DISCLAIMER: This is not some attempt to get you to buy it. This is an attempt to INFORM you so you can decide if you want to WASTE 60 dollars, or gamble on finding it cheaper at a later date. This IS Atlus pushing it out to shelves.Im going to get the silly stuff over with first, since its the least important, but most entertaining. The game intro video opens with a man walking on a dirt path somewhere, as moments pass the text below reads: "On the way to WWII...". "Honey, where are you off to? Dinner is almost ready!" - "Oh im just gonna pop by WWII real quick" - "Ok, hurry back!"
So then you start the game itself, and the leader spends 2 minutes yelling about how subtlety and swiftness determine the outcome of this first fight since there's a bunker full of nazis and a sniper n shit. "Hit them from all sides before they have a chance to fight back!" he says. So what does the fucker do? He throws a loud ass GRENADE at the
furthest guy from the bunker, then all the nazis run out and oh shit. It doesnt impact the mission a whole lot, but then in a mission later after you've joined a new squad.
So this new leader sez take out the vehicles first blah blah. So then he initiates the fight against a TOWN of nazis and a TANK and an armored troop carrier by running at the first guy he sees and plugging him with his pistol. Smart. This wouldn't be so annoying if he doesnt take the time 3 moves later to yell at me for charging my people in. Wtf dude.
The story's hilarious in concept but whenever the dialogue is executing there's a lot of SMH. For example you pull a gun on this guy to get information from him, then he agrees under the threat of DEATH to give up info, then your leader goes Oh hay we can get your families extraction to a safezone in writing and the guys like 'no worries, i've head all about british honor'.
-- Then in an A-BOMB IZ EVIL moment your leader sez GIVING US THE INFO WILL SAVE THOUSANDS OF LIVES and then the guy goes "Im sure" or something like that. WTF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!!!!!!!!!!!
and BRITSSSS
Oh, I will say the VA in this game is a smidge above average at least. The character designs are LOLZ. I've never seen so many HUGE COLLARS in all my life.
Now on to the gameplay:
Camera sucks. I know most people played the demo and experienced the whirly-gig sensation that is Operation Darkness. Im terrified to report that you will get used to it. Oh its not a skill you'd demo at the next Penny Arcade Expo; I mean you'll still spin out every once in a while like a distinguished mentally-challenged fellow as you try to figure out where the HELL your character is. After a few missions you will realize its about THREE things:
A.) Am I behind something that stops bullets.
B.) Do I have Line of Sight?
C.) Do I have Ibuprofen for my bullet wounds.
Learning where targets are in relation to your character is ultimately far more important than learning where your character is. As you shuffle through the targets with the triggers you'll see what damage potential you have, and from there you can take a guess who you wanna plug. If anything the greatest problem the camera introduces is when your characters are split up, as they often are unless you are dumb and have them with 3 weapons each and 1 mag reload between em all. You CAN use the friendly target cycle to find people, but unless you brave the analog stick camera controls, you wont have much of an idea where people are.
Ill side with dumbass jotaro a little and say I do appreciate the action shots, but I think they could exist fine with a standard overhead isometric. The models aren't that good, this is Dreamcast quality stuff, at best. Why not just zoom in close during action? Im not sure what they were trying with the up close camera during turn phase crap.
With the camera out of the way its actually, dare I say, a decent game so far. The rules for weapons use all make sense since they are based on High School WWII history lessons. The sniper rifle and bazookas rule the field, but pairs of units with sub machine guns or standard M4s do just fine as well. There is nothing quite as satisfying as getting a knife kill on a nazi that just pissed (edit or missed...he is german) you with his pistol.
The first missions are fairly challenging. While there's a lot of emphasis on using cover, a lot of places you would expect to be able to fire from dont work. The game takes LoS extremely seriously. Most of the time the more obvious types of cover (ie. sandbags) allow you to fire over them and still keep cover. You can also work the corners of some objects and still get LoS and some of the defense benefits. Cover is essential to taking on vehicles, which is tricky business all around.
I also like how you can scavenge from troops on the field and immediately use what you find. It saved my ass in the second mission where if you lose one dude you lose the mission. I managed to get him to a downed nazi and get a pack of painkillers (ie ADVIL) and use them to patch up the 4 bullets I took last turn. Nice.
Its clear everyone is a werewolf and I havent got to the part where I can probably turn into one i guess? I didnt know much about this game before I picked it up so maybe people who dont even own the game know more about it than I do.
Between battles there's a giant boring map with glowing dots and a menu that lets me skill up weapon up all that jazz. Usual shit. Cept it seems all characters at least early on learn the same skills as they level up. I guess ill just use my imagination and pretend the lady with the sniper rifle is my sniper...or something.
Also the name of the main character's friend is Jude, and every time there's some tense scene in the game I get 'Hey Jude' running through my head.
