About Schmidt, no way Peter Jackson could be best director.” I mean, some games are just meant to be shoot ’em ups. The tech behind SoF2 is pretty impressive in terms of the character modeling and hit locations (although, it’s WAY too violent).
But, yeah, it’s certainly not good enough to be held up against NOLF2 (I just got hired by HARM, woohoo!). The role playing elements are spectacular. But, there are times where I can’t spend that much time with a game, so a quick action game like SoF2 is fun sometimes I think.
Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s a pretty run of the mill game, but I also think it was fun for the 3 weeks or so I spent on it.
But, certainly, we’ve had better shooters, Medal of Honor is the best single player game since Half Life I think. And the audio in that game is simply untouchable. And it’s multiplayer is terrificly paced. Jedi was a blast, just because, who wouldn’t want to weild force powers and a light saber. Oh well, we’re not talking really important stuff here, but I just worry about a bit of snobbery being put to such things. There video games. They are meant for people of different tastes. The gaming industry is not dead, there are good titles, mediocre titles, and bad titles. Didn’t mean to ramble.
Russ: I guess what I’m saying is that, please don’t take an Acadamy Awards look at video games. You know, “There’s too much action and violence in the Two Towers, but look at the nuance in About Schmidt, no way Peter Jackson could be best director.” I mean, some games are just meant to be shoot ’em ups.
I have nothing against violence in games, I just dislike repetitive, poorly scripted violence and not-very-intelligent AIs… it seemed to me that it was just a procession of generic bad guys waiting to be slaughtered. I do not find that ‘morally repugnant’ like some Guardianista film critic, I find it BORING.
Yes, the pure and largely plotless shoot-up has its ecological niche… just not one that I personally like to hunt in. If you do, then have fun… I have no problem with that.
One other thing, I highly recommend any Clancy games from Ubi Soft. Rogue SPear and Ghost Recon are a blast, particularly at LAN parties. They allow cooperative player in their missions, and you can have a mix and match of real players and bots. Raven Shield I suppose will be very similar to this. I’ve only dinked around in the mulitplayer demo. This much is certain, please do not judge the game on the demo. The demo to my knowledge doesn’t offer any of the mission based things you can do. It’s essentially firefights. Nor does it have the full range of enemy and erratic hostage AI.
If it’s anything like GR or Rogue the demo can only scratch the surface of what will be offered in the games. Plus it’s the UT2k3 engine, so the visuals should be spectacular. One thing though, this will be a game catered to a particular taste. It’s not fast paced, its not meant to be. Run and gun gets you killed. For the most part, it’s one shot one kill, so you have to be careful. It’s pretty darn realistic. If that’s not your thing, you’re not going to like it.
But, as for wanting interaction, remember, the game is based on Rainbow Six. Your job is to eliminate terrorists and rescue hostages. Treasure hunts, finding clues, is not part of the job, so don’t expect the RPG elements of NOLF2, it’s not that kind of game.
Enjoyed the discussion on this OH SO important topic. Keep up the good work Perry.
Yeah, I guess I can see how it gets “boring.” But, I should note that gettng through NOLF2, especially, the Russian levels, requires learning the somewhat mindless scripting of the soldiers. Setting off alarm, kill 3 or 4 soldiers that appear, remove the bodies, stay quiet and then it all goes back to normal. That’s not very realistic. They’d lock the place down and smoke your ass out.
Don’t get me wrong I LOVE NOLF2. It’s one of the few games that both TRIES to be funny and actually succeeds. (the jokes regarding Soviet bureaucratic incompetance are priceless). Just recognize it’s a little guilt of your complaints as well. Of course, the difference is that it’s not as big a part of the game as it is SoF2, so that’s cerrtainly important.
It’s all about one’s tastes, and don’t take my contra-arguments as anything really that serious, but, I just think SoF2 got a bad rap that wasn’t totally justified.
But, do treat yourself to the Rainbow Six/Rogue SPear/Ghost Recon games. You’ll be pleasantly surprised, especially the cooperative multiplayer. Later!