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Chrome Specforce Mini Review
Chris Leyton
19/08/2005
Bungie have a lot to answer for as the uninspired clones continue to plague the PC...
Originally released without the Specforce moniker in 2003 by Take-Two, Techland has revisited its futuristic Sci-Fi FPS in the hope of addressing some of the issues and criticism levelled at its original release with the development of Chrome: Specforce from Deep Silver.
If thereās anything we donāt really need at this stage itās another futuristic vehicle/shooter hybrid; in fact letās just blame Bungie, Halo popularised the amalgamation and opened the floodgates for hundreds of uninspired clones to follow!
Players take the role of Bolt Logan (a sign of what to expect), a member of the elite SpecForce military unit who are called into battle terrorist factions on the planet of Estrella. As is often the case however, things turn from bad to worse when the local conflict escalates to galactic proportionsā¦ and youāre stuck in the middle of it.
Despite its unoriginality there are a handful of things that holds Chrome Specforce narrowly above the bargain bin that its £19.99 price-tag puts it in. Firstly the overall storyline is engaging and has had some thought poured into it; Sci-Fi fans will appreciate the developments and the overall setting that the game takes place.
Although itās never going to pose a threat to the likes of Doom3, Half Life 2 and forthcoming blockbuster first-person-shooters, Chrome Specforce does feature moderately impressive barren, desolate environments to fight through and explore; admittedly the vegetation does look a little dated, however the overall style combines well with the tactical tempo of the game ā“ itās highlight being the ability to tactically creep your way through a level to set up an ambush or finding yourself on the receiving end of one.
Combat, or more specifically opponent AI, has been drastically improved upon the original release, however Chrome Specforce still suffers from a lack of personality and atmosphere, resulting in gameplay that quickly begins to grate. Firstly the opponents suffer from a generic style throughout the entire game; thereās very little banter between opponents or tactical differences between units to provide the sensation of intelligence and to enhance the overall atmosphere of the game ā“ itās an extremely old-school shooter in the fact that itās a case of simply shooting everything and thatās about it.
The game features a rudimentary (and we mean it) selection of weapons to get your hands on; as weāve said on numerous occasions a first-person-shooter is only as good as the weapons within, sadly Chrome Specforce relies too heavily on the generic set-up so you can expect Assault Rifles, Shotguns, Rocket Launchers and the fps stalwart Sniper Rifle. Chrome Specforce does however feature a rather nifty armour set-up that grants the player four different special abilities, granting camouflage, increased speed, armour and the ability to slow down the action for precise shots. Sadly the implementation of these is a little cumbersome thanks largely to the mapping on various keys around those used to move ā“ being ambidextrous is certainly an advantage!
Another of Chromeās misgivings is the implementation of vehicles. Although they provide respite from the core gameplay, the implementation simply feels wrong as wheels lack a convincing interaction with the environment giving the impression that theyāre sliding around on ice and not the rugged terrain that features in the game ā“ in all honesty weāve seen more accomplished results from indie game developers without a budget! Of more concern and one that starkly highlights its age is the fact that taking control of vehicles is an extremely linear experience; youāll often find lots of assorted dropships, jeeps and bikes scattered throughout the environment, but bizarrely the player is restricted to taking control of one particular vehicle ā“ in this day and age of Battlefield 2 this is simply primitive and drags down the overall experience.
Itās hard to knock Chrome Specforce too heavily simply because of its bargain price, however you have to question whether thatās a reason to invest in such a bland experience that only offers a mediocre interpretation of something weāve seen on countless occasions.
Gameplay flaws, bugs and glitches are one thing, a complete lack of imagination in terms of a videogame however is a distinctly different matter...
