By Sam Coles:
If you are an avid surfer of the internet then you’ll be acquainted
with the phrase “worst game ever” a term that gets tossed around like eggs in a
frying pan, which has now lost its meaning due to the liberal use of it.
Shellshock 2: Blood Trails often has this moniker, which I can attest that it’s
not the best game in the world, but it is definitely not the worst as I’ve
played games that far exceed it in terms of poor quality, it’s just mediocre.
Shellshock 2 takes place in the year of 1969 during the
Vietnam War, where the US government decide to experiment on their own soldiers
which eventually backfires and turns them into flesh eating zombies. You play
as Nate Walker, where he finds out that his brother was infected and has a
connection and leads the zombie horde. When he finds his brother captured, he is
thrashing violently to escape, he touches his hand and then develops a second
sight ability being able to see what he has done from his point of view. The
story is interesting, the Vietnam War is an interesting setting for a horror
shooter, however the gameplay is a bit clunky and the voice acting is
absolutely atrocious.
Shellshock 2 is a first person shooter brought to us by
Rebellion, that have a mixed track record when it comes to their library of
games with classics such as Alien vs Predator and the Sniper Elite games to the
heaping dumpster fire that is Medal of Honor Underground on the GBA. What I’m
saying is that Rebellion know what they are doing when it comes to first person
shooters, which it confuses me how this game is a mess with clunky controls and
a sickening camera bob when you sprint.
First thing first how is the gunplay? Awful, for some
bizarre reason you are more accurate when you fire from the hip compared to
aiming down sights, which is baffling. It is also hard to tell if you have hit
enemies because the feedback is not clear and sometimes enemies will not flinch
once shot. Guns lack impact and feel as if you’re firing a super soaker filled
with day old porridge as it lands on the enemy rather than perforate them. Throwing
grenades is laughable, as Nate has the throwing ability of someone who is
worried if their arm is going to fall off as his throws are so pathetic that
you try to throw it far and it lands at your feet. The amount of times I killed
my self was ridiculous because grenade throws are worthless and lack impact, I’ve
used staplers with more impact than these grenades.
Presentation is a mixed bag, in some areas it looks pretty
good with damp and humid jungles as you hear the distant moans of the zombies,
coupled with the ambient soundtrack. That’s another thing I like about this
game is that the soundtrack is minimal, there is rarely any music at all as it
relies on the ambience of the environments, as all you can here are the birds
singing and your character’s nervous heartbeat. On the other hand the game
looks as if it is an early PlayStation 2 game, with flat and blurry textures,
as they struggle to load in and struggle is another keyword to describe the
game’s frame rate. The game targets 30 frames per second, but it never sticks
to it as it is all over the place especially when there are loads of zombies
running at you, it becomes a chore to play and makes it hard to shoot.
Overall Shellshock 2: Blood Trails is not the worst game
ever, by all means it is not a good game, but it has some good ideas which
could work if it was given to more competent developer. This game is stupidly
cheap these days, so if you’re curious pick it up on the 360, PS3 and PC just
get ready for a messy experience.
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