Fans of the movie DIE HARD will be able to become action hero, John McClane. All shooter fans will enjoy this experience
Although the characters and the plot follow the movie pretty closely, there are a few environments and surprise twists that are added to the story. The game has about 30 levels of high energy action sequences, of which you will play the star (John McClane). For those familiar with the movie, move to the next paragraph. John McClane is meeting his wife for a Christmas party, when a group of high tech European terrorists take over the building and kidnap everyone. It's up to McClane (you) to find a way to rescue the hostages and 600 million worth of bearer bonds- all before the terrorists find you and kill you. I highly recommend you rent the movie before you play the game; this will give you a better idea of the plot and help you immerse yourself into the character and story. Plus, you gotta see one of the funniest characters to ever hit the big screens, Harry Ellis. Ellis is a coked up business /salesman/playboy, who tries to use his slick sales skills to hustle a deal with the terrorists. IGN said it best when they reported: "with cocaine fueled optimism of the rich and stupid, Ellis proclaims: 'Hey babe, I negotiate million dollar deals for breakfast, I think I can handle this Eurotrash.'" You can't miss this!
SUMMARY:
Because the game was released in 2002, and it's currently almost 2009 now, this game, like any older game, is not up to par with today's technology. The good news is that today's video cards and computers can run this at its maximum specs, with little to no problems. Although the graphics are very sharp and clean, they are not as detailed oriented as current shooters.
The A.I. (artificial intelligence) of the enemies is not very complex, and sometimes not intelligent at all. The fact that there are a lot of enemies, and the game is a little harder than most shooters will make up for moments when an enemy may lack strategy.
The environments are convincing for an upscale business building: offices, cubicles, computer mainframe rooms, storage rooms, maintenance rooms, storage rooms, AC vents, cafeterias, executive fitness centers, rooftops, and more. Although there are a lot of items and props that one would expect in these type of surroundings, there are not a lot of usable game physics in the environments- most of the graphics are just static images.
Sound wise the game is well done. The music score is intense during heavy gun fights and moments of stress. The weapon sounds are realistic, and the recoil is accurate for each weapon. Background sounds are also sprinkled throughout to add to the intensity and create reactions.
Even this day (end of 2008), I highly recommend this game to every DIE HARD fan, and every gamer who considers himself a true world mercenary. There's never been a greater plot, greater dialogue, greater action sequences, and a cast of characters this perfect in an action movie before. If this game were remade by a top group of game developers, and with the latest game engines, this could be one of the greatest shooters ever made!
TIPS:
*Download the latest patches from Gamespot. This will insure your game will run with minimal bugs and technical issues.
*Use the game guide on the link below- there are tough puzzles that unfortunately, are not very logical to solve. There are also items that are tough to see, and confusing things you have to do to get through some levels.
http://www.gamefaqs.com/computer/doswin/file/516545/18458
*SAVE OFTEN- you can save anywhere, and will need to if you are playing on the hard settings.
*Know your weapons and usable items- use axes to break through wood barriers, fire extinguishers to put out fires, close doors behind you to minimize being followed, use machine guns for areas with multiple foes, and save sniper bullets for areas you really need them.
*Run in bursts (off and on)- your lung indicator will show exhaustion if you run or jump for too long all at once. If you do run out of breath your body will move very slow and you will be breathing hard. Also, use run when you want to escape an unfavorable fire fight.
*Turn up the speakers and also turn on the subtitles; some of the dialogue is required to get you through the level, and there are also some funny things to be heard.
COBRAMAN SS 007