Rating: 6.5
Gameplay: 7
Graphics: 6
Sound: 6
Replay: 6.5
Multiplayer: Yes, Offline and Online (PC)

The Middle East is obviously a hot topic right now. We've invaded Afghanistan and now Iraq (of course I'm reviewing this game a while after released, it was released before we invaded Iraq again). So what do Americans want to do? Kill some Iraqis of course. So Gotham Games decided to come out with a game set during the first Gulf War. But is this game just out there to take advantage of the times or is it actually worth while?

Well, killing Iraqis is fun. But the game isn't very good. It's above average, it's obvious some effort was put into it. But it's also obvious that this game was rushed out so the company could take advantage of the situation right now and make a ton of money on it, and it has done just that. This game has sold very well in stores, even though it isn't a very good game. They are a lot of other games out there right now that would be wiser investments.

Let me explain to you why this game isn't really worth the money. The gameplay can be fun, but it's far from being solid. It doesn't run smoothly. The controls definately aren't the easiest around, they are awkward and customization isn't allowed. But worse, the movement doesn't look smooth. The characters don't always look like they are actually touching the ground, etc. Also, the pace is just off. The game tries to be both arcade and realistic and it fails at both. The speed of the game tends to be caught in the middle, it's faster than what a fun realistic game is set at but it's slower than an arcade shooter like Return to Castle Wolfenstein, which leaves you wondering where the game is trying to go.

But those aren't the only problems with the gameplay. Enemies are both smart and stupid. Yup, that's right. They don't use tactics or cover when attacking, they just run right out into the open and keep shooting, hitting you about 25% of the time. So basically, just keep strafing back and forth and watch the idiot keep missing you while he just stands there. Real smart. They are also somehow incredibly smart and have every one of them must have motion sensors built into their eye sockets because sniping and being stealthy is out of the question here in most missions. I remember being hundreds of yards away from the enemy, slowly creeping up a hill because there is an enemy base beyond, get to the stop and go crouch down, take out my sniper rifle, and woah! All of a sudden all the enemies are firing their AK's at me and hitting me a quarter of the time. What the hell just happened? How did they all know I was here all of a sudden?

It gets ridiculous. What's the point of even having a sniper rifle in the game if you can't find cover and snipe people? It would be better to have so that if you have good cover that you could actually stay hidden and put the enemies in confusion until they actually spot you rather than having it so all of them immediately know where you are. It's also sad when they can hit you with surprisingly good accuracy hundreds of yards away and yet only hit you with the same accuracy when your ten feet away (less in most cases because smart people will keep moving and dodge a lot of the bullets).

This game is also surprisingly easy most of the time. As I already pointed out, keeping on the move can keep you in relatively good health. Also, in most cases there are PLENTY of med-kits. Just got shot ten times? No problem, take a medkit and you're good as new. Just got blown up by a tank? No problem, give the guy a medkit and he is as good as new (as long as you give a dying soldier a medkit with a somewhat long period of time, he can be healed to just like new, but wait too long and he dies). I understand having it so that medkits can heal people, but really, raising a guy to life after he has been blown up by a tank for the trillionth time? Come on. There has to be a better way to do it. Of course, the developers practically had to do it this way because you're all by yourself in these missions. No reinforcements, no allies, just you and your team.

Graphically this game is nothing impressive. The explosions look pretty pathetic. The environments are decent size (not nearly large enough for my liking, you are almost always in a valley of some sort so you are stuck within the walls, go figure). This game was rushed, as I stated earlier. The graphics were not paid attention to at all. The characters look fairly realistic as far as size and stature, but their features are bland. Their clothes look "painted" on, weapons don't really stick out, they just look as if they blend in with the body. Your own four characters all have their own unique faces of course, but all of the enemies look the exact same. So basically you will be killing the same Muhammed Abdul-Khaliq (made up the name, sounds familiar though) over and over and over again. Damn, he must have cloned himself a bazilion times. The environments are mostly desert, so the developers didn't have to do much as far as putting in many objects. Just a rock here and there.

The sound in this game is average just like everything else. The guns don't sound realistic at all. The developers really should have put realistic sounds into this game, it's not that hard. The explosions sound pathetic too. It's more like a small pop rather than the BOOM! it should be. The voiceovers aren't that bad, but there isn't much talking in this game. There is a small amount in between missions. Your troops respond to orders and stuff though, they let you know what's going on. But you end up hearing the same exact things over and over and over again.

There is a some replay in this game due to the cooperative mode. But there just isn't much incentive to want to play again. The game isn't much fun so really once your done, your done. Even though you can play it again with more friends, I doubt you'll want to. So basically, have a couple friends stay over, rent the game, beat it (only takes about 10 hours or so), and take it back. Have some fun. Be sure to rent it at a cheap one nighter place though. You won't be keeping it longer than that. The PC version has online cooperative which adds a little bit to the replay factor, but not much, because the PC version is pretty buggy. Overall, this game is just not worth your money.