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Tactical Ops: Assault on Terror

Score: 80%
ESRB: Mature
Publisher: Infogrames
Developer: Kamehan
Media: CD/1
Players: 1 - 16
Genre: First Person Shooter

Graphics & Sound:

A lot of the animations in Tactical Ops: Assault on Terror may seem a bit awkward, but you can't really argue with the quality. There are nice textures, a shortage of jagged edges, and the explosions look good. The biggest problem is variety. Though the levels are different from each other, they usually seem monochrome, with one color theme and style throughout the entire map. Also lacking variety are the characters, not between each other, but between each team. Each individual usually looks different than the next, but each team looks almost identical, causing fatal hesitations during heavy firefights.

Though there is no music when you're playing, the painful silence is punctuated by ferocious explosions and firefights. The weapon effects do not disappoint, drawing the player into the action through the audio as well as the video.


Gameplay:

Tactical Ops: Assault on Terror can't help but be compared to Counter Strike. It is very similar to the popular internet game in many ways, most of which are good. Using the Unreal engine, this game sends you into fights as either a Special Forces or Terrorist member to complete certain goals. A money system has been incorporated into the weapon system, where you buy your tools of destruction from the money you gain in previous battles.

A variety of weapons are offered, and are different for each side. Pistols, rifles, shotguns, and many kinds of grenades make up a lethal arsenal for you to pick and choose from. The differences are very apparent between each firearm, making it worthwhile to spend a lot of cash on the more expensive and better weapons.

With over 30 different levels, you probably won't be getting bored any time soon. But they would be nothing without varying mission objectives. There are 4 different types of games you can play, and each map is associated with one of these methods. Hostage Rescue has the Terrorists guarding a group of hostages, and it is the job of the other team to rescue them. Planting the Bomb gives one Terrorist a bomb, which he has to plant at a designated area. OICW again puts the ball in the Terrorists' court by placing the OICW gun somewhere on the map. The Terrorists must get this gun and eliminate the entire other team. Escape sees one of the teams fleeing for their lives while the opposing team tries to hunt them down.

Though Tactical Ops can be played solo, it was made for net play. Games are usually large, but do not rely on team cooperation that much, though it helps. Lone wolves can be found everywhere, and all types of play are encouraged. But while this is the game's greatest advantage, it is also its worst trait. If you're not connected to the internet, or you just have a slow connection, you cannot play this game. The single player experience can only suffice for so long, and there really isn't anything like playing against, or with, other human players.


Difficulty:

Tactical Ops: Assault on Terror isn't a hard game to get the hang of. The most daunting task will be to learn the levels well enough to do better than your opponents. Aiming is easy with any gun, and if you can't hit the broad side of a barn with a sniper rifle, there are always grenades or heavy machine guns. Just don't forget, no matter how good you get, it won't be hard to find someone better than you.

Game Mechanics:

Just like the game the engine is named after, Tactical Ops: Assault on Terror is a first person shooter, and controls like any other game of the genre. Ducking, running, and jumping are all at your disposal, and should be taken advantage of as frequently as possible.

Buying weapons is done at the beginning of the level, and can only be done at your team's starting position. Depending on the server settings will determine how much time you have before the match starts, but most servers give you ample time. The bigger problem comes in the form of being able to buy weapons any time during the game. If you run out of ammo, you can run back to your starting point and stock up again. Nade spamming is made all too easy because there is no time limit to purchasing after the match starts. This could prove very frustrating for newer players.

Tactical Ops comes close to Counter Strike, but it certainly does not surpass it. But, the 20 dollar price tag will allow people who don't own Half Life to get in on the internet action. If you already play and love Counter Strike, don't bother with this game. However, if you don't feel like buying Half Life and downloading an 80 meg file, check out Tactical Ops.


-Snow Chainz, GameVortex Communications
AKA Andrew Horwitz

Minimum System Requirements:



200 MHz Processor, 64 MB RAM, 120 MB Free Hard Disk Space, 4X CD ROM, 8 MB 3D Video Card, Windows 95/98/2K, 56K Modem
 

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

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