Vietcong 2 is very lacklustre. It almost felt more like an expansion pack than a sequel.

User Rating: 5 | Vietcong 2 PC
While I enjoyed the original Vietcong, released in 2003, the follow-up two years later was very lacklustre. It almost felt more like an expansion pack than a sequel.

The graphics were exactly the same and hadn't upgraded at all in two years. This definitely wasn't helped by the majority of the game being set in urban environments and towns. What made the original so great was it's lush jungle atmosphere, but that's missing here until the last 1/4 of the game.

The game is split into two parts (in theory), which a US campaign which is all urban based, followed by a VC campaign where your now a Vietnamese Soldier. Unfortunately the VC campain only takes a couple of hours, while the US campaign is around 5-6 hours. It all adds up to a well under 10 hour game, which feels like the developed pushed it out in an unfinished state.

The final battle at the end of the VC campaign was just another battle, no epic finale at all. The game just suddenly ends. I wouldn't be surprised if the VC campaign was supposed to be much longer but, for whatever reason, it was never finished.

Gameplay is similar to the original Vietcong except this time you have limited saves and some of the enemies can be very frustrating. There are countless times you'll see the enemies' head sticking out behind something, but your hopeless weapons just aren't capable of an accurate headshot. He'll hop up and somehow you still can't hit him. Your spray of bullets seem to be so inaccurate. The best line of attack is to sprint up to your targets or flank around and catch them face-to-face rather than trying to pick them off from a distance.

Overall, graphics that are dated for late 2005, ho-hum level designs and unpolished gameplay make Vietcong 2 are very average game. Perhaps it's a good thing that it's so short; that way you can play through it all on a rainy Sunday.

MORE REVIEWS AT www.etherealhell.com