 |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| The Entertainment Review |
| Genre: First Person Shooter Developer: Pivotal Games Publisher: Eidos Entertainment |
The idea of two military agents heading into dangerous situations all around the world is an intriguing idea, except that it has been done
over and over again. “Conflict: Denied Ops” is similar to “Army of Two,” though the latter of the two is probably a better choice for those
players who want to team up with a friend and take on tons of bad guys. The problem with this title is that it fails to live up to the hype of
next-gen standards and becomes a game of repetition, which isn’t something that many look for in a game. This is a great case of
good ideas being put to use in a bad way. Sadly, the poor implementations of good ideas results in a mediocre game and this
becomes more evident as players progress through the game. Most of the time players are forced to focus on the flaws and
shortcomings of the game and are unable to see a lot of the good things in this old-fashioned first person shooter.
The graphics in the game are lacking in a variety of areas, which is apparent very quickly in the game. However, it is first seen in the
character modeling in the game. These graphics aren’t average, and it looks as though more time was put into creating the enemies
rather than developing the characters of Graves or Lang. The backdrops have a lot of good detail, but it is lost among many technical
issues. The frame rate lags and often times freezes up during intense times of game play. The game doesn’t live up to the hype of
other games next-gen games coming out, and that is not a good sign with some of the games that are coming out soon.
Players take on the role of both Graces and Lang in this cooperative adventure game and players can switch between them at any given
time during the single-players campaign. Obviously players can play with a friend, which one player plays as Graves and the other
plays as Lang. It is a fairly straightforward scenario and loaded with a lot of possibilities. This game had the chance to add an entirely
new dimension to the standard formula for the first person shooter, and really this is on genre that can use a little originality and
innovation. Players will enjoy the fact that both Graves and Lang have different attributes and weapons. Graves is the rough veteran that
prefers to lag behind with a sniper rifle and watch the situations play out. Lang carries the heavy artillery and prefers to rush into battle
with little regard of his or any else’s life. Graves is quick and quiet, making him the perfect candidate for stealth skills while Land is a
little slower, but is more powerful and capable of taking some hits. On the outside this should appeal to many gamers, but
unfortunately the meat of the game won’t hold and interest.
The problem is the fact that the game starts to fall apart almost immediately. There is a whole laundry list of complaints that players will
come up with. From the poor AI, to the unreliable combat mechanics, slow load times, lack of weapons, touchy vehicle control, terrible
collision detection and more, players won’t be able to look past the problems and focus on the good elements of the game. The most
frustrating of the problems is the fact that the AI of the player’s partner during the single player campaign. Unless players are constantly
issuing commands to take a certain position, he could lag way behind or even sit in one spot waiting for the player to die. It is possible
to revive the dead member of the party with a quick adrenaline shot, and hopefully the partner does that same for each player. Graves
dislikes his rookie partner, which may explain why it seems that the two don’t work well together and he takes so long to revive Lang
when he goes down in a hail of gunfire. Also, it isn’t much fun to be the gunner on a vehicle while the partner sits behind the wheel and
refuses to drive. Along with the odd control system in a tank, the problems heavily outweigh the positive aspects of the game.
“Conflict: Denied Ops” sets out to delivers a fun-filled, cooperative, engaging first person shooter experience but it quickly takes a turn
for the worst and stumbles and falls due to a numerous amount of problems. The AI is very poor, the graphics are dramatically lacking
and the sound couldn’t have been any worse. There isn’t much of a storyline, except for the fact that players need to clear the extraction
zone and get out of the area as soon as possible. Also, the fact that dead-on sniper shots often missed gets to be quite frustrating,
especially when a lot of action is going on. On the good side, the checkpoints are generally well positioned and the weapons and
gadgets that are available are cool. Sadly, those are the only positive aspects of the game. The online mode is also nothing worth
getting too excited about.
