CT: Special Forces
Score: 80% ESRB: Teen Publisher: Hip Interactive Developer: Light and Shadow Productions Media: Cart/1 Players: 1 - 2 Genre: Action
Graphics & Sound: Fans of the Metal Slug series, or really any 2D shooter will feel right at home with CT: Special Forces. Although the game suffers from a few technical flaws, it still manages to provide a fun experience overall. Visually, things don't get much better on the GBA. Character animations and designs are great and show off some neat details. For example, when using something like the flamethrower or machine gun, you'll notice some reflective light on your character. This detail also fits in with whatever weapon you are using. The reflective muzzle flash from a machine gun simply reflects off any shiny parts of your character (like goggles), while a flamethrower illuminates the entire front of the body. This detail seems restricted only to the main character since it doesn't appear anywhere else. Another cool bit of graphical flash is the inclusion of a laser-scope whenever you kneel. I was never able to determine if this actually helped my targeting, but it was fun to see that thin red line on enemies. Environments are generally good, but lack consistency. The opening levels are nice, especially the desert level, which is supposed to be the Middle East but isn't, (I'll elaborate on this later) but this quality isn't carried throughout the game, such as in the jungle area. CT: Special Forces features all of the familiar sounds of war, including loud explosions and gunfire. Beyond that, there's really not much to hear that you haven't heard before, and I'm not speaking in that general sense when we want to nicely say 'nothing special'. Most of the background music, at least to me, sounded just a little too familiar at times. For example, the fanfare that plays when you complete a level sounds a little too much like the fanfare for the original Contra (only in a different key). But that's about as close as I'm getting to that subject.
Gameplay: As mentioned before, CT: Special Forces is a 2D shooter in the vein of games like Metal Slug or, to be more precise, the PC titles Halloween Harry and Duke Nukem (when he was in 2D and actually released games instead of wallowing in perpetual development). CT: Special Forces doesn't waste any time with deep back-story, flashy intros or any kind of character development. Like so many titles on the NES, both of your characters go completely anonymous. As one of these nameless characters, it's your job to travel the world and capture members of a terrorist network. Like I said, there's really not much story here. Although this isn't much of a problem, it may put off some gamers who need a reason for going someplace. You're given a mission briefing to give you a general clue, but after that there's really nothing here. I felt some of this stemmed from the game trying to remain politically correct. Everything in the game is very generic. You're never told where you are since all locations have names like 'Snowy Mountain' or 'Deep Jungle' instead of saying 'the Middle East' or 'Cuba'. This certainly isn't something to fault the game for since more exposure to terrorists is the last thing we need, but to me this gave the game a very vanilla feeling. One of the more welcome aspects of the game is that it does some new things with the genre and splits up the action into different segments. Most of the game takes place in a traditional side-scrolling shooter format. You run around massive levels, shooting everything in site and picking up new weapons. During these missions, your primary duty is to track down the terrorist leader and arrest him. Although this may sound a little complicated, the levels are very straightforward in their approach and rarely feature multiple paths and dead ends. The most confusing aspect found in the levels usually includes having to find outcroppings you can jump on or finding where the grappling hook is hidden in the level. The hook is usually in an easy to see area, but if you're not careful you can pass it up and have to backtrack later. Side-scrolling missions are broken up with two other forms of missions. One type puts you in a helicopter and treats you to a top-down shooter like in Raiden or 1942. The goal here is simple -- guide your helicopter to the end of the level while avoiding waves of enemy helicopters and tanks. Another mission type is rather unique to the genre, or at least to the GBA. During some side-scrolling missions you'll come to a spot marked with a targeting reticule. Once you reach these areas, the game enters a sniping mode where you have to shoot enemies and rescue hostages. This is about as close as the GBA will ever get to a version of Silent Scope, and after playing it, I hope it's the last. The targeting area seems like a waste. Except for your scope, everything on the screen is black. This means that you have to search for enemies while they are allowed to duck for cover and take potshots at you. Some kind of clue as to where the enemies were would have been very helpful.
Difficulty: Easy is not a word that can describe CT: Special Forces. This game is not for the easily frustrated, nor people who don't like repeating levels over and over again or like remembering passwords. Much like its gameplay, CT: Special Forces owes much of its difficulty and AI schemes to old school shooters. The AI isn't especially smart since all enemies follow either a simple 'walk-and-shoot' path or the ever popular 'shoot, don't shoot' pattern. Instead of challenging you with smart AI, the game instead challenges you with limited ammo (for special weapons) and hordes of enemies that are stronger than you. The challenge level is jacked up even more once you realize that you have a limited number of lives (with no way to gain extra lives) and no continues. If you lose all your lives, it is back to the beginning. Even the password feature doesn't help ease things since you're only awarded one after you complete all three levels that make up each area. The frustration this breeds is indescribable; especially when you make it all the way to the boss, then die, then have to restart the entire area. This may be okay for a console game, but it is absolute murder for a handheld. Ignoring the fact that paper and a pen are usually hard to find in areas where you're usually likely to play your GBA -- it doesn't lend itself well to a portable system that you're likely to only play for short spurts of time instead of long bouts like on a console.
Game Mechanics: Although a fun and rather well put together game (if you ignore that whole 'Difficulty' section), CT: Special Forces suffers from a number of goofy technical issues. One of the more apparent ones, which can feel a little cheap at times, concerns objects in your path. Levels are not only designed to play out horizontally, but vertically. As expected, this means that there are several objects you can jump on in order to reach higher areas of the level. Although you can jump on these objects, you can also walk past them. The catch is that you can't shoot through them, unless you're standing on a sweet spot by them. I suspect that this was designed to act as some form of cover, but it's just a little silly. Another silly technical issue pops up at the end of each level. Red flags mark the end of each level. Common sense would tell you that once you touched this flag, the level would end. At least that's what you assume would happen. Instead, once you reach the end of the level the game continues to run until it decides to end. This is just plain annoying. Control is generally good and tight, but also features some silly issues. One of the more glaring ones occurs when cycling through weapons. The game makes a point of listing all of the weapons in the game on your weapon slot - even if you have no ammo for it. The result is a weapons system that involves tedious cycling through in order to equip weapons. The system would have been easier to use if it only showed the weapons you had ammo for. Some levels also include a parachuting area that seems rather pointless. During these areas you have to make your way up a mountain only to grab a parachute that is hidden and the top and jump back to the bottom. Huh? Once your character jumps off the mountain, two meters pop up. The left meter indicates your horizontal position in the air, while the right one shows your vertical position. The point of these sections is to hit the 'B' button when both meters are in the red area. This sounds easy, but the system is rather picky about where the arrow has to be in the small red areas, resulting in a costly trial and error exercise. I never understood the purpose for these sections and found them to be more of a way to throw away lives than anything else. In the end, CT: Special Forces proves to be a nice gem for the GBA, especially for 2D shooter fans. The steep difficulty level, coupled with silly technical glitches might turn off some newer players who can't recall the older days of the NES. In fact, these technical boo-boos may even be enough to turn off most 'older' players. However, those who are able to stick with the game will find a fun adventure.
-Starscream, GameVortex Communications AKA Ricky Tucker
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