Like a book, don't judge this game by its cover; it's actually better than you realise and it's very cheap too!
Graphics: 7 (after patched up otherwise a 3)
Sounds: 4
Value: 6
Tilt: 7 (basing on version 1.5)
I think it’s just me however I seem to gravitate to those ‘unknown’ types of games in hope of striking gold; like a gold miner back in the 1800s when one yells ‘gold’ then everyone rushes to grab the spoils. Well my strike rate in hitting gold has been a mixed bag hence I choose ‘New World Order’. This highly anticipated game was first developed in the year 2000 then undergone many changes until the final copy was released in 2003. Yet the final copy (and ironically so) was so riddled with bugs that the game can be deemed unplayable until the final patch release to 1.5 (or eight patches later).
The premise of New World Order is a pretty standard tactical based shooter. Based in the near future, the terrorist faction known as ‘The Syndicate’ is causing havoc throughout the world. These people are naturally highly organised posed to rule the world by the ways of sabotage, kidnapping and destruction. In response to this, the current world powers formed an anti-terrorist group called the Global Assault Team or G.A.T. which their aim is to stop these terrorist actions by…sabotage, kidnapping and destruction. Well I guess you can say fight fire with fire.
Straight of the bat, the game will test your patience. It starts off sending you to meet your trainer however the GAT office gets blown up by these terrorists and straight away you are in the thick of things. I thought that was pretty cool as I was expecting a training facility and not meeting face-to-face with some terrorist chumps.
Also the beginning of the game you're presented with a very limited selection of weapons and ammunition and weight plays a very important part as you cannot be the ultimate hulk and carry anything that was dropped or selected. Every mission begins with a load out of what to expect in the form of visual recon from satellite and as you gain experience (in the form of how accurate you are, how much health remaining at the end of the mission and the amount of ammo wasted) the more weapons you can unlock. I thought this is a fine incentive instead of just getting everything landed on a silver platter so it pays to plan ahead than to go gun-ho.
The entire game comprises of only twelve missions and the level itself is quite tiny. However don’t let that fool you as you’ll notice extremely quickly that there are no health packs anywhere hence every shot will hurt and remember that being a tactical shooter all it takes is a couple of hits before you fall to your death; and this of course goes with the enemies. Speaking of which, each level can comprise of around eight to I think twenty terrorists therefore you are already behind the eight ball. What makes matters worse the AI are totally unpredictable as some are a complete imbecile and will run around in circles yet others will flank you from behind. Is this a tactic they have employed I really don’t know however it had fooled me many times.
Depending on what version you have will determine the graphics. Considering that version 1.1 is absolutely not playable by any means (and I really mean that) the version I eventually settled for was 1.5. That said, the graphics are not bad at all. There are the odd rendering and clipping issues however it’s still playable; the landscapes looks dreary and war torn (as it should be) and well thought out – that is expect graffiti, trash, uneven surface and even that odd semi-naked ladies calendars yet some levels just look bland. The movement effect from you is very cool as when you change weapons the screen will shake to reflect actual movements so expect some real jittering actions. The enemies do look realistic but certain times duplicates appeared (twins perhaps) and the way they die you can see their body twitch slightly before remaining deathly still.
What I really liked was the lighting effects and the shadows it casts. The shadows renders in real time hence you will see that your shadow comes and goes depending upon the way the light source strikes you. This also plays an important part when trying to determine the whereabouts of your enemies; however the building’s reflections remains static. Another cool feature was that many FPS players complained about that ‘floating arms’ syndrome however in New World Order you can actually see your legs as well. This improves game play as you feel that you are now a complete soldier.
Similar to the graphics, the quality of sounds depends upon the version you have. Again basing on version 1.5 I thought the sounds are average. There are absolutely no musical scores what-so-ever (besides that lifeless sounds in the beginning) and the game itself is pretty much devoid of any noise. I thought the only noticeable affects where the sounds of running men as this can be nerve-racking as you are trying to determine exactly where the enemies are. The voice acting are also limited so expect the occasional ‘smoke him down’ chants or the profanities aiming directly at you for killing his chumps. Yet the blood splatter does produce some nice cool effects and worth investing a shotgun just to hear it again (and then watch the body twitch).
As mentioned before, the entire game only spans twelve smallish levels. An immediate thought that this game will be over in a snap but this is a misconception as the maps are cleverly designed so there are many entry/exit points to consider. For example you can enter the subway via a hole left by a train, via a back way or simply via the main entrance; and this goes for all the maps so even though that the maps are small in comparison the replay value is quite high. Sadly though in the single player mode, once you have alert The Syndicate (and this goes equally the same with silencers - go figure) expect almost the entire team will rush towards you; this means either a quick death for you or pretty much ¾ of the entire squad will fall down if your timing is right.
As for the multiplayer aspect, I really couldn’t comment on this as funny enough there are no active servers to speak off. However looking through the options, I feel that it would be a blast playing this on multiplayer as mentioned before the map designs are good enough to test your patience and skills. Also there is an option to play the game in co-op mode and considering the many entry points you can really act as an anti-terrorist squad. Oh well, I guess we can leave this for other games like Vietcong.
So on the surface this game may look like a complete joke; the many patches and the disappearance of the company who created the game you will naturally assume this is one serious total write-off. However if you do manage to spend some time digging a little deeper New World Order is not as bad as initially portrayed. Yes there are flaws and patching up is an absolute necessary (like breathing to survive) however like a book, don’t judge this game by its cover; it’s actually better than you realise and it's very cheap too!