http://www.soldiers-of-anarchy.com
Developer: Silver Style http://www.silver-style.biz/
Distributor: Red Ant Enterprises http://www.red-ant.com.au

Back in the hey-day of Dungeons & Dragons, there was another die-based role-playing game that had a more realistic storyline but didn’t achieve anywhere near the same prominence. The game I’m referring to was Twilight 2000, a post-apocalyptic scenario with bands of survivors duking it out with scavenged military hardware for survival.

I have no doubt that Silver Style used Twilight 2000 for inspiration when they came up with Soldiers of Anarchy.

There is of course a major difference. Soldiers of Anarchy doesn’t need a talented game-master — Silver Style has done that for the player. It also doesn’t require a group of mates (although there is a multi-play option), as the game’s reasonably competent AI handles the actions of the others in the game.

The player explores and fights across a wild landscape in search of other life and, of course, the all-important weapons and ammunition. This scavenging aspect becomes a player’s key focus in order to upgun and trade for more difficult missions.

While most weapons are plentiful, ammunition is severely limited and the game makes a player choose between wasting that last 7.62mm round from their sniper for a sure kill.

Like ammunition, injuries also have to be managed as certain specialists (explosives, sniper etc) are irreplaceable and sorely missed once they succumb to enemy fire. Luckily there is no single way to complete a given mission so a tactically creative thinker should be able to find several alternative ways instead.

The game does have its problems (despite the issue of a first patch which cured some major ills), specifically in pathfinding.

The AI makes it quite frustrating when negotiating a safe-lane in a minefield, while individual soldiers have the uncanny ability to find the longest, most dangerous path to any given point.

Camera control also takes some getting used to but after a while I found it intuitive. In most cases the camera needs to be zoomed out so a click on the enemy with the targeting reticle misses and becomes a ‘move to’ command.

Soldiers of Anarchy is definitely for the more cerebral gamer and needs to be considered as a long-term investment. Those who enjoyed Fallout, Jagged Alliance and the highly-underrated Shadow Company will definitely enjoy it.

Silver Style recommends a PIII800, 256MB RAM and a 32MB 3D video card to play.

Platoon

http://www.montecristogames.com/Etats-Unis/ImageInterface/PLintro.htm
Developer: Digital Reality http://www.digitalreality.hu
Distributor: QV Software http://www.qvsoftware.com.au/

Digital Reality and Monte Christo Games must have paid very big money to use the name and images associated with Oliver Stone’s award-winning movie. But that’s where the similarity ends as essentially the game is a series of scripted missions designed to replicate a soldier’s tour through Vietnam. The player controls Sgt Lionsdale and his band of miscreants in a fight against the best Charlie can throw at him.

It plays in real-time but for fans of the tactical combat in the Close Combat series, GI Combat or even Command & Conquer, less units to manage does not equate to an easier game. Platoon usually pits the player’s squad up against the hordes of the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army, sometimes with support from other troops and agencies in a magnificent visual representation of the jungles of Vietnam.

The scripted missions mean players must follow a set path to achieve major goals (breaking rule 101 about walking on tracks), but replay value is limited as the bad guys manage to hang in the same spots each time. The player’s soldiers are also limited in their skillsets — only a couple can throw grenades while only a certain soldier can use an M72 LAW.

Platoon has a lot of unreached potential and a bit of work behind the scenes could essentially rejuvenate what could be quite a good game. The patch at least allows characters to take cover and return fire — the next step would be to make the enemy a little more creative. Keep an eye on what the mod community can do — they are busy playing with code as you read this.

It is a basically sound game that is hindered by what I would describe as a poor design premise. Get it if you need a Vietnam-era fix.

Platoon requires at least a PIII600, 256MB RAM and 32MB 3D video card.

NBA Inside Drive 2003 requires a vague understanding of the rules, some knowledge of NBA players and teams and some quick finger/thumb manipulation.

Console Corner: Xbox

NBA Inside Drive 2003

Microsoft Games Studios
http://www.microsoft.com/games

Being white, short and Australian, basketball has never been at the top of my favourite sports. But after I got past just how back and forwards the gameplay was I actually started to enjoy myself, particularly when playing against a live opponent (nothing like a brother’s rivalry to make for some intense fun).

NBA Inside Drive 2003 requires a vague understanding of the rules, some knowledge of NBA players and teams and some quick finger/thumb manipulation. The game pits this season’s teams in several formats depending on a player’s wishes.

It is very atmospheric, has great camera work and the characters behave much like reality. On the normal difficulty level it comes down to who has the better three-point shooters as gameplay is reasonably matched. Crank it up to difficult and a far more challenging game ensues. It really comes down to the attributes of the different players and utilising the in-built coaching function to set tactics and counter opposition moves.

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