Operation Body Count

Moby ID: 1828

DOS version

Again, not nearly as bad as people say it is.

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 Like I said, I'll forgive the outdated Wolfenstein 3-D engine and just judge the game based on how fun it is.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.

by Spartan_234 (424) on June 9, 2006

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