I can't be the first to realize it: The guys at IO Interactive think up awesome and interesting concepts, and their execution usually leaves little to be desired. I haven't tried Kane & Lynch: Dead Men(it does seem excellent, though), but Hit-man and this - impeccable. The plot of this is good, and the story well-thought out, with nice progression. It does have a couple of clichés, and a tad of predictability. It invents an alternate history, and in this the US is, in present time, being invaded by the Soviet Union. The people of New York aren't going to stand for that. You are to gather as many followers as you can and fight back, guerrilla style. This means precision strikes on key targets, planning and skill. You will engage in sabotage. You will retake your city from its conquerors. Two important words in this are "vantage point". The strategy and tactics available to you are fitting, without it becoming an RTS. This is shooter-action, albeit requiring thought to a greater degree than others. The command system for giving orders to the squad is simple, clean and to the point, and as soon as you're used to it, you might wonder why it isn't used in every game in which you are the leader of soldiers. The interface of this is just short of being sublime, if it is in fact, imperfect. The AI is almost beyond reproach. Your own men will move away from bombs and moving vehicles, and I experienced opponents moving out of the way when grenades were tossed at them, as well. This has extremely few exceptions. In general, this is nearly entirely devoid of bugs and glitches. The camera is third-person, with zoom being possible regardless of what you're holding, obviously the amount of it will vary. In fact, it's essentially that of Codename: 47, with a free, 360 degree one(think Blood Money) added. You can see that it's those same people from other things in this... they have "tells". How you feel about this is really based on if you like no less than one of their products, or dislike them all. Where they go, Jesper Kyd follows, and his music, as usual, is amazing. It consists of beautiful score pieces, and synthesized, techno ones(not at the same time in this). Another thing we get that can be recognized is big areas, without the LOD being embarrassing. Actually, you'll want to check your map. It's not only helpful, it's necessary. It doesn't give everything away. The level design: Marvelous, if the, at least occasional, sense of them being linear can be bothersome. You get to choose in what order you want to take care of the different Locations... take out the center of the troop transports or that of the attack chopper? What would you prefer to not have to deal with later? Thus, what you do in one affects the others. The scenarios and objectives are plenty varied. The graphics are gorgeous, they still know their stuff. The atmosphere and mood is outstanding. You really believe in your surroundings. The realism in the look, feel, the weapons(appearance, recoil, damage), buildings, all of it, help with this. Real life places are recreated, with the twist of the signs, all of them written in Russian and English. While this title is gloomy, it is also humorous, and it isn't the most disturbing they've done(it might be the least), and the violence is very mild. There is next to no, if any, harsh language. This doesn't hurt it, and besides, it is rated Teen, so it should be expected, going in. The ideas in this are fantastic. It's cinematic, too. If you don't get carried away at during the mass panic portion of the opening/tutorial, then you are tough to impress. Each chapter has one cut-scene. These are done all in-engine, and aren't half-bad. The characters are well-written and quirky, meanwhile, they went over the top with the stereotypes. This features a well-done rag-doll effect, and actually sometimes allows enemies to survive explosions(if they have enough health, presumably). There are not terribly many different guns(quality is not lacking... the picks are magnificent, with Molotov Cocktails, the AK47, the Dragunov sniper and others), and you may only ever carry one side-arm and one rifle. They're all useful, however, so choose carefully, and don't assume that ones dropped by the so-recently alive Reds you've taken out are going to be full(I'm sure you're aware what that'll make out of both of us). Ammo can prove limited, so aim and conserve. If you've got the gall to try that... keeping in mind that they can do the exact same... you can use close-quarters combat, at any time, no matter what you have equipped. You'll gain charisma(the more you have, the bigger the army you can Recruit, meaning, get serving under you, up to a dozen individuals), as you get further in this, and it aids in this to reach out a, well, healing hand, to suffering civilians, and completing secondary goals. This has no multi-player, and while it might have been doable, I respect that they chose not to include it(I have found no reason why making something that is one or the other, SP or MP), and if you wish to try a release similar to this with your friends, the company's 2007 one might be the ticket. This one is a lot of fun... although when the different missions are mastered, this ends kinda soon. Beating is begets you a Selector, so that you can revisit any part from the start of it. This doesn't have an awful lot of re-playability value. The range in the difficulty settings, arguably one thing that can boost it, should ensure that the majority of those who try it can get a challenge, and one that matches their abilities. I recommend this to fans of the group of Danes who made this and/or the rest of what they've given us. 8/10
