X-Squad

"Metal Gear this is not."

Features
* 1 Player
* 9 Levels
* Non-playable teammates
* Secret Passwords

Story- 1/10
You are Ash, the leader of a secret agency who is trying to recover something called project Medusa. The story is stale, with no real reason for wanting to listen to the cut scenes. Until the ending, you really have no idea what's going on in the story.

Graphics- 6/10
The graphics do get the job done when it comes to the character graphics, but the architecture of the levels is simplistic and boring. Every level has the same feel and style, which makes the game seem repetitive.

Controls- 6/10
The controls are decent, with functions to look left and right behind corners. The only problem is that firing is the L1 button, when looking around a corner would have seemed more logical being an L1 R1 combination. My main Gripe with the controls is the weapon selection, it is impossibly hard to do it without pausing the game. You move the analog stick in the direction of the weapons that are in a large circle. The problem is that so many guns are so close together that you can't select a certain one very easily. Also, the game doesn't pause while you select your weapons in this manner, so you are usually getting shot while trying to change weapons. The controls get the job done, but are slightly awkward.

Sound- 2/10
The sound in this game is one of it's worst features. The music is a poor man's techno, and it's almost the same song every level. Then there are the voice overs, which are almost at Resident Evil lows. The Gun sounds however do sound nice, and realistic.

Gameplay- 4/10
Fighting is fun enough, for the first level, then it gets boring and repetitive. The character equip features, and purchasing features are nice. Customizing you, and your teammates adds a new dimension to the gameplay. There is also a large assortment of weapons, from small silenced pistols to gatling guns. If the designers had spiced up the fighting, the game could have been so much more.

Da bottom line...
The game could have been so much more, with a better paint job, and less repetition.

Pros
+ good looking characters
+ Character customization
+ Guns sound nice, and there is a nice assortment of them
Cons
- Repetative Gameplay
- Bad level design
- almost no story

Would DBZBokken buy this game?
No, just rent it. You should be able to beat it in one rental. I give X Squad a 4/10

Reviewer's Score: 4/10, Originally Posted: 07/30/02, Updated 07/30/02