"Conflict: Desert Storm is currently the ultimate co-operative game for GC"

Conflict: Desert Storm takes place in the Middle East in 1990, during the Gulf War. You take control of a four man Special Forces squad, deep behind enemy lines.

Graphics
Environments are large and mostly well detailed. From military bases, to deserts, to cities, to castles, the mission locations are nicely varied. There are also many interior locations. Character models look decent enough. Slow down on the single player and two player is rare, in three and four player it is more common but it’s not that much of a problem. The fact that you can move seamlessly from outdoor to indoor environments shouldn't be overlooked. The camera is intuitive and functional. You’ll rarely, if ever, have to worry about it.

Sadly there is no progressive scan mode but there is a 60Hz mode for all you PAL gamers. The graphics won’t blow your mind but they are decent enough. Unless you’re absolute graphics whore they shouldn’t stop you buying this game
7/10

Sound
The voice acting is decent enough and the tunes are great. The rest is nicely detailed and very atmospheric. The howling wind, radio static, gunfire in the distance, helicopters overhead, the goats making…err… goat noises. There is a Dolby Pro Logic II mode for those who have it.
8/10

Gameplay
You’re in control of a four man Special Forces squad (SAS or Delta Force). You can take control of any member of your squad and switch between them by press up and down on the directional pad. In your team you have a team leader, a sniper, a heavy weapons specialist and a combat engineer. Each team member has their own set of weapons and skills (the SAS skills are different to that of Delta Force).

When I first heard this game was team based I was a little suspicious, as team based games can easily be ruined by unintelligent AI or bad controls. Well you can rest assured as Conflict: Desert Storm has neither of those. The controls take a little while to get used to but once you’ve got used to them they’re simple and quick to use (make use of the great training mode the game has to offer).

It’s a great help that your team mate’s AI is more than capable of standing up for it’s self in a gun fight. They follow you if told to, go for head shots, they heal themselves when seriously wounded, they throw grenades and they scatter if a grenade is thrown back etc. This means you don’t have to worry about doing everything at once. And you can quite happily leave them alone for awhile knowing nothing disastrous is going to happen. Your team’s skills can also be upgraded. The more a team member uses a particular weapon or item the better they become at it. So you can either have a team that’s good at a bit of everything or a team where each member is highly specialized in a certain field.

You can issue different commands to any or all members of your team (you don’t have to be the team leader to do this). There are basic commands like ‘follow me’, ‘hold position’ and ‘fire at will’. Then there are more advance commands like ‘go there’ and ‘crawl’. There is a great training mode to get you accustomed to these commands. By the third mission you’ll probably be able to do them with little bother.

While controlling a character you have the option of third or first person perspectives. I personally only use the first person mode for aiming. You also have a crouch and crawl option.

Enemy AI has been improved from the Xbox and PS2 versions. Soldiers will hunt around for players using sound to track them and they’ll remember where they last saw you. They still have a tendency to run at you all guns blazing instead of taking cover or over sneaking up behind you. But this leads to more exciting gun fights.

Mission objectives are nicely varied; you usually have about four objectives per mission. These include things like destroying SCUDs, blowing up bridges, freeing POWs, assassinating generals, etc. Conflict: Desert Storm is much more of an action strategy, than a stealthy strategy due to the easily alerted guards. But all in all this game is darn good fun.
8/10

Co-operative
All 15 single player missions are available in the two player co-operative. A couple of levels are cut for 3 and four player but don’t worry you won’t miss them. It’s mainly because a couple of levels are designed for 1 or 2 players only. Save games can be loaded from single player and played in co-operative and vice-versa.

With everyone taking care of themselves it makes it a lot easier to improvise tactics and a lot more fun. Although you may need to assign a leader. It tremendous fun getting two of you to hold off the onslaught of guards while the other two lay C4. Since each character has there own special skill everyone is needed. The Sniper can scout ahead and pick off enemies from a distance as they run towards the group. Your heavy weapons expert can take out tanks while the rest of you cover him from enemy fire. Two of you can clear out a building while the other two wait outside and take out any enemies that try to come in. The list of strategies and tactics are endless. You’ll have masses of fun finding the best ones.

Thankfully weapons can be exchange between your team members, so if your mate runs out of ammo you can lend him yours. There is some slow down, most noticeable in the fourplayer, but this doesn’t spoil the overall experience.
10/10

Lifespan
The single player takes about 13 to 15 hours to complete depending on how you go about it. There are two teams, SAS and Delta Force, so it’s well worth replaying as the other because they both have different skills and weapons. Some missions sometimes have alternative routes so when you’re playing it doesn’t have to be exactly the same as last time. There are also many medals to be won, including the Victoria Cross (SAS) and Medal of Honor (Delta Force). Getting them all for everyone will be quite a challenge. The game also offers three difficulty levels.

But co-operative is where a lot of the life span lies. Conflict: Desert Storm is currently the ultimate co-operative game for GC. Four player matches can’t be beaten. You’ll want to play it with everyone who comes round.

Single player 7/10
Multiplayer 9/10

Pros and Cons
+ The best out of the three versions
+ Excellent co-operative mode (That’s FOUR player!!!)
+ Fast-paced action
+ Will last awhile
+ Has many improvements over its PS2 and Xbox counterparts
+ Varied missions
+ Lots of weapons
+ Vehicles to drive!

- Flawed stealth element
- Some missions can be frustrating
- The framerate can get a bit sluggish with more than 2 players

Overall (Not an average)
You have to enjoy third person shooters and team based combat to truly appreciate this one. If this game sounds like your sort of thing I’m sure you’ll greatly enjoy it.
9/10

RENT or BUY
I say buy, there is too much here to see in a rent. The fact that it has a four player co-operative will guarantee it a long-term place in you collection (provide you have friends to play it with).

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 06/13/03, Updated 06/13/03