Gameplay

Blowing up the bad guys

Of course, there are also some big differences between Chrome and Unreal II. The Techland game is actually quite a bit different than most action-oriented shooters. For starters, mission design forces you to think a lot about strategy and tactics. You even get an Alien-style motion detector that tracks enemy movements with beeping blips. Indoors, levels feature a lot of choke points and ambushes. Some of this came off patently phony, as in those instances when I had to blast an enemy off a gun emplacement and then use said gun emplacement against the bad guys. Or employ the explosives I happened to discover in blowing up a base. Most of the time, though, I had to plan out what to do before opening a door. In some levels I even had to do some sneaking. Outdoors, I had to think about the terrain. Hills, trees, rocks, and other forms of natural cover had to be used to hide from enemies often ensconced on the high ground.

Logan’s skills also have to be considered. He acquires cyberpunk-inspired cybernetic implants after the first mission that enhance his senses. These can be turned on and off at will, although leaving them on too long results in a sensory overload that causes damage. Used sparingly, they can be a big assist to getting through many levels. When pinned down by enemy fire, for example, I often used the adrenaline boost to run faster between cover. Taking on enemies in jungle scenes required me to switch on the eye scope. And sniping enemies from long range was ably aided by targeting assistance.

Objective: Earth

Inventory management is another issue. Logan has a limited amount of space in his pack for each mission, so you can only take along a small assortment of weapons, ammo, health packs, and other goodies. The initial loadout is customizable, but having such little room means that you have to make some hard choices regarding weapons. Especially the larger ones that take up a lot of inventory slots. For example, as much as I wanted to carry both a sniper rifle and one of those nifty submachine pistols, I couldn’t cram both into my pack at once. This inevitably caused problems down the line, as I typically wanted to have both at various times over the course of each mission. Health packs and ammo also caused problems, as I could never fit enough of them in my kit, either.

Missions are varied enough to emphasize both tactical thinking and the need to carefully look after your backpack. I liberated cargo from bandits, infiltrated bases, assassinated enemy leaders and old rivals, took on some straight search-and-destroy assignments, and so forth. Maps are typically huge, featuring both indoor locations and lots of outdoor terrain boasting varied landscapes. I went from tropical islands to frozen arctic zones. Things are further spiced up with a range of vehicles, including speeder bikes, space-age dune buggies, and battlemechs. Various vehicular cannons are also on hand, for use in a number of rail sequences.