Operation Shadow – NG – Review

I feel sorry for the
N-Gage, it has the potential to become a really good handheld. This machine was
one of the first handhelds to feature wireless multiplayer, true 3D graphics,
and many other things. Instead of embracing the technology this machine has, it
is getting treated like a red-headed step child of the handheld crowd. Time and
time again this console has received sloppy ports that have shoddy controls.
Does the latest game: Operation Shadow, step into the spotlight as a great game
for this under appreciated handheld or should it remain in the shadows never to
been seen? Read on to find out!

The story for this game is
pretty much a carbon copy of many other games of this nature. There have been
minor conflicts in the country of Arawas for several years, but lately it has
been increasing. In an attempt to maintain global stability, the United Nations
has created an elite group of Special Forces to manage and suppress situations
of this nature. With the increasing instability of Arawas the United Nations has
decided to step in and send in Team Shadow, which is Jay Solano. It is up to you
to maintain the peace.

One if by foot….

What this basically means
is that Jay Salano is a one man army, destroying everything in his path. Each
mission Jay will be given a mission, in which he will have to go through a level
and most the times it involves killing everyone in sight and destroying all
buildings. What really helps him succeed in his missions is the government
created technology that allows him to have an assault rifle that has unlimited
supply of bullets. He can also pick up ammo for rocket launchers and even
grenades to cause even greater destruction.

If running around on foot
wasn’t enough Jay can steal tanks, helicopters, and even hover boats that are
always conveniently unguarded. After messing around with the three vehicles,
players will recognize that it is fruitless because the controls are so
cumbersome; all the vehicles do is provide the enemies a bigger target to shoot
at.

Two if by tank….

The two biggest problems
with this game are the shoddy controls and the enemy AI. The controls for the
game are just horrid. Walking around on foot is better then the vehicles but not
by much. It is a chore just to move from one side of the level to another, and
you will want to throw your N-gage at the wall. The enemies will see that you
are destroying their base, yet they look at you wondering if you are selling ice
cream. When they do realize you are the enemy, because you have shot them a
couple of times, they will attempt to grab their gun, but alas it will be too
late as they will become fertilizer for the grass.

On the plus side the game
looks pretty decent. In fact it could easily pass for an early Playstation game.
It has some nice polygonal work on the man and the environments. While players
will run into the occasional popup it is easily forgiven once they notice that
they are playing on a handheld instead of a console. The frame rate also stays
pretty high, with little or no slow down, which is crucial for a game of this
nature.

Three if by helicopter…

The game’s soundtrack fits
the game, but it really isn’t anything out of the ordinary and memorable. The
sound effects that you will hear are about as generic as it comes. You will hear
the usual explosions, gunfire, and other sounds that you might expect from a war
game such as this.

Operation Shadow is rated
T for Teen.

Gameplay: 4.9
Sloppy, this gameplay is just bad.

Graphics: 7.7
The visuals of the game are not too bad. Good polygonal work for an
N-gage game.

Sound: 6.9
You will not hear anything special here.

Difficulty: Easy
This game is just too easy.

Concept: 5.2
The concept for this game has been done time and time again. You will
find nothing special here.

Multiplayer: N/A
Players will be able to download different items such as player’s times
at completing missions and trying to beat them, using the N-gage Arena. At the
time of this review I didn’t get a chance to review this aspect of the game.

Overall: 5.5
Operation Shadow feels like it never had a QA team test it. The
controls are sloppy and the enemies are just stupid. This is a game to avoid.