Take on the role of Karl Fairburne(Clarke Hill, determined), an OSS agent in the ruins of Berlin and the cities around it, out to stop the Soviets from getting the V2 rockets. To that end, you will escort/kill officers and the like and steal/retrieve documents. Battles between the two sides rage in the distance, sometimes all around you, dogfights in the skies, when it's rainy rather than sunny, above you. You will be the first soldier of The Cold War, and no one will know what you did. Because that's what we want to struggle for
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Yes, this is the same plot, still thin and bland, although it is more focused. This is indeed a remake, doing some things better, others worse, and, overall, not changing all that much, outside of aesthetics. Certainly the graphics are much, much better, no longer merely OK for the time, but impressive several years later. Ignoring the occasional block with one texture that distracts and stands out, the atmosphere is good. Smoke, fire, debris, loose bricks that may drop, etc. The setting is less monotone, every area memorable, a handful of them based on real life ones. Storytelling is limited, with decent cutscenes and narration.
This is easier, with regenerating health and checkpoints(no longer encouraged to limit when you save). It maintains the sniping mechanics, such as ballistics, having to take in wind strength and direction, as well as bullet drop. You can blow up explosives(including on the belts of enemies) and destroy vehicles via the fuel cap(thus you don't have to pick up a Panzerfaust, which wouldn't fit) kill several by the projectile passing through them in a row, having timed it just right. There are many solid vantage points, albeit co-op typically offers only one, giving the other person nothing to do, unless there are attackers to hold off that approach from behind or the like. It also doesn't show more than the one guy in the videos, making me postulate that he's suffering from MPD. Completing a level in either of these modes unlocks it for the other. It does only take 6 and a half hours to beat, compared to the 14 of the predecessor.
With your buddy, you can also go scavenging for repair parts for your vehicle in Bombing Run, whilst fighting off patrols. Kill Tally, also in the other two types of gaming here, have you go for the largest count of foes taken out as increasing waves approach. And finally, Overwatch has one guy as agent/spotter, the other a bit away, ready to shoot when both agree it is a good time for it – this is the stealthiest it gets when faced with the often very bad, sometimes reasonable AI. In the campaign, you can go at it like Rambo. These others do offer more challenge. The binoculars let you tag those you fight and places in the environment, for increased communication and coordination. And the former lets you track the target, and if you haven't run until out of breath, you can Empty Lung(that won't last more than a few seconds), it may give you a guide. A small red box that shrinks as you line up the best shot, albeit it is awkwardly not at the center of the crosshairs.
The multiplayer, with its 14 levels(at least with DLC, which, outside of the one where you kill Hitler, which is meh, is worth it) allows you, and everyone else(!) to do nearly anything SP does. You choose the servers yourself, and they can be customized by the many options(most of them in effect outside of MP): headshots only, show players killer, wind strength, aim assist, bullet drop, scope glint(reveals them to those looking towards them), having to zoom out in order to reload, and do so for every bullet, sudden death, bullet trails(these can be "followed" right back to who shot!), one shot kills and No Cross(no getting past the midpoint of the map). Outside of the dynamic CTF, this does end up with the most skilled dominating the others, since everyone has a rifle. It's all TDM and Deathmatch, with slightly altered rules for how you have to earn points. Distance King: the further the shot. Dog Tag Harvest: collect, well, yeah. The original, which unfortunately doesn't support online/LAN anymore, had Assassination: one team out for killing a target, the other team out to protect him, similar to in Assassin's Creed.
You can carry three weapons, the other two being SMG and pistol. Then there are items. All of this can be chosen right before you start playing. You have land mines and dynamite(to be placed where you stand) and tripwire(drag manually!). When you throw, you get a trajectory approximation, letting you choose exactly where to, and you can put it away or move whenever you want. The three you can toss: two types of grenades and rocks, the latter to attract attention. Stealth can also be applied by masking the sound of shooting – artillery fire, a machine, etc. And this now has a visual indicator, so prepare, wait, then pull the trigger. Too often this does force you to reveal yourself and engage in the average-at-best third-person-shooting.
You still don't have much of a training ground, and learning it all in the heat of battle is frustrating. Movement is smoother, and you can now vault/climb. You get stuck where you shouldn't, and the same button picks up the empty-ish gun of the dead body as searching it, without even having one be done by holding it down. If you're seen by one, everyone knows where you are. Except for maybe the next bit, where they will somehow have missed all the loud, chaotic combat. When seen, there is an indicator: from where, how suspicious, and whether they may attack.
