Vietcong

"Vietcong, the name strikes as a typical Vietnam game, but this may be the best ever..."

when i bought this game, i looked on the back of the cover, and thought: ''wow! if this game can live up to all it says here, its really good!'' and by the second i started playing it, i was in another world...

The sound especially really draws you into the game, from the first scene to the last. You are Steven R. Hawkins, an intelligence Sergeant, who is on his way to a hot camp next to the Cambodian border. During the game you get four more teammates: Bronson: demolitions and ammunition carrier. Crocker: Medic. Defort: Radioman. Hornster: heavy machine gunner. and Nhut: Point man. you will need them all, if you want to survive in the jungle. especially Nhut, as he is Vietnamese, and knows the jungle. he finds the way to the target area, locates traps, and tells you about ambushes. Another nice thing is the fact that you call your teammates over to you using numbers on the keyboard.you can also order your men to attack, stand still, and provide covery fire. the graphics in this game is breathtaking. the jungle is perfectly modeled, and everything is so alive. you can se frogs jumping around on the ground, mice running around in and out of holes in the ground, and even small bugs crawling around. as i said before, the sound is amazing, when you are in a firefight, you can hear all the guns individually, not just a big mess of: BOOM! BANG! BOOOOM! and even with all this gunfire sound, you can still hear the grass when you run in it, and all the other sounds you would link with the jungle. when speaking of firefights, lets talk about the weapons... the famous weapon of the Vietnam war, the M16 is of course included. but there is also a lot other weapons, like Thompson, M1 Carbine and the M60 plus a lot of other weapons. you can also take the Vietcong's weapons too. like the AK47 and various other Russian weapons, which the Vietcong used. the realism in this game is shockingly accurate. you will die by just a few shots, depending on the difficulty setting. your teammates are very smart, but they will die if you don't help them. that goes for you to. you are not invincible, you cant just run through the jungle and shoot everybody on the way, cause then you will get shot, and die faster then a stone sinks in the water. you will need to find cover the minute you hear gunfire. The enemy is not stupid they either. if you fire at their position they will take cover, and they will not pop their heads out until you stop firing. but enough talk, here is the judgment:

Graphics: 10/10: the graphics are stunning! the jungle is so perfectly created, you will never stop being impressed.

Sound: 10/10: the sounds are even better then the graphics! it will draw you into the jungle warfare, and the voice acting is perfect. there's a lot of dialogue, and you will not get tired of hearing the voices of your men, even after you have restarted a mission like ten times.

story: 8/10: this is the only small lack in Vietcong. it is the same very often: you get the briefing, do the mission, go back, get a new briefing, and do a new mission. but of course the missions are very different, saving the score here too.

Gameplay: 10/10: i know i have been dishing out a lot of 10/10, but its all deserved! the gameplay is extremely nice. all is so varied, you'll never get the feeling that your doing the same thing twice. one time you might get ambushed, then you attack a Vietcong position, then you do some scouting, and so on. its very different all the way to the last level.

Replay: 9/10: this game is worth to play at least two times. it has a rich and varied gameplay, and the missions are huge, and so are the levels. maybe you'll find a area you didn't find during your first time playing? who knows? i just raised the difficulty, and dived back into action when i had beaten the game for the first time...

Internet: 10/10: just beautiful! when you play online, its so different, you will never get tired of it! one several points, its even better then the legendary Counter Strike. you creep around in the jungle with your team, ready to ambush the other team when it comes to your position. the excitement is so good, you'll sit playing it for hours and hours, and forget everything else.

overall: 10/10: buy this game as soon as you get the chance, its worth all the money, down to the last cent. you will be drawn into the game world for hours and hours, and you will rarely get tired of it.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 03/06/04