The game would have benefited from a few more months in development so the flaws and glitches could be ironed out, the whole
game feels as though it was rushed. For those looking for a great action game to play with a friend, “Army of Two” may be the game to
go with.
over and over again. “Conflict: Denied Ops” is similar to “Army of Two,” though the latter of the two is probably a better choice for those
players who want to team up with a friend and take on tons of bad guys. The problem with this title is that it fails to live up to the hype of
next-gen standards and becomes a game of repetition, which isn’t something that many look for in a game. This is a great case of
good ideas being put to use in a bad way. Sadly, the poor implementations of good ideas results in a mediocre game and this
becomes more evident as players progress through the game. Most of the time players are forced to focus on the flaws and
shortcomings of the game and are unable to see a lot of the good things in this old-fashioned first person shooter.
The graphics in the game are lacking in a variety of areas, which is apparent very quickly in the game. However, it is first seen in the
character modeling in the game. These graphics aren’t average, and it looks as though more time was put into creating the enemies
rather than developing the characters of Graves or Lang. The backdrops have a lot of good detail, but it is lost among many technical
issues. The frame rate lags and often times freezes up during intense times of game play. The game doesn’t live up to the hype of
other games next-gen games coming out, and that is not a good sign with some of the games that are coming out soon.
Players take on the role of both Graces and Lang in this cooperative adventure game and players can switch between them at any given
time during the single-players campaign. Obviously players can play with a friend, which one player plays as Graves and the other
plays as Lang. It is a fairly straightforward scenario and loaded with a lot of possibilities. This game had the chance to add an entirely
new dimension to the standard formula for the first person shooter, and really this is on genre that can use a little originality and
innovation. Players will enjoy the fact that both Graves and Lang have different attributes and weapons. Graves is the rough veteran that
prefers to lag behind with a sniper rifle and watch the situations play out. Lang carries the heavy artillery and prefers to rush into battle
with little regard of his or any else’s life. Graves is quick and quiet, making him the perfect candidate for stealth skills while Land is a
little slower, but is more powerful and capable of taking some hits. On the outside this should appeal to many gamers, but
unfortunately the meat of the game won’t hold and interest.
The problem is the fact that the game starts to fall apart almost immediately. There is a whole laundry list of complaints that players will
come up with. From the poor AI, to the unreliable combat mechanics, slow load times, lack of weapons, touchy vehicle control, terrible
collision detection and more, players won’t be able to look past the problems and focus on the good elements of the game. The most
frustrating of the problems is the fact that the AI of the player’s partner during the single player campaign. Unless players are constantly
issuing commands to take a certain position, he could lag way behind or even sit in one spot waiting for the player to die. It is possible
to revive the dead member of the party with a quick adrenaline shot, and hopefully the partner does that same for each player. Graves
dislikes his rookie partner, which may explain why it seems that the two don’t work well together and he takes so long to revive Lang
when he goes down in a hail of gunfire. Also, it isn’t much fun to be the gunner on a vehicle while the partner sits behind the wheel and
refuses to drive. Along with the odd control system in a tank, the problems heavily outweigh the positive aspects of the game.
“Conflict: Denied Ops” sets out to delivers a fun-filled, cooperative, engaging first person shooter experience but it quickly takes a turn
for the worst and stumbles and falls due to a numerous amount of problems. The AI is very poor, the graphics are dramatically lacking
and the sound couldn’t have been any worse. There isn’t much of a storyline, except for the fact that players need to clear the extraction
zone and get out of the area as soon as possible. Also, the fact that dead-on sniper shots often missed gets to be quite frustrating,
especially when a lot of action is going on. On the good side, the checkpoints are generally well positioned and the weapons and
gadgets that are available are cool. Sadly, those are the only positive aspects of the game. The online mode is also nothing worth
getting too excited about.
The game would have benefited from a few more months in development so the flaws and glitches could be ironed out, the whole
game feels as though it was rushed. For those looking for a great action game to play with a friend, “Army of Two” may be the game to
go with.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
