Conflict: Desert Storm

"Nothing Special."

The reason I rented Conflict: Desert Storm was that my friend told me it was the best two-player cooperative game out there. So, after a while, I rented it and started to play it. Here's what I found out:

Graphics: For the PS2, I cannot say that the graphics in this game are that special. Compared to games like Jak and Daxter and Final Fantasy X, which have excellent graphics, this is only sub-par. Character models are blocky, making it disbelieving. Even though this game is set in Iraq and Kuwait, the levels are very boring and very bland. Also, the framerate rate is pretty bad. Overall, not that great. 4-10.

Sound: What can I say about the sound? The character voices are pretty well done. They make the experience more enjoyable. This is a war game, so you will hear a lot of gunfire and explosions during your playing time. There's not much to say other than that. Pretty good. 6-10.

Gameplay: The graphics and sound are a part of a game, but they don't really make a game special. Gameplay is what makes it special. And this game's gameplay is nothing special. Basically, you are in the middle of Desert Storm, and you are assigned certain missions in different levels. It sounds like any standard war game, but it has a twist. In this game, you are able to control sqauds. You can switch from player to player and control up to four players. This makes the game a little bit better. However. the missions so far have been pretty boring and there is not much that you can do. There is supposed to be 15 levels in the game, and so far I have only completed a few. However, I can assume that the rest of the game will be the same. Good, but not great. 6-10.

Controls: This is new section that I am adding in this review. The controls in this game need some padding. You use the analog sticks to move your character and you use the control pad to switch between characters if you have more than one. To shoot, the player presses the R1 button. To go into aim mode, you click the R3 button ( I only found out a day ago that the analog stick can be pressed down to press the R3 button). The horrible thing about these controls is the weapon select. To select a weapon, you have to hold down the triangle button and scroll through the different items. This can be annoying when you are in the heat of battle. Pretty bad. 4-10.

Replay Value: There is a cooperative mode where two people can play. It can be pretty fun to work together. However, it can also be annoying. For an expert, the 15 levels will probably go by pretty quick. Not that much replay value: 6-10.

Rent or buy: Definitely rent this game. It is not good enough to buy, but it is definitely worth a rental. You will enjoy it, but will probably finish it in the time that you rent it, if you are good enough.

Pros:
+ Good voices
+ Cooperative mode
+ Explosives!
+ Will have fun with it

Cons:
- Bad controls
- Bad loading times
- Decent graphics
- Bad framerate
- Boring levels

Overall: 4-10

Reviewer's Score: 4/10, Originally Posted: 01/11/03, Updated 01/11/03