While not up to the level of other action games, Special Forces: Nemesis Strike plays well and is entertaining despite its budget price. You assume the role of two highly trained Special Force operatives fighting against a terrorist network in Special Forces: Nemesis Strike. Stealth Owl and Raptor are members of the Counter Terrorist Special Forces (CTSF) who have been called upon to infiltrate the Nemesis Network. Your objective is to dismantle the Nemesis Network and recover stolen technology. Each operative possesses unique skills that enable him to complete the objectives. The gameplay doesn’t break any new ground in the genre, however it does hold its own against similar games. Most of the game is spent in third person view only switching to first person view when needed, especially when using precision targeting of your weapons. Player movement is controlled with the left and right thumbsticks that has become the standard for these types of games on the Xbox. A rather lengthy but necessary tutorial in the beginning of the game introduces you to gameplay mechanics required to be successful throughout the game. One the strong points of Special Forces: Nemesis Strike is the variety of gameplay modes, including the new unique Free-Fall mode. Several missions require Stealth Owl, who is an expert skydiver, to engage in full 3D skydiving combat. This highly entertaining mode is a visceral experience that captures the sense of speed and urgency of such type of mission. Also, players must pilot an arrangement of vehicles ranging from jeeps and hovercraft to snowmobiles. The vehicle missions control well and provide for intense moments when trying to steer and shoot at the same time. Another strength of Special Forces: Nemesis Strike is the enemy AI that is some of the best in recent games. Enemies react to your actions accordingly and seem to develop their own strategy depending on the situation. Player have an arsenal of weapons to choose from which include optical modes of thermal vision, sonar vision, night vision and a stealth mode that makes players invisible for a short period of time. Graphics are where Special Forces: Nemesis Strike’s budget title takes effect. While not bad by no means, they are not up to par with other games in the genre but much better than most budget titles. Textures are hit and miss however the lighting and explosions are most impressive. Special Forces: Nemesis Strike supports Dolby Digital audio and does a fair job but it doesn’t impact the gameplay all that much. Special Forces: Nemesis Strike is a good game overall considering it is a budget title. Intense action, decent story, great gameplay and new Free-Fall mode along with the budget price make the journey worthwhile. Unfortunately the game is only one player with no multiplayer to speak of. The game is Live Aware, but some online multiplayer or even co-op would have suited this game perfectly. Still, fans of third person combat shooters will definitely enjoy this game and even new fans even might find something to like with Special Forces: Nemesis Strike.
Other Helpful Reviews for Special Forces: Nemesis Strike
In all of the special forces counter-terrorists type games that I have been playing this one has completely stunned and amazed me. I, like many who have read the reviews and viewed the scoring stats assumed that this w... Read Full Review
By supperwinnny | Review Date: Jan 29, 2006 | XBOX
This game lured me in the first time I laid eyes on it! It was tucked away in the deepest regions of the store as if they were trying to hide it from me. I looked on the back and it looked pretty cool and my obsession wi... Read Full Review
