Difficulty:

Just Right

Time Spent:

20 to 40 Hours

The Bottom Line:

"Just plain fun"

i really enjoyed this game when it came out. not earth shattering, but solid all the same. here's why:

The Good:
- nice visuals. occasional distance draw issues, but nothing to ruin your experience.
- nice weapons. they never totally feel lke they're actually in your hands, but accuracy is nice and sound pretty good to boot.
- some really neat new weapons, like the hand thrown flying explosive drones. these are just cool. good, satisfying shootin fun.
- environments look good and varied.
- vehicle driving is actually fun and doesn't feel compromised. this game does it all surprisingly well. tanks are fun. so are the dune buggy/Hummer type vehicles.
- plus there are tons of opportunities to just grab a vehicle and get where you need to.
- the game lets you explore a bit without getting plugged just because you stopped to check out the landscape or explore a building.
- enemy AI is fine. ok, so it's actually easy enough that you always have a fighting chance. so they cut you a break while not looking like headless chickens.
- good length
- atmospheric sound is quite good.
- much more open, non linear gameplay than a lot of shooters.

The Bad:
- you feel a bit detached. not a deal breaker.
- dialogue could be richer.

The Summary:
- i felt that i got my money's worth. it was a very good game to goof around with while i waited for the next blockbuster to hit, and in fact, this little sleeper delivered more good moments than some of those mega-hyped games. i recommend and it'll stay my collection.