Shadow Harvest takes tactical action and stealth to the next level by blending them perfectly.
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Controls & Environment Interaction
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Shadow Harvest has a different cover system than other games, it uses a snap-to cover system where you move directly towards an object to get into cover. This enables you to easily break away from cover if enemies rush you.
Shadow Harvest uses a health pack system, so there is no automatic regeneration of health when you get shot. Using one health pack will completely restore your health.
The game uses a checkpoint save system. You cannot save at any time. This gives you extra reason to stay behind cover and manage your health packs wisely. The checkpoints are placed at the end of action and stealth sequences, giving you a greater sense of accomplishment and adding to the overall challenge of the game.
Weapons, Items and Abilities
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Aron carries a Glock 29 Pistol, XM8 Assault Rifle and hand grenades by default. He can pick up an additional enemy weapon and is given a special weapon when the mission calls for it. Aron can also use explosives, MG emplacements and the All Terrain Battle Walker.
The All Terrain Battle Walkers an experimental unit with two large machines guns on either side. It only has a seat for one and only Aron can use it. They feel realistic to control, they feel heavy and clunky like a mechanical unit should.
Aron has a special ability called Delta mode that slows down everything around him. It may help you in high action sequences. You don't need to pick up anything to restore it, simply shoot enemies and it will slowly restore with each kill.
Myra carries a crossbow with 3 different types of arrows. First is the standard arrow, second are Nano Bolts, when shot at enemies it kills them instantly and starts a bio-chemical reaction rendering the enemy invisible. The third are Attractor Bolts that when fired let off a sound to attract enemies. The third type have a secondary mode that allows you to see which enemies can hear the bolt, removing any guess work or trial and error.
Myra can sneak up behind enemies and grab them in a headlock, from there she can snap their neck or inject them with nanities using a Wolverine-style Claw, this renders them invisible so there's no need to hide the body (somewhere out of sight).
If that wasn't enough Mrya wears a special stealth suit that allows her to cloak herself. It's powered by energy cells that you can find hidden in some missions, the cloak drains quickly so you can't use it all the time.
The HUDCOM system is the visible eye piece both characters wear, it enables you to see your objectives, messages from allies, enemy locations as well as sense their suspicion and it's also your night vision device. It's not well explained during the game, only the manual covers it in detail.
AI
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The enemy AI overall is challenging and changes to suit the action or stealth sequences of each chapter.
The enemies that Aron will face are fast to react so you need to be wary of cover at all times. They'll seek cover when hit or charge at you firing in a suicidal dash. They use the cover effectively and are difficult to predict.
Not many enemies throw grenades. It would have been more challenging to have enemies throwing grenades at you and would have made replying the missions that bit more intense and unpredictable.
The enemies that Myra will face are either on patrol or on guard. While you play as Myra the enemies have a suspicion meter that will show above their head if they see you. They will go on high alert and come after you if the meter goes all the way up.
When you switch between using Aron and Myra they aren't left soulless or stupid. They will go into a defensive mode meaning they won't fire at enemies until fired upon. If they are hit by enemy fire they will radio to the character you are playing that they are under fire and will seek cover as well as open fire on the enemy.
Level Design
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The game takes place in Somalia, Dubai and Cuba.
The levels have been designed around the game mechanics especially the cover system as their are plenty of boxes, crates, columns and concrete blocks to hide behind. The action levels where you use Aron involve going from point A to point B with little chance to explore. There are limited areas to explore and most of these areas are the same few interior rooms over and over again. Despite the action sequences being very linear they are still challenging and enjoyable thanks to the good cover mechanics.
The stealth levels with Myra give you more of a chance to do things your way. The stealth challenges get more difficult with each level, gradually requiring you to use more of a combination of your weapons and abilities. There are some strong stealth levels for Myra in the later levels of the game.
Overall the levels are designed to offer an equal amount of tactical action, stealth and plain action. The level's are well balanced between the characters and uses them wisely.
At first I felt it may have been nice to be able to have more of a choice on which character you use but it would have compromised the balance the developers put a lot of effort into creating.
Bugs & Performance
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While playing the game I noticed a few camera glitches where you could see into the void of the game and has a couple of crash to desktop errors in Chapter 7 and one in Chapter 9. You'll definitely need to do some optimisation with the game's graphics and mouse sensitivity settings.
Gameplay time
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On normal difficulty the game took me around 12 hours to complete. It rarely too me more than 2 or 3 tries to complete each part of a chapter.
Replay Value
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There is no multiplayer or Co-op and the level design is rather linear. There are 3 difficultly settings and you can go back and play each part of a chapter at any time.
Graphics
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The two main characters look good especially Myra's stealth suit, it looks futuristic without looking ridiculous. The rest of the games' character models are missing detail on both the model and textures, they just look a little bland. A greater variation of guards to shoot at would have been nice.
Many of the levels most basic items that you use for cover have had extra detail put into them such as the boxes compared to lesser used objects such as vehicles.
The weapon models are good but the machine gun flashes can be a bit bright at times because of the bloom.
The bloom really is a bit high in a lot of areas it was a game style decision but went a little far. Counter to this, some areas are really dark but this only affects the missions in Somailia.
While playing the game if you just stand still and take in the environment you'll notice a lot of little details that have gone into creating atmosphere for the game. Somalia especially, there's background gun fire, wind effects and an eerie feel to the street you have just battled in.
There's not much to say about the animations apart from the game could have used more.
Sound Effects
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Generally the weapon sounds and sound effects of the game are good, not great but they do the job. The voice actors are a mixed bag and the performances are all over the place. The actor that portrays Aron doesn't deliver on some key story moments. There are some great performances from other voice actors including Spencer your commanding ISA officer. Generally there is a lack of emotion in line delivers from the two main characters.
The music is by far the best aspect of the sound effects. Each track is terrific and blends in well with the action or stealth sequence it is placed. There are so many different styles of music in the game, it's an awesome soundtrack. One for every nerds collection.
Story
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The story at first glance seems generic but it soon changes to something a bit more in-depth than most games today. It's not about the USA vs some future super power. And it's not about nuclear weapons or aliens... The story is told using cutscenes, loading screens and in game communications through the HUDCOM system. The dialogue is cheesy but fun, especially between Aron and Myra. The story will pan out to be bigger than expected and will leave you wanting more.
Conclusion
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Shadow Harvest has incredible gameplay that is challenging, not because there are 50 enemies around the corner you have to force your way through but because it forces you to use tactics. It removes the safety of being able to save anywhere, anytime. It removes the safety of being able to take a million bullets. This game forces you to think about your next move and judging by some other reviews, people weren't prepared to do that.
Shadow Harvest takes tactical action and stealth to the next level by blending them perfectly. It may not include all the tactical action mechanics of a game that focuses solely on tactical action, or all the stealth mechanics of a game that focuses only on stealth but it get's the balance between them right.
If you are looking for a unique and challenging game that requires you to use your brain then play Shadow Harvest. You will be rewarded with a great gameplay experience and an engaging story that will leave you wanting more.
Check out more at PC Required: http://www.pcrequired.com/game-reviews/shadow-harvest-phantom-ops/