Shadow Ops: Red Mercury E3 2004 Preshow Impressions

The Xbox's first-person shooter lineup will be one game stronger this summer when Shadow Ops: Red Mercury hits shelves in late June. The game sees you taking the role of Captain Frank Hayden as he travels the globe in an attempt to stop Red Mercury--a mysterious and somewhat legendary nuclear device--from being used by terrorists. The game is powered by the latest version of the Unreal engine for the Xbox, which developer Zombie has extensively modified to accommodate the cinematic run-and-gun action that you'll find in the single-player campaign.

Shadow Ops' locations include war-torn cities, jungles, and snowy mountains, and in all of these places, you'll be up against waves of bad-guy enemies who will be gunning for you and your unit. Unlike past Zombie efforts, which have focused on extreme realism, Shadow Ops is going for a more actionlike, movielike feel that's reminiscent of films like Black Hawk Down. You'll be doing a lot of running between cover points, which includes leaning out and squeezing off shots at enemies, among other things. The action will indeed move quickly through the game's 25-mission single-player campaign.

Multiplayer hounds will find a lot of meat in Shadow Ops: Red Mercury too, since it has full-system link and Xbox Live support with a variety of gameplay modes, such as capture the flag, deathmatch, and VIP escort. A slew of cooperative missions, separate from the single-player game, will also be available for those who like to take on baddies with a friend. Shadow Ops: Red Mercury is slated for release on June 22, so look for a review around that time.