Xbox

Conflict: Global Terror

What does really make Conflict: Global Storm pull its socks up, though, is the new and improved multiplayer. Previously only playable in split-screen, the game now features System Link and Xbox Live capabilities. Between two and four players can work through any mission in the game, finally with an entire screen to themselves. We found playing with one other player and controlling a squad member each to be loads of fun, striking just the right balance between shooting and squadbased elements.

The Conflict series makes one more appearance, this time on a global level. Like previous installments, this one has you controlling a four-mean team against terrorists in many parts of the world. Besides the new plot and locations, though, it doesn’t appear that Conflict: Global Terror fundamentally changes things.

Overall I was pleasantly surprised with Conflict: Global Terror because probably like many of you, I was expecting just a lame-o tactical shooter that couldn’t stand on its own two feet and stand out amongst the crowd. Now it doesn’t necessarily do any of that too well in the end but all in all Conflict: Global Terror is a well balanced 3rd person action game that is surprising in length, multiplayer, interactivity, gameplay and graphics. Get your own soundtrack because the one included isn’t worth your time and you’ll be good to go. Simply put, this is a must buy for serious fans of these types of games, but for anyone else, rent it first.

With the global terrorism fear factory stuck on overdrive, who doesn't want to saddle up with a crack four-man team for a little payback? While it's not on par with serious military combat sims like Rainbow Six 3, Conflict: Global Terror satisfies just enough of this genre's requirements to be entertaining.

In the end, Conflict: Global Terror may not be the best squad-based game, even just sticking to the Xbox. The bad AI and lack of variety when it comes to squad commands makes the single player campaign more of a chore than a fun experience—something no video game should ever accomplish. However, when played online or with friends, it becomes an experience that throws all conventional beliefs out the window. Here you have a game that you know isn’t well made. You know it should be bad. But playing with three other people, it suddenly becomes a great game. Alone, this game isn’t even worth a rent. But if you have any friends who enjoy shooter or squad-based games, or Xbox Live, this may be worth a buy if you can find it used somewhere for half price, or a couple bucks off the cover price.

Never far from tense, surprisingly immersive and even nasty at times, Conflict Global Storm may be an evolved version of the first Conflict, but I’m not sure I particularly like the direction it has gone in. It seems to me to have taken a couple of steps backwards, aiming to be a third person Rainbow Six-alike instead of returning to its roots and simulating a mixture of open country battles and urban warfare; something which despite a lot of fogging to hide draw distance problems, Conflict Desert Storm did so well. If you’re looking for a co-op game to play than you could do far worse (Rainbow Six Lockdown for instance), but as a solo game this wasn’t an enjoyable experience – but then, maybe conflict isn’t supposed to be…

Global Terror continues that tradition and Pivotal is definitely on their way to creating the perfect action tactical shooter which is evident in this game, which is the best Conflict game to date. The single player game will hold your attention and you'll get more mileage out of it if you play on the harder difficulty settings, but the real secret to milking everything out of this one is the online co-op mode. If you can't play online you might want to consider a weekend rental, but all of you Conflict fanatics...well, I'll see you online after you've purchased your copies.

The Conflict franchise has always existed in the shadow of more high-profile series, particularly Ubisoft's Tom Clancy games. The latest iteration, Global Terror, is no different. Improvements have certainly been made to the Conflict formula, but the game is still plagued by mediocrity on several fronts.

I was pretty disappointed by this game, in a crowded genre it does not do enough to stand out from the crowd. For the fourth game in the series some of the main problems like team and enemy AI and dodgy controls should have been fixed long ago. The game is challenging and long but that can be more of a negative than a positive when the actual gameplay is not that much fun to begin with. If you do prefer more strategy in your shooters and would like a good game to play co-op with a couple of buddies then it could be worth a look. For the rest of us though there are many better games out there and unless the developers can turn the series around, it might be better to finally class it KIA and put it to rest.

