Introduction
When the first Ecks vs. Sever was released last year,
it was suppose to come out at about the same time as the movie.
The movie, however, faced delays in filming and so the
game was left without its title tie-in. Ballistic, on
the other hand, has been released on the heels of the
actual movie starring Antonio Banderas and Lucy Liu.
Unfortunately though, the movie sucked and consequently
flopped at the box-office. But unlike movies, game sequels
often have a better chance of being better than the
original, thanks in no small part to player feedback.
Let's hope then that the developers, Crawfish, have
listened.
GamePlay
As with the last outing, Ballistic's single player
game gives you the option to play as either Ecks or
Sever; these usually take place in the same area but
with slightly different story lines. What you'll also
realize very quickly is that you can still shoot at
almost anything, but the introduction of innocent bystanders
will end any trigger-happy gamer's session very quickly.
Stealth tactics play a much greater role in Ballistic,
so staying in the shadows or utilizing the element of
surprise should get you out of an occasional tight spot.
The levels also have very different objectives, and
where one may simply require you to clear the immediate
area of all enemy forces, others may challenge you to
utilize your various gadgets in order to escape in one
piece. Another new addition is the ability to talk to
people, which not only makes the story more immersive,
but you'll also find that the information they give
is essential to the success of your mission.
The various multiplayer modes were one of the most
successful aspects of the original game, but disappointingly
you'll require an extra copy of Ballistic for each player.
First up is the classic Deathmatch, which is incredible
fun even if there are only two of you. In Bomb Kit,
you must race around buildings in order to locate three
pieces of a bomb and detonate it before your opponents
do. Finally, there's Assassination, where one team must
protect a VIP while the opposing team tries to eliminate
him.
Everything in the main game is saved via a password
system consisting of meaningful words of varying length.
This works well for single player missions, but the
lack of a battery backup to save those multiplayer high
scores is a bit of a shame.
Controls
As with many other aspects of this sequel, the control
system has also been given some significant updates.
The overall interface is still incredibly slick, and
you'll find navigating around the various missions intuitive
and very responsive.
The big change is the ability to aim at a target
by pressing the 'select' button. This is an essential
new addition, and although you can't actually move when
it's active, it does allow you to pick hard to get targets
such as security cameras and other surveillance devices.
You can also now swim underwater, which not only allows
you to hide from the enemy, but also to discover the
location of secret passages.
Graphics
Visually, gamers will notice little improvement from
the original, and although there's a real variety of
textures used throughout the various levels, the indoor
environments still lack floor or ceiling details. On
the other hand, the various enemies you'll encounter
are far more detailed, and most importantly, the graphics
shift around at a fair speed with very little evidence
of slowdown, regardless of how much is going on. Overall,
the whole game now features an incredibly polished interface,
which also disposes nicely of the text-heavy story line
that received much criticism in the previous outing.
Sound & Music
Audio wise, Ballistic is much more impressive than
the first game, and though it doesn't play actually
in-game, the front-end and various menus are now accompanied
by one of the best soundtracks I've heard in some time.
This isn't such a bad thing, as the sound effects are
excellent and the introduction of any music would only
damage the wonderful sense of tension created by footsteps
and people shouting in the distance.
Final Comments
Looking back at my other reviews, I've previously
stated that both the original Ecks vs. Sever and Duke
Nukem were the best FPS games on the GBA market, and
while that was true at the time there's a new challenger
for the crown. Ballistic seems to improve on every gaming
aspect of the genre, as well as adding a fair few that
were unexpected. Considering the limited control layout
of a handheld console, it's a remarkable achievement
by developers Crawfish Interactive. It is tough though,
and while new gamers might find it a real challenge,
FPS fans will relish the immersive missions featuring
some of the best AI I've ever seen. I know I've said
it before, but this really is 'THE' best FPS available
for the GBA at present, which is even more of a shame
as it is also one of Crawfish Interactive's final releases.
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