I always talked about wanting a sequel but this prequel got the job done.
First of all let me say that this game is AWESOME! Anyway, now to the review.
I'm going to tell you about the story first,which by the way is almost non existent.The story starts off great but then after the first level you just jump right into mediocrity.There is little if no character development and though it does explain how she became an agent, you never really care about it and will probably find yourself skipping the story all together.All together i"d give the story a 3 out of 10, but then again what else could you expect from an unknown comic book writer who just happened to get the chance of a lifetime and ruined it for everyone. WHEW! I always find it so hard to talk negative about this game, but anyway now that the negative is out of the way I can get into the good stuff.EVERYTHING ELSE. GRAPHICS:10 out of 10
When I first started this game up I was overwhelmed with a sense of amazement and fear at the same time.This was the game I had been begging for all these years and I had it for the so called most powerful gaming system on earth,OF COURSE I was ready to be blown away.At first glance I couldnt help but realize that the charactors all looked a little weird, but thats just because instead of focusing on photo realistic characters RARE stuck to the real gold of gaming,NOT TRYING TO MAKE YOU THINK YOU ARE LOOKING AT REAL PEOPLE.The game strays away from that to go for a more an-ime look(which by the way I am not much for that stuff) that just reminds you that you are playing a game.The graphics are really well done in this game.Weapons all look extremely detailed and all of the environments and lightings shine(literally!!!)Lighting effects and explosions all really catch your eye.There were multiple times in the game where I would die just because I was trying to look at the sun shining off the wall.I would like to mention that in some areas you can tell that it has been developed on multiple platforms and switched around alot, but its just that fact that helps them along.They did an excellent job of fixing them up for the most part and im sure it wasnt easy to hide the visible proof of platform changes.So therefore Even though they are visible sometimes I commend RARE on their extreme hard work, the end results of their work is nothing short of breathtaking compared to how bad it could've been if they hadn't worked so hard. GAMEPLAY:9 out of 10
The only reason that the gameplay didn't get the ten was due to the fact that it's just your ordinary FPS mechanics running it when you break it down to the core.Other than that I will say that I never have had so much fun playing an FPS as I did this one.The motion blur effect was an extremely good idea that in fact is now being mimicked by other develpors(EA and DICE) great thinking RARE.The controls are as tight and precise as you could possibly wish and while the characters walk a little slower and can't jump, it doesn't hurt the gameplay at all it just makes it unique.Everything about this games gameplay rocks.From the seamless third to first person camera switching adding cinematic feel to the enemy reacting perfectly to every bullet that rips through their bodys, all the way to just simply the way the weapons differently show off their power with either force or prcision.You can really tell how powerful these weapons are.In my opinion, while a little slower and different(without jumping) the gameplay is even better than halo's and i'm a huge fan of halo. SOUND:10 out of 10
Simply put the sound is right on with the look and feel of the game.The weapons all sound perfect and the music fits perfectly in with the level it's played on.NO COMPLAINTS AT ALL. VALUE:10 out of 10
While you may not find yourself going back through the campaign for those aweome WOW story moments like in halo, you will find yourself going back in OVER and OVER for the sheer fun of the gameplay.Like I said before it's still an FPS but it's one of the most highly refined FPS'S EVER CREATED!Also, the multiplayer is a REAL beast.While their may not be many levels there are different variants of each and there are alot of customization options laid out before you.Top it all off with about eight or nine multiplayer modes and awesome co-op and you may just find yourself going to work with no sleep for days.
OVERALL:
This game is one of the best first person shooters to ever be percieved and while it could'l've been absolutely perfect had RARE not been rushed into finding just anyone to do the story, that's easily forgotten.It's over the top gameplay, eye popping graphics, and sheer fun will save the day for this highly enjoyable game.