Pas très enthousiasmant, voilà le sentiment que l'on a en jouant à Conflict : Global Storm. Non pas qu'il soit mauvais, mais il faut bien admettre qu'on trouve beaucoup mieux chez la concurrence en matière de jeu d'action tactique. En fait, tout dans le soft est correct sans plus : la réalisation, l'IA, le gameplay, si bien que rien ne sort vraiment du lot. Au final, voilà un jeu qui pourra occuper les novices quelques heures mais qui est trop limité pour convaincre les amateurs du genre qui ont plié les Rainbow Six.

If you’re not familiar with the Conflict series of games, allow me to give you a quick run-through of it’s main theme. A few years back the series had taken us to Iraq during the first Persian Gulf conflict then it had taken us back for more in a sequel that was just a tad better than its predecessor. Last year the Conflict series went back in time, taking us through the controversial Vietnam war. Enter Conflict: Global Terror, a modern-day action game that spans across the globe on a mission to stop global terrorism.

Stop us if you've heard this one before. Conflict: Global Terror is a tactical shooter that puts you in control of a four-man squad of commandos as they fight against terrorists in various locales across the globe. OK, there may be a lot of games like it on the market, but consumers can't seem to get enough of tactical shooting, so you can't fault publishers for making them. In fact, Global Terror is actually the fourth game in a long-running series of similar shooters from Pivotal Games. And like the previous games in the series, Global Terror offers some redeeming value as a shooter, but poor execution on certain aspects, such as the artificial intelligence, keeps the game from distinguishing itself.

Conflict Global Storm does a lot well, but irritates in equal measure. Pivotal Games' inability to create intelligent enemies negates so much of what they have done really well. If you're a fan of the previous games (and considering how well this series sells, there are a lot of you out there) none of this will be new to you, and you'll enjoy what is easily the best game in the series. For everyone else, the single-player campaign is a frustrating one, made significantly more enjoyable when played cooperatively.

First, WWII was the topic of choice for videogames. Then there was a brief stint in Vietnam, and now it looks like the War on Terror is where all the action is. Conflict: Global Terror, the fourth installment in the long-running series, continues the trend of hardly adding anything new while maintaining the same problems as its predecessors. At least the redeeming qualities are still intact.

It's comforting to be able to predict things at this time of year. Like the crispness of the air when summer gives way to autumn, the incredulous looks you get by growing a beard, or the number of smug new ways for PES fans to belittle the latest FIFA despite having no intention of playing it for more than 30 seconds. But other things that we have an uncanny knack of being able to foresee we gain absolutely no joy from, such as Norwich's depressing defeat to Reading on Saturday, the lack of sleep from impending parenthood [I'm not convinced that one falls under the royal 'we', boss - Tom] or the September arrival of a Conflict game that doesn't live up to its potential (and then goes in with a bullet at number one).

There's some fun to be had, but it's hard-won, and with so many more graceful examples of the genre to choose from, Conflict: Global Terror is hard to recommend. Dedicated fans of the series will find a challenge, but the cumbersome controls and questionable AI remain most effective kill-joys.

This is a funny time of year. Certain titles come out that you think would have done better against less competition, but the fact is that sales go up on everything this time of year, so everybody wants to take their shot. I can appreciate that. From my perspective, though, I've played FEAR, Quake 4, Civilization 4, and a little Age of Empires just in the past week. So when something comes along that's not quite in that caliber, it might not do so hot. And this has nothing to do with the arbitrarily judged quality of a given developer. I'm sure Pivotal has made some fine stuff. And we've had a couple great game come in from lesser-known houses, like Guitar Hero, Darwinia, and Guild Wars. No, what hurts Conflict: Global Storm isn't any of the potentially bad risks that the new breed of game makers tackles.

You're down to your last few bullets, with only the walls of a burnt-out building standing between you, your friends, and waves of foes shambling your way. The twitchy masses zero in on your position, unconcerned with concepts of life or death. Finally, a blood curdling scream echoes through the night. No, this isn't a review of the latest Resident Evil game. It's Conflict: Global Terror, the latest squad-based military shooter from Pivotal Games. And that scream? It's what happens once you realize that you've actually shelled out money for this.