Saying
United Offensive is just another expansion pack for
just another FPS is like saying Hurricane Jeanne is
just another hurricane. Both are forces to be reckoned
with and at least in the case of United Offensive
it's definitely more entertaining...although its equally
possible to lose your home, family and friends due
to the sheer amount of time you'll spend playing it
(at least online). Such is the life of a gamer on
the edge.
Gray
Matter, known for the highly acclaimed Return To Castle
Wolfenstein appears to be showing off here. Simply
put they've done their homework. The original COD
was developed by upstarts Infinity Ward and was heralded
as the second coming of FPS action games by critics
and gamers alike. No small feat in the era of the
immensely popular Battlefield 1942. However as the
saying goes: There is room at the top, it's the bottom
that's crowded. Capitalizing on absolutely everything
that made the orignal COD a smash and taking it up
a few Emeril notches, Gray Matter has given anyone
with a hankering for some WW2 hijinks to hunker down
in a foxhole.
Even
with all of the improvements in place, United Offensive
will be familiar to anyone who played the first installment.
The campaigns play out from the allied perspectives
of the US Battle of the Bulge, Russia's Battle at
Kursk and the British during the Invasion of Sicily.While
most of the game takes place from the familiar on
the ground FPS perspective you know and love, vehicles
have been added (tanks, jeeps, motorcycles) as well
as missions which involve taking the gunner position
on a B-17 Bomber which is one of the most intense
and electrifying missions I've played in a war combat
game. It's no surprise that vehicles were added to
this expansion seeing as most of us were expecting
them to be present in the first COD, but the popularity
of Battlefield 1942 and its expansion Secret Weapons
made it a lock and the game is better for it.
Along
with 13 new mission, 11 multiplayer maps and new vehicles,
14 new weapons have been introduced including the
ever popular flamethrower and the stationary machine
gun which will help cut a swathe through the ever
advancing German army. It's oddly satisfying to look
an enemy soldier in the eye as you let fly with a
blast of hot gas and flame. Just be careful not to
set the trees on fire.
Often
time players are eager to jump right into the multiplayer
arena and ignore the single player campaign, fearing
the levels are nothing more than waves of enemies
with no depth. While the single player game can be
completed in a weekend for someone with a decent amount
of skill, you'll be hard pressed to find a moments
peace. Packed with tons of scripted events and well
placed variety in the missions, I only found my interest
waning during the Kursk mission which I found to be
the weakest of the three with the US mission placing
first.
Although
most of us will never experience war, games like Call
of Duty, Battlfield 1942, Medal Of Honor et al certainly
give one the minutest taste of what it might have
been like (in all due respect) - at least in terms
of visuals and noise. No game will ever recreate the
feeling that any moment could be your very last. The
visuals of COD:UO bring you to the front lines of
WW2 with its incredible particle effects and explosions
while the pounding sound effects of war haunt you
long after you've played it. If you have a subwoofer,
send the kids away for the weekend and play this game
cranked. It will induce a feeling of stress that you
can't experience if you're trying to let the rest
of the family catch some Z's.
Jumping
into a multiplayer game is definitely where it's at
once you've had your fill of the single player campaign.
While I haven't played all of the multiplayer maps
as of this writing, I can tell you that each new map
is huge compared to the original. For this very reason
"campers" will not be able to sit around
and pick people off which was rampant in COD. Instead
snipers will have to be on the move and on the lookout
for tanks that won't mind sending a nice explosive
shell in your general direction. A further innovation
of the multiplayer game is the ranking system which
rewards for team play. Often times online games are
breeding grounds for loners and mavericks who are
only out for their own entertainment. The ranking
system starts fresh at the beginning of each game
and those who fight for the team will be justly rewarded
with cool items such as a few extra grenades and depending
on your skills, the ability to call in an airstrike.
Wait until you see and hear that in action.
The
only negative I can level towards UO is the game engine
doesn't always want to hold up its share of the bargain,
even with a PC with higher than the minmum requirements.
But since this review was conducted on only one PC
(AMD 2200 With 522 MB Ram, GeForce 3) I can't be sure
everyone will run into the same slowdown that I deed.
You might have to tweak your visuals, which could
be a damn shame considering the game looks so great.
What
you've got here is a pricey expansion pack worth every
little penny. If you've got the original game and
a PC slightly above the recommended PIII 800 MHz,
256 MB RAM and a supported video card - ATI Radeon,
nVidia GeForce and Matrox Parhelia - there shouldn't
be anything stopping you from joining the Offensive.
Hitler needs his ass kicked and you're just the gamer
to do it.
|