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Hands-onIGI 2: Covert Strike

We go hands-on with the upcoming sequel to Codemasters' stealth-based action game.

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Codemasters dropped by the GameSpot offices this morning with the latest build of IGI 2: Covert Strike in tow. The sequel to Project IGI: I'm Going In will address a number of problems that players of the original stealthy action game complained about. Most notably, IGI 2 will have improved enemy AI and a multiplayer component, and it will let players save their progress during a mission.

As we've previously noted, you'll reprise the role of David Jones, a special operative who's sent around the globe in order to take on secret missions. One of the first missions that Jones will be tasked with involves infiltrating an outdoor compound that's bristling with sentries, security cameras, and other defenses. This level opens up with a scene depicting Jones jumping from a C-130 into the base's outer perimeter. His main objectives include infiltrating the main compound, crossing a nearby river in order to reach the upper compound, and activating and using a lift that will take him down into a series of mines that this base is protecting. The game's new emphasis on enemy AI is immediately evident upon starting this level. As in the original game, you'll have the option of trying to blast your way past the guards, or you can try to sneak past the defenses. Neither path is an easy endeavor--if you're spotted or heard by the guards, they'll swarm to your location with guns blazing. Once engaged in a firefight, these guards will use squad tactics like providing supporting fire and seeking cover while fighting you. You'll often spot enemies peeking around walls or crouching behind other solid objects instead of blindly rushing at you.

Sneaking past the cameras and patrols is equally as tough. Guards can hear your footsteps if you're too loud, and some cameras and sentries can spot you from quite a far distance. Thankfully, Jones carries a number of different items and weapons to help even the odds. One of these gadgets is his satellite uplink, which provides him with a live-feed view of his surrounding locations. This handy toy outlines enemy locations with a red arrow that indicates the direction that they're facing, and you can zoom in close enough to be able to see what kind of weapon they're holding. Obviously, liberal use of this camera is a necessary part of a successful mission, since you'll probably spend just as much time planning your tactics as you will executing them. When stealth is no longer an option, Jones will be able to use a variety of weapons, such as a silenced Glock, an MP5, and a .50 caliber sniper rifle. He can even pick up any weapons left behind by enemies, like Mac-10s, AK-47s, and RPG-7s, though he can carry only one of these primary weapons at a time.

In all, IGI 2: Covert Strike will have 19 single-player levels as well as six multiplayer maps. These later levels will play a lot like Counter-Strike maps, though they'll require that each team complete numerous objectives within a single map. For instance, one team will have to rescue a scientist, escort him to a computer lab, protect him as he downloads sensitive information, and then escort him to the extraction point. As for the single-player campaign, IGI 2 will have three distinct difficulty settings, the easiest of which will give you three save opportunities per level, while the hardest will give you only one.

According to Codemasters, ex-SAS corporal Chris Ryan has been consulting with the development team at Innerloop. Ryan was made famous by his miraculous escape from Iraq during the Persian Gulf War after his SAS team, Bravo Two Zero, were all captured or killed after a failed mission to destroy SCUD launchers, due to faulty intellegience. Ryan has since written several fiction and nonfiction books and is currently giving Innerloop advice on things like covert tactics and weapon authenticity.

You can expect a single-player demo of IGI 2: Covert Strike to be released in about a month and the final game itself to hit store shelves a few weeks after that. We'll have more on this action game before then, but take a look at our latest batch of screenshots in the meantime.

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