There is a lot of bloody, disturbing, gory, brutal violence, in this, particularly in the X-Ray kill-cam. I recommend this to fans of sniping. 8/10
Yes, this is the same plot, still thin and bland, although it is more focused. This is indeed a remake, doing some things better, others worse, and, overall, not changing all that much, outside of aesthetics. Certainly the graphics are much, much better, no longer merely OK for the time, but impressive several years later. Ignoring the occasional block with one texture that distracts and stands out, the atmosphere is good. Smoke, fire, debris, loose bricks that may drop, etc. The setting is less monotone, every area memorable, a handful of them based on real life ones. Storytelling is limited, with decent cutscenes and narration.
This is easier, with regenerating health and checkpoints(no longer encouraged to limit when you save). It maintains the sniping mechanics, such as ballistics, having to take in wind strength and direction, as well as bullet drop. You can blow up explosives(including on the belts of enemies) and destroy vehicles via the fuel cap(thus you don't have to pick up a Panzerfaust, which wouldn't fit) kill several by the projectile passing through them in a row, having timed it just right. There are many solid vantage points, albeit co-op typically offers only one, giving the other person nothing to do, unless there are attackers to hold off that approach from behind or the like. It also doesn't show more than the one guy in the videos, making me postulate that he's suffering from MPD. Completing a level in either of these modes unlocks it for the other. It does only take 6 and a half hours to beat, compared to the 14 of the predecessor.
With your buddy, you can also go scavenging for repair parts for your vehicle in Bombing Run, whilst fighting off patrols. Kill Tally, also in the other two types of gaming here, have you go for the largest count of foes taken out as increasing waves approach. And finally, Overwatch has one guy as agent/spotter, the other a bit away, ready to shoot when both agree it is a good time for it – this is the stealthiest it gets when faced with the often very bad, sometimes reasonable AI. In the campaign, you can go at it like Rambo. These others do offer more challenge. The binoculars let you tag those you fight and places in the environment, for increased communication and coordination. And the former lets you track the target, and if you haven't run until out of breath, you can Empty Lung(that won't last more than a few seconds), it may give you a guide. A small red box that shrinks as you line up the best shot, albeit it is awkwardly not at the center of the crosshairs.
The multiplayer, with its 14 levels(at least with DLC, which, outside of the one where you kill Hitler, which is meh, is worth it) allows you, and everyone else(!) to do nearly anything SP does. You choose the servers yourself, and they can be customized by the many options(most of them in effect outside of MP): headshots only, show players killer, wind strength, aim assist, bullet drop, scope glint(reveals them to those looking towards them), having to zoom out in order to reload, and do so for every bullet, sudden death, bullet trails(these can be "followed" right back to who shot!), one shot kills and No Cross(no getting past the midpoint of the map). Outside of the dynamic CTF, this does end up with the most skilled dominating the others, since everyone has a rifle. It's all TDM and Deathmatch, with slightly altered rules for how you have to earn points. Distance King: the further the shot. Dog Tag Harvest: collect, well, yeah. The original, which unfortunately doesn't support online/LAN anymore, had Assassination: one team out for killing a target, the other team out to protect him, similar to in Assassin's Creed.
You can carry three weapons, the other two being SMG and pistol. Then there are items. All of this can be chosen right before you start playing. You have land mines and dynamite(to be placed where you stand) and tripwire(drag manually!). When you throw, you get a trajectory approximation, letting you choose exactly where to, and you can put it away or move whenever you want. The three you can toss: two types of grenades and rocks, the latter to attract attention. Stealth can also be applied by masking the sound of shooting – artillery fire, a machine, etc. And this now has a visual indicator, so prepare, wait, then pull the trigger. Too often this does force you to reveal yourself and engage in the average-at-best third-person-shooting.
You still don't have much of a training ground, and learning it all in the heat of battle is frustrating. Movement is smoother, and you can now vault/climb. You get stuck where you shouldn't, and the same button picks up the empty-ish gun of the dead body as searching it, without even having one be done by holding it down. If you're seen by one, everyone knows where you are. Except for maybe the next bit, where they will somehow have missed all the loud, chaotic combat. When seen, there is an indicator: from where, how suspicious, and whether they may attack.
There is a lot of bloody, disturbing, gory, brutal violence, in this, particularly in the X-Ray kill-cam. I recommend this to fans of sniping. 8/10