Conflict: Global Terror Review

Global Terror is the fourth game in the Conflict series and it offers many of the same thrills as its predecessors. The main difference here is that it takes you across the globe in the name of fighting terrorism rather than just focusing on Desert Storm or Vietnam like in the other games. The shooting is decent and the way you have to use your squad is actually pretty interesting, but Global Terror suffers from some AI and design flaws that seriously hinder the experience.

Gameplay

Global Terror puts you in charge of a four person squad as you travel around the world fighting terrorism through 14 missions. You have the typical allotment of weapons that we have come to expect from these type of games, and as a pure shooter (you have a choice of third and first person perspectives) Global Terror is fairly decent. Also, the way you use your squad is interesting because each member is good at certain things, so using your sniper or demolitions experts in the right places is key to your success. You can give your teammates a number of different commands and they do a fairly good job of following orders, but you can also switch between them on the fly and do things yourself.

Fun, but Flawed

There are some problems here, however. The enemy AI is exceedingly dumb and is more likely to charge straight at you rather than seeking out cover. One of the best tactics you can use to is fire at an enemy so they know where you are and then fall back and lead them into an ambush. They will just come charging after you without a care in the world. Another issue is that there is a ridiculous amount of med kits scattered across the levels and they always heal completely even if a teammate has been “killed”. This makes the game incredibly easy and also greatly diminishes the need for strategy or advanced tactics because there really isn’t any penalty for just running around like Rambo all the time. The save system is also a bit of an issue because these missions are fairly long so you’ll want to save every now and then but you only have a limited number of saves for each mission. On your first time through a mission where you don’t know what to expect, this can be pretty annoying.

Graphics and Sound

Graphically, Conflict: Global Terror looks good but it won’t blow you away. The characters look good and are fairly detailed, but the environments you explore can be pretty drab. On the plus side, you do a lot of globe trotting in Global Terror so the scenery is quite varied.

The sound is a bit hit or miss. The sounds of gunfire and explosions are pretty weak and really make the combat lack impact. One nice thing is that your teammates will call out whenever they reload, throw a grenade, or spot an enemy among other things which gives the game a touch of realism and also helps give you an overall feel for the battlefield that other games lack.

Bottom Line

Conflict: Global Terror isn’t a bad game, but it is hindered by some annoying flaws that really hurt the overall experience compared to other games in the genre. It isn’t really any better or any worse than the other games in the Conflict series, so if you enjoyed those games you’ll likely enjoy Global Terror quite a bit too. In addition to the lengthy and varied single player campaign, there is also co-op play via splitscreen, system link, and Xbox Live that fans of the Conflict games will surely enjoy. Playing with other people eliminates the dumb AI problems so the game is fairly enjoyable this way. Ultimately, though, Conflict: Global Terror is behind the curve for squad-based tactical shooters and is a pretty average game all around which makes it hard to recommend. Fans of the series will dig it, but for everyone else it is a rental at best.