Warpath – XB – Review

Since the
introduction of the Xbox Live service, Xbox gamers have been banding together
online to battle it out on the virtual battlefield for glory and bragging
rights. Thankfully, the big black box has seen a number of great Xbox Live
enabled multiplayer games from the ones included in the Halo or Splinter Cell
series to games made specifically for the service itself like Counter-Strike.
Yes, Xbox fans have seen some great games in the multiplayer department and now
Groove Games hopes to join their ranks with Warpath.

The story behind
Warpath isn’t told through cutscenes in the game’s single-player campaign but
rather the instruction manual. It seems that a planet on the Kaladi system of
the galaxy is a paradise rich in natural resources as well as great beauty, and
because of this reason three alien races wage war over it. The mighty
biomechanical Ohm wish to suck the planet dry of its resources while The Kovos
wish to protect the planet since it is a Holy land to them. Finally, there is
the Human Coalition who simply just wishes to live there in peace and since they
have already settled in, they will be a witness as well as a participant in a
war for control of the planet.

The problem,
however, is that nothing really distinguishes these three races apart in the way
Unreal Championship 2: The Liandri Conflict does with their cast of character
classes. The only real difference between these races is that they wear
different armor and use very specific weapons. The Human Coalition, for example,
is partial to their Wolverine (a machine gun) and the Judge (a powerful rocket
launcher). Each race has the same type of melee weapon like the Vibro Blade as
well as well as an explosive charge. If you are expecting a special power for
each character class you will be quite disappointed. What you do get is weapon
specific upgrades that do change the manner in which your weapon will fire. For
example, you can upgrade your Violator (the game’s version of a shotgun) with
Smart Shells that embed fragments in wall that explode when enemy get too close.

The game, you
will find out quickly, is best played with others but much like games like
Counter-Strike the game offers a single player game with computer-controlled
bots filling in as both your allies and your enemies. With no story or cutscenes,
you basically embark on a series of matches you must win in order for your
chosen side to dominate the Conflict Zones map. You move along a hexagonal grid
and selecting a match that only includes four game types. There is Deathmatch,
Team Deathmatch, CTF (capture the flag) and Front Line Assault (where you
attempt to capture the enemy base before they capture your base). The good news
is that there are plenty of different maps and some even include three different
vehicles like the Razorback (a jeep with a gun emplacement), Hornet (a one-man
vehicle) and the Maverick (a sort of hovercraft). The bad news is that despite
the many maps you will be seeing the same ones often and the vehicles are pale
imitations of those found in the two Halo games. You can’t even run over an
enemy with your Razorback!

Another negative
aspect of the game’s single-player experience is the fact that the
computer-controlled bots aren’t smart at all. Many of them don’t even try to
duck for cover when you’re shooting at them. The worse part is that even your
allies aren’t smart enough to get out of the way of a grenade. This, of course,
is remedied playing the game with friends online or offline. Warpath supports an
up to a 16-player multiplayer game using a System Link setup or play online
through Xbox Live. The multiplayer mode’s ability to support up to 16 players
makes up for the three-on-three matches of the single-player game and online the
game moves at a steady framerate. Unfortunately, it was hard for me to find a
match with more than five players. Still, the various maps have a nice
assortment of power up items and you can always go against your own race’s
arsenal and unlock and use weapons used by the enemy.

My final gripe
is a major one because even if the game is limited in game modes or it’s not
even a beautiful-looking game; the controls should at least make the game fun to
play. Sadly, Warpath is not fun to play thanks to the awful controls. While the
controls are quite basic for a first-person shooter, the controls make it
difficult to gracefully turn and even aiming can become a chore. Melee combat is
not recommended. I won’t even mention how hard it is to control a vehicle
without being stuck between two crates.

Visually,
Warpath is not a pretty game nor will it dazzle you with great visual effects.
There aren’t even any cutscenes in the game’s single-player campaign mode so all
you will be treated to when you win are screenshots of your chosen race
celebrating their victory. Even the environments don’t look particularly
pleasing to the eye but at least the terrain differs from level to level –
althought many times you’ll be playing on the same map often.  As for the game’s
sound, the game’s music isn’t that bad but the sound effects could have used
more punch seeing as there is no voice acting in the game … that is if you count
screams, groans and grunts as voice acting.

Sadly, Warpath
just does not rise above its awkward controls, poor character classes and
mediocre gameplay nor does it offer anything that comes close to rivaling the
collection of excellent multiplayer first-person shooters already available on
the original Xbox. While there are some fun moments in the game, they really
aren’t enough to warrant a purchase. Do yourself a favor and skip this one or
find a copy of Counter-Strike or Unreal Championship 2: The Liandri Conflict
instead.

Gameplay: 5.9
It doesn’t
matter if you’re fighting as the Ohm or the Kovos, all three character classes
look alike and play alike. The usual assortment of game modes like Capture the
Flag and the Team Deathmatch games are made a bit better by including vehicles
and weapon upgrades but sadly the twitchy controls and poor enemy (and ally) AI
make things frustrating.

Graphics: 6.0
The game’s
bland visuals make telling the enemy apart from your allies somewhat hard and
even more so when the enemy swarms around your companions. While the explosion
and weapon effects look rather decent during the heat of battle, the game
suffers from framerate stutters and bad clipping. At least the environments look
Ok.

Sound: 6.0
Just about the
only thing that really stands out is the game’s musical score that is not
amazing but does a great job of making each battle sound exciting. The rest of
the game’s sound effects don’t really stand out and there are no voices in the
game so just expect to hear more screams of pain.

Difficulty:
Medium
The enemy in
the single-player campaign can really put up a fight but then again they can be
dumb enough to fall for the same tricks. What makes the game tough to play are
the controls that make for many a frustrating death. Depending on the game type,
your allies can either be a big help or help drag you down.

Concept: 6.0
The fight for
a piece of paradise theme isn’t bad but the game types are nothing particularly
new. There are vehicles but they are not implemented well enough and you can
always unlock your enemy’s weapons to use in both the single and multiplayer
matches. The game supports System Link and Xbox Live multiplayer that runs
smoothly but finding players online can be a problem.

Multiplayer:
7.0
Online or
through a System Link connection, up to 16 players can go up against each
another in a variety of game modes using a number of interesting maps and using
a short list of weapons. Unfortunately, the game modes aren’t particularly
innovative and finding five players online can be very difficult. I have yet to
know what a 16-player deathmatch game plays like but the five-player game ran
smoothly.

Overall: 6.0
Sadly, Warpath
isn’t an innovative multiplayer action game and it certainly cannot compete with
the few great multiplayer first-person shooter games already available. What
little fun comes in short bursts and is hindered by its awful controls and
uninteresting single-player campaign mode. Sorry Groove Games, but this is not
the hot first-person shooter multiplayer game we have been waiting to replace
our favorite Xbox Live multiplayer game.