It's been a couple of months
since I've played a full game, having kept myself
busy with Half-Life mods. Most of which were
fairly average, but of course the engine was
designed in 1996. I read a review for Vietcong
which mentioned the game being only marginally
better looking than the high-definition updated
Half-Life. So, as usual, I wasn't expecting
much, but Vietcong definitely delivered. The
visuals were great, albeit outdated by todays
standards. But compared to it's competitiors
of the time; Medal Of Honor and Call Of Duty,
Vietcong looks just as good. But it's hard to
compare because most of the battles in Vietcong
take place in lush jungle and bush.
The waterfalls, rivers, rotting
trees and bush everywhere creates an atmosphere
I have not yet played in game. The levels were
also quite big, some of which you can easily
get lost in. Although there is a fairly linear
path, you often need your teammates to guide
you through because it doesn't always look
linear.
Which brings us to another
aspect that Vietcong suceeded at compared to
most other first person shooters - team mates.
You team mates don't really get in your, they
don't get stuck or lost, the aren't complete
idiots that run into bullets. Your pointman
also shows you the way, although at a snails
pace. You don't have to wait for them, they
won't hold up your progression, but if they
are around in a gunfight it's certainly helpful.
There are a couple of levels where you're fighting
with another team charging up a hilll towards
some ruins full of Vietcongs, so you've got
at least a dozen team mates charging up with
up - a neat feeling.
The game does have some flaws
though. The biggest being limited quicksaves.
You can only use quicksave five times on normal
difficulty - and with the instant deathtraps
and when a single bullet can slash your health
in half, you need unlimited quicksaves. Fortunately,
you can get unlimited quicksaves on easy difficulty.
But easy was actually still very fun, certainly
not so easy that you can play with your eyes
closed.
The other annoying thing was
the limited amount of ammunition and weapons
you can carry. One handgun, and one normal gun,
but often you have to drop your weapons and
pick up an enemies gun because you've run out
of ammo. Actually picking up ammo is a timely
matter, as is making countless radio calls in
the middle of battle.
Vietcong was not a long game,
probably ten hours max. But maybe it just felt
short because I was having so much fun with
it. Everything is very realistic, even killing
your enemies as you need to hit them pretty
well or they'll recover and keep shooting. Great
graphics for 2003 and fun gameplay means I'm
looking forward to playing the official addon
pack and sequel. It's a pity the creators, Pterodon
& Illusion Softworks, haven't done much
else in this genre. But, how will this hold
up against Men Of Valor, the only other successful
Vietnam-based game released a year later...
