WWII: Desert Rats

The Good
WWII: Desert Rats is a surprisingly fun budget game that reminds me of a 3D version of the coin-op classic Top Gunner.

The graphics are decent, but not outstanding. Nice explosions though.

There are 12 missions to blast through. Though each mission is set in the deserts of north Africa, there's a surprising amount of variety. One mission has you driving through a severe sandstorm (nice effects on the sandstorm by the way) ambushing a few heavily guarded fuel trucks. Another has you creeping through an occupied town at night, avoiding spotlights (I guess the Jeep has a really good muffler, because you don't have to worry about being heard), while in a third you are driving along a narrow set of cliffs assaulting artillery emplacements.

All the while you'll be shooting very angry sounding German soldiers, bunkers, armored vehicles and tanks. From time to time you'll have to take down Stukas making strafing runs at you. Things get pretty hectic, but it's very exhilirating.

You arm yourself from a small set of weapons including three different mounted guns for your Jeep along with grenades, a machine gun, a bazooka or a sniper rifle.

You can also choose from five different gunners each of which is better in some areas and worse in others. One my have especially good aim, but not be proficient with the bazooka while another may be great at lobbing grenades, but not to hot at aiming the tail gun.

The Bad
This is a budget game and it does have some minor shortcomings. Some people may find the game too short at only twelve missions. I was able to finish the game in three days of moderate play time.

Also, there are cutscenes after each mission, mostly showing German command's reaction to your last mission. It doesn't exactly tell a story. It was more like watching an episode of a television series where at the end the bad guy says 'And I would have gotten away with it too, if it wasn't for those pesky kids!'

Speaking of the bad guys saying anything, the voice acting is pretty bad. To me it was so bad it was humorous, but others may just be annoyed.

The Bottom Line
Considering the limited theme of the game (two man jeep team in the desert), Canopy did a great job on this one.

While twelve missions may seem short, it was enough to warrant my purchase without the game wearing out its welcome.

WWII: Desert Rats is what it is. It's a short, nice looking budget game that is a whole lot of fun to play. I recommend picking it up for some simple shoot-em-up fun.