Operation Body Count

The Good
Operation Body Count was unfortunately another victim of bad timing: while it used the Wolfenstein 3-D engine, it was released almost a year after Doom. Like Corridor 7 from the same developers, Operation Body Count was considered by more than a few to be one of the worst first-person shooters ever. Come on, people...It's not like Capstone could afford to make a game based on the Doom engine anyways, since the Doom engine was miles ahead of other technology at the time, and therefore was extremely expensive.

Plus, the game is actually quite fun. Like in other first-person shooters at the time, there are plenty of enemies and plenty of weapons to use against them. While you're mainly pitted against terrorists that have taken over the United Nations building in New York City, you'll also encounter oversized rats, sewer monsters, and some other strange aliens. (Hmmm...are these terrorists actually part of an alien invasion force or something?) As for the weapons, you have the standard first-person shooter loadout, as well as some cool new weapons like the flamethrower. There's no melee combat, replacing the standard-issued melee weapon with a pistol that has infinite ammo. Considering that many of the game's enemies are armed to the teeth, the infinite-ammo pistol can be quite useful if you run out of ammo for your other weapons.

I'm also quite impressed with the additions that Capstone has made to the Wolfenstein 3-D engine. There are now windows, an automap, enemies that sit on pedestals before they start attacking, comrades that you can issue commands to, and bullet holes when you shoot at walls.

The Bad
Nothing really. Like I said, I'll forgive the outdated Wolfenstein 3-D engine and just judge the game based on how fun it is.

The Bottom Line
If it had been released in 1992 or 1993, it might have been revolutionary for the time. Still, if you're one of those that have already finished off Doom and want some more first-person shooter action, you'll probably enjoy Operation Body Count.

The Good
Since this game relies on brutality rather than gameplay, I found the weapons and music/sounds pretty neat. The box cover art is also cool.

The Bad
Oh boy, here we go...

First up, the graphics are only slightly better than Wolfenstein 3D, but even worse than its sucessor, Corridor 7. Monsters, textures, etc. are all over pixelated and blocky. The explosions and bullet holes in the walls are also crudely made.

Then we come to the enemy A.I, which ranges from easy, to TOO easy! The enimies also pose no challenge whatsoever, except when in large groups. Also, the bosses are horribly easy to kill...Yawn!

Finally, the level design is HORRIBLE! I mean come on, every level after the first few has large parts of them are the same from one level to the next.

The Bottom Line
Capstone should have never made this game, as it is a steaming pile of turd! Even Capstone's own Corridor 7 is WAAAAY better than this game!