Genre: First Person Shooter
Publisher: EA Games
Developer: Danger Close Games
Story
The story is inspired by actual events. This game is a dedication to the families of military personnel who face unimaginable danger and threats on a recurring basis, where their courage and dedication sadly go unacknowledged outside the military circle. There are two playable characters: Preacher and Stump, both Navy Seals. The game attempts to emotionally bond the player with Preacher, who is a Navy Seal and is trying to hold his troubled marriage together. He is torn between his sense of duty as a professional soldier and his love for his wife and child. The game takes you to Pakistan, the Philippines, Somalia, and Dubai during its course.
Gameplay
The game features single-player and online multiplayer modes. Unfortunately, the single-player mode has a linear execution of gameplay. introduction to the story is immersive and suspenseful. Like almost every FPS game, the player can take cover behind objects, lean from cover, and take a quick peek to take out enemies.
The game has a progressively rewarding and dynamic breach system with several options of execution. Every four headshots (while breaching) unlocks a new style of breach. The different breach styles that are rewarded are Tomahawk, Crowbar, Shotgun, Door Knob Charge, Flex Linear Charge, and Sheet Charge.
Sometimes the player needs to assume control of a bot in order to wipe out enemies from unreachable places. You can shoot multiple shots at one time from the machine gun integrated in the bot, or more damage can be done from the alternate firepower of the bot—grenades.
In different situations, you will need to bring down the enemy while sitting in a hovering helicopter, moving helicopter, or running motorboat. At one point, you even get to drive a motorboat once you are done shooting. The game has a couple of very interesting car chases in between rain, mud, and dust storms, obviously at different times. This is rarely seen in games of this genre. Another first for a FPS game is that when you are outnumbered and being chased by goons, you will need to look for hiding spots on the mini map so that once the enemy cars have crossed by you can make it to the exit. This has been earlier seen in NFS Most Wanted game.
The game also features a couple of intense chase scenes where the player will have to chase an eluding enemy and often be showered by bullets in between from the hidden enemies’ en-route.
Graphics
The environment visuals are a major improvement over the previous installment of the series: Medal of Honor, but sadly no improvement is made on the character and weapon visuals. They still appear blocky, and texture rendering is poor. Effects like explosions and smoke are a visual treat, but at times there are graphical glitches or tearing. For a game that has several levels with an abundance of water, the water is always poorly rendered. Sailing through the story line feels more like a see-saw of good and bad graphics.
Sound
The background score is monotonous and, at most times, nonexistent. However, the weapons and gun shots sound realistic. The authentic weapon sound makes you feel like you’ve been inserted in the middle of an actual battlefield. The music is only running in the menu or when a video is playing. Ambient sounds sound realistic, especially when there is a structure being brought down to mere pebbles. During certain chase sequences, the sound contributes positively by adding tension and getting the adrenaline going.
USP
The game claims that it gives the ability to be in real-world events, and lets us experience the action that might have taken place in the way depicted in the game. The game explicitly specifies wherever the level was based on real-world events, and I can actually count the number of times it happened with one hand. There is no actual validation that I could do of the storyline and real-world events, so there is no point in commenting on that.
In the single-player mode, it was disappointing to see the expectations mounted via means of trailers to play as Spetnaz, OGA, GROM, SAS, or SFOD-D getting shattered. This can only be done in the multiplayer mode.
illFactor
A comprehensive study of the locales has been done, which is evident in the environment of the game, for example, the streets, and the colorful buses in Pakistan, which are overloaded with commuters; people are literally falling out of the doors and sitting on the roof of the bus. The game has a relatively predictable plot and progression of storyline, which involves present-day first-person shooters set in a real-world environment utilizing the current technology of the armed forces depicted in The Warfighter. Overall, there is a partial improvement over the previous title in terms of graphics, and the future titles will require more work if they want to keep the franchise alive. The single-player mode can sadly be completed with ease in 6-7 hours, which leaves the player looking for more at the end. The game does not deserve the full price, as it leaves you regretting the decision to buy it rather than rent it. An unsatisfied end!
Score
|
Attribute |
Reviewer Rating |
| Graphics | 5 |
| Sound | 6 |
| Gameplay | 8 |
| USP | 4 |
| Illfactor | 5 |
| Final Score | 5.5 |
| One Night Stands |
This version of the game was reviewed on Xbox 360.
