The original was one of last years biggest surprises, only offering a fairly enjoyable single player, but a superb coop mode. I've been looking forward to the sequel for some time now, and last night I finally got to spend an hour or six playing through the game on two player.
My thoughts...
The first thing that struck me, was the general improvement to the presentation. Rendered cutscenes are used to introduce each 'chapter', and although the quality isn't so impressive, the direction and level of intensity is. Thankfully they aren't very long, or frequent, but they really do set the scene for the following mission.
Mission briefings are also nicely done, a big improvement over the original.
In game, it quickly became clear that Pivotal Games have done a great deal to improve the atmosphere; now radio chatter is almost constant, and action can be heard far away in the distance. The first mission has your four soldiers driving a jeep into a small enemy base, guns and rockets firing all over the place, helicopters ahead - it's a great start. Worthy of note, is this atmosphere makes the game feel a lot harder than the original, even if it isn't. Because of better sound effects on gun fire, among other things, it feels a lot more dangerous being out in the open.
The highlight of the game is still the co-op mode, and thankfully the fine balance of the original has returned with all 4 characters making a comeback. Bradley's Colt\MP5 feels a lot more powerful than before, and Jones is now excellent with an AK47 making all of the characters more useful, though Conner's aim seems to have gone down hill sligthly (he can now walk and fire at the same time with the cannon).
AI has improved, with the enemies throwing far more grenades than before, plus they take cover. Path finding for your uncontrolled team mates has also improved, which is very nice to see. Enemy tanks are now far more dangerous, and the old trick of using Jones to plant C4 under them is harder to pull off.
While the gameplay remains very much the same, everything now feels much more significant. Level design is vastly improved, and every mission tends to have at least 1 really impressive fire-fight. One level has your team on top of a building, as you become surrounded by just about everything the enemy can throw at you. With almost zero cover, it is mighty tricky...even harder when you have to protect a grounded helicopter at the same time.
Although the game is still linear in design, improvements in AI and enemy placement means even in repeated play everything won't be exactly the same as before. Although it doesn't take this idea as far as say, Halo, it does help prevent things getting too repetitive.
Anyone unimpressed with the original will not get on with this game, but fans of the first will enjoy getting stuck into the Golf war once again.
My thoughts...
The first thing that struck me, was the general improvement to the presentation. Rendered cutscenes are used to introduce each 'chapter', and although the quality isn't so impressive, the direction and level of intensity is. Thankfully they aren't very long, or frequent, but they really do set the scene for the following mission.
Mission briefings are also nicely done, a big improvement over the original.
In game, it quickly became clear that Pivotal Games have done a great deal to improve the atmosphere; now radio chatter is almost constant, and action can be heard far away in the distance. The first mission has your four soldiers driving a jeep into a small enemy base, guns and rockets firing all over the place, helicopters ahead - it's a great start. Worthy of note, is this atmosphere makes the game feel a lot harder than the original, even if it isn't. Because of better sound effects on gun fire, among other things, it feels a lot more dangerous being out in the open.
The highlight of the game is still the co-op mode, and thankfully the fine balance of the original has returned with all 4 characters making a comeback. Bradley's Colt\MP5 feels a lot more powerful than before, and Jones is now excellent with an AK47 making all of the characters more useful, though Conner's aim seems to have gone down hill sligthly (he can now walk and fire at the same time with the cannon).
AI has improved, with the enemies throwing far more grenades than before, plus they take cover. Path finding for your uncontrolled team mates has also improved, which is very nice to see. Enemy tanks are now far more dangerous, and the old trick of using Jones to plant C4 under them is harder to pull off.
While the gameplay remains very much the same, everything now feels much more significant. Level design is vastly improved, and every mission tends to have at least 1 really impressive fire-fight. One level has your team on top of a building, as you become surrounded by just about everything the enemy can throw at you. With almost zero cover, it is mighty tricky...even harder when you have to protect a grounded helicopter at the same time.
Although the game is still linear in design, improvements in AI and enemy placement means even in repeated play everything won't be exactly the same as before. Although it doesn't take this idea as far as say, Halo, it does help prevent things getting too repetitive.
Anyone unimpressed with the original will not get on with this game, but fans of the first will enjoy getting stuck into the Golf war once again.
Comment