Expect nothing and you'll won't be disappointed.
Graphics: 2
Sounds: 2
Value: 3 (it's cheap to buy but takes up hard drive space)
Tilt: 4 (it got me going till the end)
Actual score 3.1
There are promises abound: governments promising to lower taxes, businesses promising better customer service, public rail service to be on time to my local newsagent promising me the 'winning ticket' tags these pledges as unfilled notions. Well, the gaming industry is no different as you must of heard of the 'WoW killer', 'Next best thing since Half Life' and so on. So here arrives a game that promises a 'combination of brainpower and firepower – a game where completing tasks and solving puzzles is just as vital as eliminating your opponents' and the main character is none other than the top polish model Iza Czarnecka. Well, at least developers City Interactive kept one promise true – Nina certainly looks scorching and the rest...
Nina will be controlled by you, the player as you'll be placed deep within Afghan territory in search of some nuclear device. Nina prides herself in the opening statement of travelling alone as she's equip with telepathic powers that once touch another being will drain their mind leaving them dead and you gaining extra knowledge. Well this may sound astonishing however throughout your adventures there are only a few times you'll use this control indicated by a small 'box' marker on the victim; that said shooting him ends the mission and the game.
Considering Nina is the wunderkind, you'll be given just two weapons normally in the form of some kind of machine gun and a pistol. But there's no need to be concerned as both weapons do equal amount of damage yet the only difference is the ammo count and obviously its look. Nina is unable to pick up any other weapons, unable to crouch and highly allergic to water that even a mere drop will cause instant death (and I'm not kidding either). To make things 'fair' there's a checkpoint save option and only one save file. That said if you start the game again all your previous accomplishments will be wiped clean therefore take considerable care when loading up the game as I started the game thrice by selecting the wrong menu as the 'continue' and 'new game' are so close to each other.
One of the game's main selling point was this 'brainpower and firepower' concept as it's aimed to make this venture a 'thinker's game'. Well, at the start I actually need to use my intellect to pass some of the obstacles yet as the game progresses it feels like the developers just gave up this notion and made it a 'press this button' and 'fire' approach. Granted that if you happen to come across a stationary gunner, there's no way in hell you can kill the gunner unless you approach it at a different angle – another words this is the 'thinking' part.
If something true needs to come out of this game it's the graphics. Yes it's true that the game boasts the Lithtech Talon 3D engine and yes it was the very same engine that was used in the game 'Aliens Versus Predator 2' but no it does not have 'high polygon counts and individual texturing' and none of this 'eye catching features'. All the buildings, walls and landscapes are in 2D format so if you lean against them nothing protrudes out of the walls (e.g. air vents, trees and even a blazing fire all in 2D) and the terrorists all have abnormal features like a large forehead. Yet the only thing that's in relative detail is Nina herself – I wonder why…
The sound effects are absolutely dismal to say the least. I cannot begin to describe the sounds from gun firing to anything else for that matter. Nina sounds bored out of her brains and has the strangest British accent (I'm not sure if it's meant to be British but I roll with that). All the terrorists will shout 'hey' and die by a simple moan however if there's any consolation the owl does sound like an owl. This 'special ethnic and adrenaline rush techno music' won't play on my PC therefore I cannot comment on it however basing on from what I have heard and experienced, I don't think I'm missing much.
Considering there's only one difficulty level, nine missions spanning over three chapters and no online component this game is not going to last long. For me it took around seven hours and the game's ending is unconventional to say the least. When viewed for the first time, I wasn't really sure that either my copy was a dud, failed to install properly or the developers just lost hope and ended it. Well, after searching on the net (and it was some serious searching) the conclusion was yes that was the end.
The publisher's City Interactive always pride themselves as the 'no frills' of gaming meaning producing video games at low prices. It also seems that City Interactive have dealings with Monolith as they always used their gaming engine for most of their FPS products however there's a fine line between 'no frills' and stripping the game to its barest form. To add salt to the wounds Iza Czarnecka first video game appearance will make you wonder that if she actually played or even viewed the 'finished' product (instead of looking at her own image). Regardless of the reasons Nina: Agent Chronicles definitely fits to this 'barest' category and do expect nothing and you'll won't be disappointed.