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PS2
SP2000 Vol. 108: The Nippon Tokushubutai -
New
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NCS
Game Synopsis
«©NCSX»
Join the ranks of the Japan Special Forces and
tackle the role of an officer who shuffles to
various assignments where street criminals and
terrorists are wreaking havoc. When trouble
threatens to wreck the peace, the jacketed officer rushes to the airport, the local bank, a
convenience store, or another venue where public
safety is at risk. The goal is to stop the perpetrators
cold with gunfire and shuttle hostages away from harm's way.
At the end of each level, the
player is ranked on the efficacy of his work, the
stealth factor, and the
save ratio of the hostages. To avoid being seen by
thugs, players may crouch and hide behind obstacles
but NCS found that the AI of the criminals isn't
necessarily something to fear. They're collectively
dumber than a box of hammers...
Missions are viewed
from a first person perspective where the
environment shifts into view with every turn of the
corner and each swivel of the officer's vantage
point. The camera control is dodgy however with an
auto-centering feature which makes for clumsy
controls. The
game features over 40 types of real world rifles and
guns that may be used in the game for a superfluous
bit of realism. Superfluous because the guns all
shoot the same. Players may enjoy 37
missions which take place in locales across Japan.
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NCS
Game Notes
» Vingt et un Systems designed the game for D3P
» Upon starting the game, a police badge appears on
the screen with a red siren shining on the bottom of
the screen. The intro text explains the dire
terrorist situation in the year 2015 and how a
specially trained group of agents were inducted into
the police force. The first two weapons in the game
are an AZ47 and a Tokares handgun.
» In the first mission, an urgent call arrives while
your soldier is still on the street outside of a
Seven M convenience store. There's a tense situation
inside where thugs have taken over the entire
building. Your mission is to go in with your partner
and kill/apprehend the criminals who have taken over
the store. Keep out of sight of the criminals to
score higher because if you're spotted, a deduction
of 10 points is taken away from your score.
» When thugs are shot, they'll writhe around the
floor and leave large splotches of blood on the
ground.
CONTROLS
L-Analog.........Movement
R-Analog........Camera swivel (auto-centering)
Triangle.........Stats screen
Square..........Overhead map
X-Button........Crouch
R1-Trigger......Fire weapon
L1-Trigger......Switch weapons
R2-Trigger......Sidle to the right
L2-Trigger......Sidle to the left
» The controls require some practicing to perfect
but once learned and honed, they're still not as
smooth as one might expect... but then again, this
is a D3P game. The AI of the terrorists and thugs in
the game is also pathetic. For example, in the
convenience store scenario, shooting directly above
a target's head doesn't indicate to him that
danger's afoot. He just walks around with his gun as
if bullets just didn't just whiz over his noggin.
When thugs do spot the player, they will go on full
attack mode and shoot in unerring fashion but their
overall clueless nature is a far cry from the razor
sharp grunts in games such as Metal Gear
Subsistence.
» The ammo in the first mission is limited to 30
bullets for the AZ47 and 3 bullets for the Tokares.
There is no ammo reloading but a third weapon that
may be used are the hero's fists... which hardly do
any damage to enemies.
» The premise of "The Special Forces" is a good one
but the execution is lacking. If a first tier
company such as Konami or Capcom handled the game,
it would be an entirely different experience. As it
is however, it falls short of its potential with
sloppy enemy AI and dodgy controls.
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This document and photos are ©NCSX 2006. All rights reserved. No
reproduction in whole or in part of this document
may be made without express written consent of
National Console Support, Inc.
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