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Global Operations

Score: 80%
ESRB: Mature
Publisher: EA Games
Developer: Barking Dog Studios
Media: CD/1
Players: 1 - 32
Genre: Action

Graphics & Sound:

Despite it's slower than average frame rates, Global Operations still manages to keep its style and look half decent. A lot of people will have to lower their video settings in order to get the right playing speeds, but this won't make too much of a difference when the actual game starts. With plenty of character animations, and a lot of weapon effects to boost, Global Ops is kind to the eyes any way you look at it.

If what you're hearing most of the time isn't gunfire, then you're doing something wrong. Sure there's the occasional radio chatter, but what is going to be filling up the speakers more often than not will be the hard hitting noises of war. Global Ops doesn't cut any corners with the sound. These guns sound deadly, even the silenced ones, and you'll know when to duck and cover.


Gameplay:

Global Ops is a game of terrorist/anti-terrorist nature. Each of the thirteen maps has both of these sides. Since the maps are located all around the world, no two terrorist or anti-terrorist sides are the same, fending away the monotony. And though there is a single player mode, you won't be playing it all that much. What this game really comes down to is its Multiplayer capabilities.

The soul of the game is based around teamwork, and if you don't realize this soon, then your team will have a tough time racking up their score. You play one small piece of the puzzle by choosing one of 7 different classes available. People like Commandos, Medics, and Recon are common, but Global Ops adds another element by including the role of the Intelligence Satellite. On one hand, this job totally displaces the player from the action. On the other, it gives them a bird's eye view of the map, and also allows them to issue orders and waypoints.

This distribution of the elements of war between players virtually eliminates the possibilities of 'lone wolves'. Everybody on the team relies on everyone else equally, making it difficult, nay, impossible, to win the game by yourself.

The missions themselves are inherently team orientated, including objectives such as capturing two completely different rooms, or guarding six hostages. The levels are designed well, and with the addition of NPC's at the spawn points, makes spawn killing a thing of the past.

Upon dying (and believe me, this will happen frequently), you are sent back to your spawn point to wait for the spawn timer to run down. Once every minute or so the recently killed players are let out of the spawn area, allowing for strength in numbers, instead of stringing the team out for them to get killed.


Difficulty:

The hardest part of Global Operations will be trying to mesh well with the rest of your team. Unless you're playing in a clan, you'll have to communicate more with people you don't know. The quick radio messages ease this pain slightly, but trying to create a battle plan on the fly can quickly turn against you. Other than that, if you can run and shoot, it's all gravy.

Game Mechanics:

Global Ops puts you in the shoes of a warrior via a first person view. Switching weapons and items can either be done by pressing keyboard buttons to cycle through them, or by accessing a clunky inventory screen. The overall feel of the game is a little slower than other action titles, but this works well for the nature of the title. Run and gun action is looked down upon here.

In the single player game, the only real person is you, and the computer controls the other 12 people. And though you can issue orders to your artificially intelligent (cough) buddies, their lack of wits will usually force you to take control of the situation. The single player choice is there, but it would be like choosing a root canal over your birthday cake.

While the Multiplayer support is this game's most appealing feature, it can also be its road to ruin. If you don't have a really good connection to the internet, or sometimes even if you do, trying to find a fast enough server that affords you the actual ability to play the game is a task in and of itself. However, if all the elements fall into place, Global Ops is a treat to play. Hopefully the Internet community will take stock in this game and allow it to grow to its full potential.


-Snow Chainz, GameVortex Communications
AKA Andrew Horwitz

Minimum System Requirements:



Windows 98/2K/ME/XP, 500 MHz Processor, 128 MB RAM, 4X CD - ROM, 800 MB Hard Disk Space, 16 MB Video Card
 

Test System:



Windows 98, 1.4GHz AMD Athlon, GeForce 2 mx 32MB video card, 40 gig hard drive, 56x CD-ROM, 256MB DDR Ram, Sound Blaster Live! sound card, T1 Internet connection

Windows Ghost Recon: Island Thunder Windows Gothic II

 
Game Vortex :: PSIllustrated